No more pets as prizes at the county fair. The Iowa House has passed a bill making it illegal to award pets as prizes for games of chance.Representative Kent Kramer, a republican from Johnston, says some carnivals offer lizards, mice and chicks to winning game players, creating problems when the kid doesn’t want or can’t care for the pet. Kramer says all too often, those “prize pets” end up at an animal shelter or the animal rescue league. The bill does outline some exceptions to the “no pets as prizes” rule.Kramer says pet shops, 4-H and F-A-A clubs and other groups organized to promote the outdoors can still give pets away if they offer “well-organized” advice to the future pet owners. Iowa veterinarians and animal rights groups sought the bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration.
