Is it legal to sell Jumping Spiders (P. Regius) in NYC?

[The Snark]

but most laws of this type were written for people who don't know much about animals, by people who know even less about animals.

By people who would have trouble telling a salticid from a saw scale viper.

 

[Olga8Legs]

Arachnopets is correct. It's illegal. The law is a funny, imprecise thing. When they talk about venomous animals, they include both Taipans and Phidippus. Seems kind of dumb, but most laws of this type were written for people who don't know much about animals, by people who know even less about animals. There is no gray area in this type of wording. If an invert has venom, it's included under the law. There is going to be no discussion with anyone on this, as all they have to do is Google it (which is probably what they will do).

Here is just about the best way this could play out. Someone sees your selling those cute little spiders. They are offended that you keep them in a cramped container. They make a call...

You get a citation for this (happens ALL the time to people who think that no one is watching online sales). The fine is a couple of hundred dollars, or you can pay a lawyer a couple of hundred dollars to get the charges dropped. Either way, you are the big loser here. If you want to give them to friends, you are pretty safe. But if you want to sell them, all it takes is one person to make a call. I would not mess with the animal cops in NYC. They have zero sense of humor and you are absolutely guaranteed of a citation if they show up at your door.

I work daily with US Fish and Wildlife Officers. People call them over the smallest infractions (real and imagined) you could think of. While on that subject, if you were to be found owning an illegal spider (yes, I'm talking P. regius held illegally in NYC) and offering or selling them over state lines, that is an honest-to-God violation of the Lacey Act. That's a felony. Sure, the charge might not stick, but how much do you think lawyer fees are to defend you, pre-trial, for a felony?

Dude, this is just a bad idea. Sounds good on paper, but the downside could be seriously bad. JMO.

Thank you for this informative answer! Well, I wish the place that sold me them and shipped them to me in NYC had known abut this law, because I had no idea till I looked it up. Sheesh. Now what do I do with 300+ slings? Good grief!

 

[The Snark]

Sheesh. Now what do I do with 300+ slings? Good grief!

Love it. A leap from the biological to political through the legal and on into the philosophical. That one is making my frontal lobes throb.

 

[Olga8Legs]

Love it. A leap from the biological to political through the legal and on into the philosophical. That one is making my frontal lobes throb.

Thanks for joining me on my journey haha.

 

[The Snark]

@Olga8Legs Rethinking this. I did not mean to make fun of you. It is a dilemma you have. I would however point out, you had no criminal intent and it isn't reasonable that every person knows each and every law. Now that you know, are you violating the law? You shouldn't be in possession of those animals but through no fault of your own you are. Possession of them is legal or so it appears. A DA or a judge would likely rule that and offer you the warning that need not be said to not go shipping them. They would also have trouble making a case that they should be destroyed.
So I would say, enjoy the kids and call it a learning lesson.

 

[Olga8Legs]

@Olga8Legs Rethinking this. I did not mean to make fun of you. It is a dilemma you have. I would however point out, you had no criminal intent and it isn't reasonable that every person knows each and every law. Now that you know, are you violating the law? You shouldn't be in possession of those animals but through no fault of your own you are. Possession of them is legal or so it appears. A DA or a judge would likely rule that and offer you the warning that need not be said to not go shipping them. They would also have trouble making a case that they should be destroyed.
So I would say, enjoy the kids and call it a learning lesson.

Thanks, I think I'm going to see if a nearby spider person in NJ will take them. What a bummer. At least I can enjoy the Pholcids who live in my house.