Colorado House Bill 24-1163 enters a new level of big government and big taxes. The bill will add a new tax of up to $8.50 (but actually up to $25) on EACH pet and it includes ALL animals, even invertebrates. The tax is paid every year. It also requires every pet to be registered with the State and assigned a “designated caregiver.” If you do not name a “designated caregiver,” the cost for each pet is $25 annually. There is no cap or per household type of maximum taxation. This will also be in addition to any local taxes (like dog licenses).

To summarize how outrageous that is, if someone has 100 aquarium fish or koi in a water garden, they could be paying $850 annually to have those fish. If you do not register a “designated caregiver” with the State that means having 100 aquarium fish will cost you $2,500 annually! Ten pet reptiles will cost $85 to $250 annually. 20 assorted pets (dog, cat, hamster, parakeet, tarantula, 2 snakes, three frogs, and 10 fish) would be $170 to $500 each year for this new tax. This tax would apply to all “pet animals.” A child with an ant farm (ants are invertebrates)… get ready to pay big for those pet ants, parents!

The new “online pet animal registration system” will be created and maintained by the Department of Agriculture. The penalty for not registering your animals is up to $100 per animal (“per unlawful act or violation”). If a good citizen is unaware of this new law, those 100 unregistered aquarium or water garden fish could cost $10,000 in fines!

Per the bill, “pet animal” means: A DOG, CAT, RABBIT, GUINEA PIG, HAMSTER, MOUSE, RAT, GERBIL, FERRET, BIRD, FISH, REPTILE, AMPHIBIAN, INVERTEBRATE, OR ANY OTHER SPECIES OF WILD OR DOMESTIC OR HYBRID ANIMAL SIX MONTHS OF AGE OR OLDER, THAT IS SOLD, TRANSFERRED, OR RETAINED FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING KEPT AS A HOUSEHOLD PET.

The bill does not state any exemption for Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA) Program registered animal breeders/sellers. So the tax could apply to each animal in those facilities that is over six months old. However, those animals under PACFA should not be included since the definition of “pet animal” includes the text, “THAT IS SOLD, TRANSFERRED, OR RETAINED FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING KEPT AS A HOUSEHOLD PET.”

The only animals exempt are “livestock”: COW, HORSE, MULE, BURRO, SHEEP, POULTRY, SWINE, LLAMA, OR GOAT, other working animals on a farm or ranch, and animals raised for “food or fiber production.”

The bill claims it will “connect pet animals with their owners and designated caregivers when and after emergencies occur, and protect pet animals by supporting animal shelters that are caretakers of last resort.” Sounds noble but it will accomplish none of that when people cannot afford to register their pets and also may not want the government taking up more seats in their living rooms. Basically, this bill claims that no person is a responsible pet owner and that people should only be allowed to have pets if they pay more taxes to the government to monitor their pets for them. It is more collective punishment. Because someone abandons their pet, it means that everyone else must pay for it while the people causing any issues will simply not pay the tax.

The bill is titled the “PET ANIMAL REGISTRATION ACT” and it was introduced by Representative Regina English.

The bill has a hearing on Feb. 22 with the House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee. Location: State Capitol, Committee Hearing Room 0107 (basement), 200 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80203

In a Wuhan-esque study, Chinese scientists are experimenting with a mutant COVID-19 strain that is 100% lethal to “humanized” mice.

The deadly virus — known as GX_P2V — attacked the brains of mice that were engineered to reflect genetic makeup similar to people, according to a study shared last week out of Beijing.

“This underscores a spillover risk of GX_P2V into humans and provides a unique model for understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses,” the authors wrote.

The deadly virus is a mutated version of GX/2017, a coronavirus cousin that was reportedly discovered in Malaysian pangolins in 2017 — three years before the pandemic. Pangolins, also called scaly anteaters, are mammals found in warm areas of the planet.

All the mice that were infected with the virus died within just eight days, which researchers noted was a “surprisingly” rapid death rate