Importing T's

james

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2003
Messages
474
Just curious what others think of some of these ads. Guys like animalmarkets are posting ads that have shipping spiders to the US for $20. Do most of the people that visit these boards understand that it is a not legal to do this. Some of these species are cites and you can do seroius jail time for importing without the proper paperwork. If I'm not mistaken I think it may even be a Lacey Act violation. This thread is more to warn people that you can import but must have all the proper paperwork. This includes bringing the spiders into a port of entry with US Fish & Wildlife inspection and customs. This shipping is done overnight via air cargo (much more expensive) and not some $20 illegal method.
James
 

Stan Schultz

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Messages
1,677
... Guys like animalmarkets are posting ads that have shipping spiders to the US for $20. Do most of the people that visit these boards understand that it is a not legal to do this. Some of these species are cites and you can do seroius jail time for importing without the proper paperwork. If I'm not mistaken I think it may even be a Lacey Act violation. ...
Amen and Hallelujah! And both the USF&WS and US Customs are doing their level best to be featured on COPS.

You've been warned!
 

omni

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 30, 2007
Messages
382
For those in the states, I have the US Fish and Wildlife Service application for the import/export of non-native species of animals in to the country. The fee to apply was $50.00. There is no guarantee you will be approved for the permit, the fee is non-refundable. Legislators are adding animals to CITES every year, and legal importation will become more difficult, as the gov't is always looking for ways to clamp down on people and anything good or fun.
State laws also vary in restriction and method of gaining permission. Best bet to find info about the legality on the state level is to contact your state dept of game and wildlife, who will have jurisdiction where you live.
For those interested, I can email the last version of the federal form I have, it's a pdf document that'll take you an hour or more to locate from governmental websites.
Pretty sure you apply listing your country/species-specific import/export intentions, it's not a blanket worldwide permit. If you need to later amend your permit, you'll send the feds another $25.
I don't know how strict or lax customs agents at the particular port of entry will be, but legally you would send a copy of your permit to the country of export to include w/the packing slip, affixed to the outside of the shipment, and also notify customs of the pending shipment prior to having it sent.
The process is not easy. You can do prison time, be fined, and/or have animals confiscated from your possession. Not just the one's "brown-bagged". All of your animals could be detained for a time, until they sort out what you have legal possesion of.
 

james

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2003
Messages
474
shipping

There is alot more to it than that. It has to go on a plane to an airport with US Fish & Wildlife and customs. You have to have many documents ready before the shipment arrives and everything must match what arrives. You pay fees for inspection and need to know how to deal with customs. It cost an average of $300-$400 just for shipping on a verified air cargo company. If it is cites then there is even more paperwork and fees involved. All Bracky's are cites and it takes a minimum of 30 days even to process the paperwork. When I ship cites to Europe in takes me 2-3 months to get the paperwork from our government. With that said if you want to do it, do it legal because all the work beats Federal Prison and a perminant record.
James
 

omni

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 30, 2007
Messages
382
I have some experience w/ this, a few weeks time initially and 3-10 days seemed to be the avg. shipping time on a batch of slings. But then I avoided CITES species. Reptiles I have not imported, I do know they are pretty much under the scope about, and certain countries' exporting is very much regulated. My experience is limited to dealing with the UK and Philippines. The paperwork you get after applying for importing personal pets, you get that, and you're making phone calls, and even resending(fax recommended) a copy. Commercial importing I'm sure is regulated so that the feds will know what's coming in sp. and number-wise so they can get their fees. Ports of entry are NY, Portland OR, San Francisco, and Seattle, Wash. that I know of.
Royal Air Cargo from UK to NY isn't expensive and is a frequent flight, expect only 12-20GBP($25-42.USD) on the actual purchase. The permit/licensing fees depending on what your intentions are with the animals could be quite high(commercial). I'm not a dealer in T's, have imported pets solely for myself w/o intention to resell. You would I assume need a vendor's license, business alias(DBA) paperwork for a commercial venture.
If anyone has a legit exotic animal business running here in the states with recent experience dealing with those buttheads in customs, could you post details I'm only just touching on? Retailing imports is not my thing, I do only get my personal pets sent to me, and research specimens on occasion. But I do my homework and can get some more details as I can make time for.
 

kingpin1189

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
61
Thanks!

I've appreciated the "sticky's" that are posted about buying from overseas dealers. When I saw the prices from animalsmarket I sent him a couple of emails and was all set to buy some T's. But I decided I better do a little research first and that's when I started to see the warnings!

Chris
 

AubZ

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
1,125
It doesn't pay to do it the wrong way. I once tried and got caught. Fortunately was only given a fine, but Jail time was on the cards. Now I am busy working on the permits as it is far easier and safer from what I gather in my country. You can't import any Brachy's or Aphonopelma albiceps and Aphonopelma pallidum according to our Goverment.

For anybody thinking of trying it, just rem that everywhere they are tightening up on this as the illegal animal trade is almost $8 Billion a year.
 
Last edited:

ZooRex

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 13, 2007
Messages
507
When I first saw animalmarkets add in the classifieds here, I was surprised by two things, 1: P.altrichomatus was avalible on his list 2: The prices were in dollars eventhough he is in the UK. I then PMed him to see what was up. His response was very strange and didn't really answer any of my questions. This was a serious warning sign to me; not only was his methods of shipping T's shifty, he also at very least couldn't speak english well. This is very weird to me, and have given up the idea of doing buisness with this dude. ~ Rex
 
Top