re: #12 Shockingly, Pathetically Low

I still think you should need some sort of permit, as the escaped animal could theoretically cause havoc in an ecosystem

No, it couldn’t. It could make some rats and squirrels dead, and then in the fall at the latest, it would die from the cold. Of course it couldn’t escape in the first place.

Of course, feral cats and dogs can also cause havoc in an ecosystem….

Yep, but we don’t get hysterical about cats and start demanding restrictions on keeping cats as pets. People have an irrational fear of reptiles.