Can geckos be collected legally in Hawaii

[Matts inverts]

I just found out about this section,I wanted to ask this for awhile. I saw on a website Hawaiian mourning geckos and I was wondering if they can legally be collected. I thought all reptiles were illegal in Hawaii. Is it legal to collect invasive reptiles and maybe centipedes or millipedes. I might go next spring if COVID goes away

 

[goliathusdavid]

It is illegal to collect any native Hawaiian species without proper permitting from the state, and exporting them into the continental US is, to say the least, a big pain. Invasives can be collected, but not transported or exported, without state (and likely federal) permits. The website you saw either possesses the proper permitting, is selling illegally, or, most likely, is selling a recent generation of captive bred specimens. Mourning geckos are quite common in the pet trade, and almost every one you will find for sale nowadays is captive bred, especially given their reproductive method of obligate parthenogenesis.
I would totally go to Hawaii post COVID. But as for your hopes of bringing back specimens, I am afraid I have to dash them.

 

[Matts inverts]

I heard of people bringing back pedes and I heard they have invasive coconut beetles. The Hawaiian geckos is a special morph just from there. Do the bugs also need permits?

 

[goliathusdavid]

I am sure people have brought back pedes, but if they did so without permits it was illegally. Even holders of a valid PPQ 526 permit for the continental US need special permission from both federal and state government to bring anything back to North America. This would be true for invasive species too (which Hawaii has A LOT of) and whether or not your permit would be granted is largely dependent on the species. The last thing the USDA wants is someone bringing an Achatina fulica they caught in Hawaii back to the Continental US. For more info on invasives specifically and the regulation surrounding their collecting and exportation please see the following link:
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/wildlife/invasives/injurious-wildlife/
I do want to make clear also that I am not saying it's totally impossible to bring wildlife back from Hawaii. I am just saying it is going to take a lot of paperwork to due it legally, and that is for a very good reason.

 

[viper69]

There’s a resident Jackon’s Cham pop there too. Take some of those invaders with you.

 

[The Snark]

I heard of people bringing

I heard they have

This is NOT directed at you @Matts inverts so don't take it personally. "I have heard...". Three deadly words guaranteed to get a cop or border inspection agent's attention. From a beat cop considering letting the person off with a warning those words = cuffs and a cell. The reason why agencies are so hard nosed about enforcing C.I.T,E.S. and in a court the difference between a slap on the wrist and probation and a hefty fine and some time behind bars.
Next time, grow a pair. Use your head for something besides a counterweight for your arse. Someone talking trash is one thing, swallowing the BS wholesale then trying to use that trash as an excuse goes straight over the top.