- Joined
- Mar 6, 2006
- Messages
- 528
I just noticed something in another thread and was curious about it...are millipedes illegal now or something? Maybe I have been a bit too much out of the loop! any help?
Um, the USDA regulators who regularly read exotic pet boards to find people dealing in verboten species?but really what cop is not only gonna know but bust you for them...i guess its just customs to worry about now
When you say "raided" do you mean they kicked down the door with a search warrant, or they knocked and asked to come in without a search warrant?Um, the USDA regulators who regularly read exotic pet boards to find people dealing in verboten species?
People posting things like Phasmids for sale have had their homes raided by the USDA and animals confiscated.
And, yes, while there's been no uniformity to the enforcement, AGBs have been confiscated in such raids. Any animal that is classified as either a plant eater or a predator of honeybees falls under their regulation (this is why exotic mantids are currently not being sold openly by most dealer because they made an issue of them last year).
The choice you neglected, came in with warrant politely; that's how most warrants are served minus the occasional violent individual where it's warranted and the hundreds of thousands of peaceful drug offenders where it is never justified.When you say "raided" do you mean they kicked down the door with a search warrant, or they knocked and asked to come in without a search warrant?
Well, I wouldn’t call it politely. If people come to your house with a search warrant, the warrant is backed with the threat of force.(guns) Insects and drug use are poor excuses to exercise force on someone, in my opinion.The choice you neglected, came in with warrant politely; that's how most warrants are served minus the occasional violent individual where it's warranted and the hundreds of thousands of peaceful drug offenders where it is never justified.
Any time they don't take a battering ram to my door and put a gun to the back of my daughter's head, I'll call that polite when dealing with our messed up cultureWell, I wouldn’t call it politely. If people come to your house with a search warrant, the warrant is backed with the threat of force.(guns) Insects and drug use are poor excuses to exercise force on someone, in my opinion.
Thank you for your time and response. I appreciate it.
Millipedes are apparently being siezed, or else the USDA has simply stated that they are going to. My local (independant) pet shop tells me they've dissapeared from the wholesle lists. However, PetCo, for some reason, still seems to have them.
The justification the USDA gives for blocking millipedes (and mantids, BTW) is that they are afraid of the mites that might come in on imports. I also assumed that the reasoning was the broad "plant pest" definition. A friend of mine who works for a museum that has USDA APHIS permits informs me that the reason for blocking them is that a particular mite that is a known pest of flower bulbs has been found on imported A. gigas. Why we have to get that second hand and why the USDA is apparently unwilling to actually give reasons for their actions to the hobby at large is beyond me. You can't even get a straight answer if you try to contact them about a particular species, they tell you to apply for the permit (which few people qualify for).
Wade
What chance do Nile crocodiles or cobras have of seriously disrupting the ecosystem, or becoming established? (Outside of Florida, which is a bit of a basketcase now) A cobra in your yard is a cobra in your yard, an invert in your yard likely means there are a lot more.It is hard to get a straight answer on this anywhere. My real question is how come the mega stores still carry them....ie Petco Petsmart Petland, and yet the USDA cracks down on every day joe?
IMO you would think they would be the "high profile" type targeted first. None of it makes sense to me.
How can it be illegal to import and sell a millipede, and yet I see websites sellling Nile Crocodiles, Cobras, Mambas, according to the site "legally"? I mean millipede vs. Cobra? Which would you be more worried about in your backyard?
And I cant find a good source for the millis I want, even though there are most likely established populations in south FLorida as invasives already!!
I agree that a millipede is not going to be a threat here when it is 0F and snow covered outside my window, but that doesn't influence the law. I do not agree with the fact many species which pose no threat are kept out, but I can understand the logic.Crono you seem to have missed my point.
A nile crocodile, a venemous snake, can kill a HUMAN, a millipede can destroy a plant, maybe. Except they eat dead matter not living plants that I know of? And for them to be a threat to anything many more than 1 would have to be released, where as just 1 dangerous reptile can be a threat to people.
The laws are not about protecting people but protecting big business.
Now Im not saying that Zebra Mussels, invasive Gobys, buckthorn, etc etc are not dangerous to an ecosystem when they invade and take hold. I understand the potential for problems. Its just that to me sometimes the laws are not here to protect us.
I mean name me states in the US where any tropical millipede from Indonesia, Madagascar, etc could become established and viable given our climate? Florida is about the only place in the US where any of the large tropical millis would have even a shot at survival. If I let any tropical giant pede go it would die outside. It might live through May - Sept but it would die. And these creatures are so slow in growing, how long before a breeding population could realistically grow in the wild? You said inverts are small and reproduce fast....... most of the pet trade Millipedes are NOT small at all. 6 inches to a foot long as imported adults. That is why people want them. And again , they are not fast reproducing as you state. It can take 5 years or longer for some spp of millipedes to reach sexual maturity.
These are not highly adaptive, hardy spp like Buckthorn, or Zebra Mussel. These are spp that need a highly specific climate and ecosystem to survive in. Anyhow, I dont have any problem with venemous snakes, reptiles in the trade etc.....I was really only making a point.....