Help! What to do about New Hampshire restrictions that I had no idea about!

[Wayfarin]

I don't know if this is the right forum to be posting these things, but I'm messed up and hysterical right now.

I don't really know if the NH Fish and Game department even considered that someone would be in our situation at the time they made their restrictions.

Apparently, it's ILLEGAL to import, possess, sell, exhibit, or release ALL wildlife without a permit from the Executive Director of the department.
And apparently, wildlife includes invertebrates.
WHAT ON EARTH WERE THEY THINKING? THAT NO ONE WOULD DECIDE TO KEEP WILD-CAUGHT INSECTS, SPIDERS, AND CRUSTACEANS WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING THE STATE RESTRICTIONS?
We prefer to be law-abiding citizens, but how is anyone going to keep these laws? Just in our driving back and forth to Vermont and New Hampshire we had jumping spiders and crab spiders hitchhiking in our car. Do we have to drive back to Vermont to release spiders and insects that hitchhike in our car? Do we have to squash the poor things because they were "imported" from another state?
We already "imported" freshwater snails, hydra, and other tiny pond creatures (no vertebrates) from Connecticut into New Hampshire. What do we do now?
We can't possess them, and we can't release them!
And I'm currently "possessing" many aquatic insects. Dragonfly nymphs, damselfly nymphs, and water beetles. Do I have to surrender these or something?
I really want to release them, but I don't know if that's legal, either. I'm also keeping a wild-caught virile crayfish. Can I just release it, or do we have to pay a fine? I have no idea if these crayfish are considered invasive or not.
This is very distressing, and any input would be appreciated. I don't even know how to obtain permission from the Executive Director of the department.
And I can't imagine that we'd get permission after breaking so many of these laws. I never dreamed that taking insects and crustaceans out of the wild was such a serious offense.

Thanks in advance. God bless!

I just can't imagine how these laws are supposed to work.
It's apparently legal to accidentally trample on isopods, amphipods, and insects with wading boots, but taking them out of a pond and breeding them in captivity is an offense?

Is there a certain list of species that is being referred to?
I can't find any specific regulations concerning freshwater isopods, freshwater amphipods, diving beetles, backswimmers, dragonfly nymphs, and freshwater snails.

 

[kingshockey]

probably better off just killing off your entire stash of illegal crittersand then talking to a conservation officer about your questions invasive speices can a be a huge issue for native wildlifejust look at the florida everglades and all the issues they have with invasive animals

 

[viper69]

Law breakers!!

 

[Tentacle Toast]

So first, I read your posts as you "COULD" break laws without realizing it, not that you already HAVE.... might be worth an edit, as we already know the academic crowd likes to lurk to find reasons to ban this hobby. Who knows who else does the same?
Second, are you sure it's not referring specifically to keeping NH native species? Some states will let you keep just about anything, but get a stick up their ass about keeping native stuff.
Most places have laws against releasing NON-native stuff, which you would never do anyways, so no worries on that one.
Can you post a link to the laws in question?

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Start by not telling anyone.
The first rule of bug club...

 

[goonius]

First of all, use common sense. Actually, I’d place common sense above the law. Who would squish hitchhiking spiders just to be a law abiding citizen?

If you are that concerned about things you have brought into captivity, you can either a) research and find out if they would be invasive in NH or not before releasing them or option b) plan to return them to CT. Don’t slaughter them. It’s not their fault.

 

[viper69]

I'm also keeping a wild-caught virile crayfish. Can I just release it, or do we have to pay a fine? I have no idea if these crayfish are considered invasive or not

You don’t know anything about this crayfish and you’re asking a forum if you can release it??? That’s the least smartest question I’ve read on here.

It’s this sort of behavior that gets these laws created partly.

Call your state authorities on this jeez

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Start by not telling anyone.
The first rule of bug club...

2nd rule of bug club is assume everything is illegal.

 

[WhiteMoss]

Before you do anything to/with the animals that you clearly care about, remember the government that imposes these laws is the same government that condones and supports clear cutting, strip mining, and replacing nature with pavement. Entire species vanishing never to be seen again for the mass accumulation of, literally, paper.

Do what's best by your animals and take a page out the political handbook - what they dont know benefits those that matter

 

[Wayfarin]

So first, I read your posts as you "COULD" break laws without realizing it, not that you already HAVE.... might be worth an edit, as we already know the academic crowd likes to lurk to find reasons to ban this hobby. Who knows who else does the same?
Second, are you sure it's not referring specifically to keeping NH native species? Some states will let you keep just about anything, but get a stick up their ass about keeping native stuff.
Most places have laws against releasing NON-native stuff, which you would never do anyways, so no worries on that one.
Can you post a link to the laws in question?

I would not take a creature from it's original home state, take it to a state where it's not native, and release it there.
I WOULD take a creature from it's original home state and release it in another state if it's native to that state, but apparently that's illegal.
And I admit that I would release an invasive species back to the pond where I found it, but I would hate to help it spread.
I currently AM keeping native NH insects, crustaceans, and snails. I'm aware of the laws concerning frogs, newts, fish, birds, etc. I didn't imagine that keeping native "bugs" was illegal, though.

First of all, use common sense. Actually, I’d place common sense above the law. Who would squish hitchhiking spiders just to be a law abiding citizen?

If you are that concerned about things you have brought into captivity, you can either a) research and find out if they would be invasive in NH or not before releasing them or option b) plan to return them to CT. Don’t slaughter them. It’s not their fault.

The problem is that I have buckets of pond detritus with several species in there. The big species are easy to identify, but I can't monitor invasive copepods, rotifers, protozoa, microscopic eggs, etc.

You don’t know anything about this crayfish and you’re asking a forum if you can release it??? That’s the least smartest question I’ve read on here.

It’s this sort of behavior that gets these laws created partly.

Call your state authorities on this jeez

It's complicated with the virile crayfish. I CAUGHT it in New Hampshire not far from my house. I want to just let it go where I found it.
But apparently it's not native to where I found it. The catch is that people really don't seem to know far east virile crayfish can live without being considered invasive.
At least one link says New Hampshire is their NATIVE range, and they are really only invasive outside of North America.
But most sources say that NH is not within their native range.
I'm pretty sure that the crayfish can be released back where I found it without any trouble, but I'm reluctant to do it, because I've fed the crayfish the dead bodies of aquatic insects that originated from other ponds. Now I have no way of knowing if the crayfish inherited an invasive internal worm or something.
It is apparently NOT illegal to just boil the crayfish for dinner, but I don't have the heart to do that.