Visit From The Usda!!

[Thoth]

Mea culpa, I know I've read some restrictions take survivability into account, might be the specific states/ localities or possibly not referring to insects.

Thanks, Wade, for the info.

 

[Wade]

Mea culpa, I know I've read some restrictions take survivability into account, might be the specific states/ localities or possibly not referring to insects.

Thanks, Wade, for the info.

Survivorbilty definately comes into play when permitting is involved, so that may be what you were thinking of. A bug zoo in North Dakota will have an easier time getting a permit for exotic walking sticks than one in Florida.

Which brings up annother issue. Technically, the USDA doesn't ban these animals, they only require a permit. Of course, if you're not a zoo, museum or university, you've got a snowballs chance in hell of actually getting the permit, unless you're wealthy enough to build your own containment facility!

Wade

 

[kraken]

Well,at least when they came to wildnmildpets,they didnt bring a complimentary tub of vaseline! They could have been real gungho about it.

 

[NrthCstInverts]

Ok guys just got home from work and see that the thread has taken off.

lets see here:
First off the USDA officers WERE VERY NICE and UNDERSTANDING. They explained a few things in regards to the laws that are in place, and exactly why the Sticks were considered illegal. Really it wasnt the fact i had them, it was the fact the were shipped to me from OUT OF STATE that got me "in trouble". The officers in no way threatened me or even insinuated that they were "out to get" me or the pet trade in general. They were doing their job plan and simple.

I have spoken to the person I recieved the sticks from and to their credit they have offered an apology and offered to refund my moneys for the trouble. They are also taking it a step further and, even though they said they have not been contacted yet by the USDA, asked me to provide the contacts to these agents so they can hopefully put a resonable end to this.

As far as all the conspiracy theory, government hate, and just out right idiotic stuff ive seen here so far........ guys its simple. They make laws to protect us. Some of the statements about releasing animals into the wild and such are the EXACT REASON the laws will ALWAYS stay vague and far reaching....

Yes you can apply for a permit, but as i believe it was Wade said, if you are not an institution of some kind... good luck.

Oh, and for the record, i think they are trying to track this even further then just the person i got them from. The officers said that they think that these are the offspring of some Sticks that were sent to this country (im assuming Illegally) from England.

What this means is this.... Do you have to agree with or even like the laws?? HELL NO
Do you have to follow them? Yes
Dont like the laws... vote , be educated, and act.

 

[billopelma]

Did they say what is to become of the confiscated sticks?

Bill

 

[Scorp guy]

billopelma




Did they say what is to become of the confiscated sticks?

I think i know....it is what you see old men and ladies walking with these days It's terrible really

 

[Amanda]

It's a cinch they aren't going to fly them back to Vietnam and release them.

I suspect that "what's to become of them" has already happened.

 

[NrthCstInverts]

Yeah, She said they "would try to donate them to a museum or zoo or something, and if not they would destroy them."

 

[236260]

Sorry if I missed this already being stated. There is a lot of dialogue in this thread. Google led me to these forums. There are people, as ridiculous as it may seem, whose job it is to limit the environmental and agricultural impact of pest introduction in our country. They are often misguided and ignore much larger problems- agriculture's impact on the environment, for instance- but they are out there.

If finding examples of illegal trade in invertebrates was your job, how long do you think it would have taken you to find these forums? Seriously.


Either that, or it is a conspiracy between the Bush administration and an extraterrestrial Mantid population intent on bringing their lesser evolved cousins back home.

In exchange for our souls, of course.

 

[Stylopidae]

Guys...seriously. They're here. There's not really a whole lot you can do. They're just doing their job.

They may ignore larger problems, like the impact of dogs and cats on the environment which do far more damage than any invertebrate species to the environment.

However, it is the job of the USDA to protect farms and farmers from importing potential new superpests. Personally, I think parthenogenic phasmids from temperate regions would fit the bill for that quite well.

Wade has so far been pretty much the only voice of reason in this thread (with only a handful of notable exceptions). Re-read his post and stop complaining.

 

[Scorpendra]

i'm not going to get too involved in this, but i will say that things would be different if it were our associates who were in charge of foreign insect legalities.

 

[dtknow]

I agree with Wade/Evil Chesire and like his idea of ok species lists...their are some already but none covering what the USDA may consider potential pests. I'm not too sure if vietnamese sticks would fit under this category but I'm betting some of the tropical stick insects would be safe for hobbyists to keep. Same goes for large tropical moths.

 

[Scorpendra]

something these people probably don't realize is that not all parts of the US can facilitate tropical inverts.

 

[iturnrocks]

By just searching your user name on the internet and assembling the information from various site, I found your birthday, age, sex, city, state, and that you run an online business, are Retail Manager of a small independent chain, do drywall, and are a pro fighter. I imagine if I lived in Medina, Ohio, I could track you down without much effort.

Date of Birth:
October 9, 1974
Age:
31
Gender:
male
Biography:
Well all my free time any more is spent on animals in some way shape or form...lol. i love to learn new things about Inverts especially. I have also started taking a more active look at reptiles and amphibs too.
Location:
Ohio
Interests:
Well, BuGS DUH!!
Occupation:
i have a couple
Music I'm Into:
all kinds


Date of Birth:
October 9, 1974
Age:
31
Location:
Medina Ohio
Interests:
Martial Arts, Wildlife, and my kids
Occupation:
Drywall finisher, Pro MMA Fighter


Date of Birth:
October 9, 1974
Age:
31
Biography:
Im currently a manager of a pet store, And i also run my own Online Biz, wholesale and retail animals... and im a Pro Fighter in MMA/NHB
Location:
medina Ohio
Interests:
animals, martial Arts, and my kids
Occupation:
Retail Manager of a small independent chain

Birthday:
October 9, 1974
What Kind Of Herp Keeper Are You?:
Hobbyist, Breeder, Merchant
What Reptiles Do You Own?:
We have all kinds of livestock, snakes , lizards, amphibs, and inverts
Location:
Medina Ohio
Biography:
just wanted to start a small business of buy, sell , trade reptiles and inverts because of an interest in the hobby. have been at this for many moons and like to meet new people and learn new things. The whole reason i started to sell things is to pa
Occupation:
Im a dry waller... and run an online business. .. and in what little spare time i have left im a Pro MMA/NHB Fighter
Interests:
Animals without a doubt, martial arts, and raising my kids to be good human beings.

Years ago, i moved to iowa and couldnt find a job, couldnt make my car payment, the car got repossessed and the way they found me was by visiting my personal webpage.

 

[dtknow]

Yeah, but its a tough call. I'm not going to say anything in particular but a few inverts people have been interested in I see easily becoming pests, at least in the Southern States.

State bans would help that but people would have to cooperate and not mail them to those states.(I imagine quite a few critters could survive in at least Southern FL or TX)

iturnrocks: Impressive err...detective work! LOL And of course with GoogleEarth finding people is all the more easier. All the feds really need is your address though.

 

[iturnrocks]

And of course with GoogleEarth finding people is all the more easier. All the feds really need is your address though.

I guess I still have a lot to learn about google earth- how can you use it to find people?

So far I only use it for finding habitat.

 

[dtknow]

You can plug in someones address and it will give you an aerial photograph of the house so you can plan your teepeeing spree. I guess that counts as finding people.

 

[nomad85]

I had some aphis folks come to see me as well. Very nice, took my aussie walking sticks. might fine me I dont know yet. Bottom line, if youve got something you shouldnt have, be responsible about it and dont boast. I dont even think there is a remote change of E. tiaratum becoming a pest in the US let alone Indiana, since they cant survive frost, and the only ones I had were females and the eggs take about 9 months to hatch when created through parthogenesis... but whatever. I just hope I dont get fined, bunch of <bull> if you ask me, arent there better things people could be doing, I feel sorry for the officers, what a pointless life they lead.

 

[CustomNature]

OK folks, a few points...

1. Those of you who are suggesting that you want to release stuff just just to stick it to the USDA are not helping matters at all! You are only re-affirming what they already think...that insect hobbyists are a bunch of irresponsible amateurs willfully engaging in criminal activity. You already know they browse these boards, why do you want to make matters worse? Criticizing their actions is one thing, but actually advocating deliberately releasing insects as a form of protest is just not smart at all. Even if you're only joking, I can assure you THEY don't take it that way.

Wade

Yeah ok. You're right, they really might think I will release my "mutant killer bees" and "colony of killer japanese beetles" into the wild. So if you're reading this USDA, I am NOT going to release any of them. They will stay in captivity right next to my nuclear flying snails and breeding pair of trouser snakes.

 

[kraken]

Yeah ok. You're right, they really might think I will release my "mutant killer bees" and "colony of killer japanese beetles" into the wild. So if you're reading this USDA, I am NOT going to release any of them. They will stay in captivity right next to my nuclear flying snails and breeding pair of trouser snakes.

AND DONT FORGET THE BRAINSLUGS FROM SPACE!!!