Owners or would-be owners of exotic pets want the Alaska Board of Game to put more creatures on the "clean list" of animals that Alaskans can legally own. The board's response should start with "no."

That doesn't mean that all requests be denied without consideration. But the prevailing policies of the departments of Fish and Game and Environmental Conservation are wise.

"We're just really conservative and concerned about this," state biologist Rick Sinnott said. "So we generally try to hold the line on these things."

Exotic pets are nothing new in Alaska. From the bearded dragon that provides lessons about lizards in preschool classrooms to the black scorpion that better not be a Christmas stocking stuffer, Alaskans have owned all sorts of pets not native to the country.

In many cases, they pose little threat, and if even if they escape, they can't survive the northern habitat. Nature often provides its own defenses.

But there may be risks -- of the spreading of diseases, of mistreatment or abandonment of the animals when the novelty wears off, and even of introduction of species that could upset local ecologies. One proponent of changes argued that if an individual is willing to shell out thousands of dollars for a Capuchin monkey or a hybrid cat, that's their business and not the state's.

Not true. It is the state's business to control what fauna and flora people bring to the state. Not as Big Brother, but to protect native species and natural habitats. Wildlife protection officers don't need to start rooting out exotic pets and their owners, but at the same time there's no constitutional right to own an exotic pet.

The state could offer some latitude. If a Capuchin monkey provides good company and assistance with small tasks to a disabled person, then there should be simple certification to allow an Alaskan to own one. If someone's hybrid cat is so many generations removed from its wild forebear that it's more Garfield than jungle cat, there may be little potential for harm.

If the state can -- without much expense -- make intelligent allowances for such animals, fine. But the Game Board has more pressing and homegrown matters to address -- predator control, revised game-waste rules, the taking of game for potlatches.

By and large Alaska has kept its guard up, natural habitats protected and its exotic residents on a short leash. That's good policy and there's no need to change it.