Ohio remains under siege from animal advocates on both sides as the war against pet owners in the state continues.

As of January 6, 2011, the state has been acting under an emergency action regarding dangerous wild animals and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is enforcing the ban, making it unlawful to posses, sell, or transfer live restricted species, including many large constrictor snakes commonly kept as pets, as well as venomous species and caimans. Anyone who currently has possession of one of the listed animals may keep the animal, but must register it with the state by May 1. 2011. Owners must register the animal every year until the animal's death.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) has called on reptile owners in Ohio to write letters to Ohio Gov. John Kasich to permanently halt the enforcement of the ban.

“We felt that PIJAC should energize its members in Ohio by asking them to personally get involved in seeking Governor Kasich’s commitment to respect the right to own these often misunderstood companion animals,” said Michael Maddox, PIJAC’s general counsel and vice-president of government affairs. “We are confident our members will communicate their objections to the Governor about enforcing this ban on pets."

In the meantime, HSUS has just awarded filmmaker Michael Webber its Genesis Award for his "documentary" film "Elephant In The Living Room". The film purports to portray the "dark side" of exotic animal ownership, and is set to open at 100 theaters nationwide.

The film appears to center around the exploits of Tim Harrison, a Dayton, Ohio, public safety officer, as he "captures a 16-foot gaboon viper" among other things. Harrison, who has made the ending of exotic animal ownership a personal crusade, claims to be a "leading expert on exotic animals" who "lost two close friends who were strangled to death by snakes," a claim that seems dubious at best, almost certainly a statistical impossibility, and one that appears to not be supported by police record, medical literature or scientific data. I would welcome Mr. Harrison's correction if otherwise, but we have been unable to substantiate it.

Filled with memorable gems such as "These dealers are horrible people" and "They sell them the animals on the Internet and at auctions, but they never come back to help them, " the film makes no bones about its positioning of non-traditional pet owners, breeders and keepers as just barely south of evil.

Ohio is turning out to be quite a battle.