Environmental Conservation Law,
Environmental Protection Act,
Animal Welfare Act,
the Lacey Act,
Endangered Species Act,
Horse Protection Act,
Dangerous Wildlife Law . . . .
These laws have nothing to do with animal welfare but everything to do with CONTROL.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/animals-welfare-ospca-court-enforcement-1.4964605?fbclid=IwAR2QX_VaNOkJmJfCDcnRbL2semsRHltJHaaL5Lg7mgZrxrz1etxeZ42dihQ
​https://www.humanewatch.org/lawmaker-calls-for-investigation-of-hsus/

We've got to change the fact that our licenses are regulated by the single-most incompetent, least transparent and most unaccountable regulatory agency in the state; that is, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.  Licenses were meant to improve standards and the status of the industry it is focused on; however, it does just the opposite more often than not. 

No agency will earn respect, admiration and appreciation by treating people the way the NYSDEC does.  You cannot have a department who cannot muster up empathy for another individual or one that can't play by the same standards it expects from some other people.   The NYSDEC undermines the very thing that means the most to its staff ... authority/control.  Therefore, it's no surprise that unlicensed activities are rampant everywhere.  There are more people now than ever serving as unlicensed rehabilitators and keeping wild animals permanently in a sanctuary-type setting, that it's too inconvenient to play by the rules and attain a license.  Why bother?  The license doesn't protect you anyway.  

The inability for agencies such as the NYSDEC and USDA to apply standards fairly and consistency equates to the fact that licensing is morally and ethically ​obsolete and it should be legally as well.