Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Defenders of Wildlife files petition to list Non-Native Amphibians on Lacey Act

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is
reviewing a petition to list, under the Lacey Act, all live amphibians
or their eggs in trade as injurious unless certified as free of
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid fungus). The importation and
introduction of live amphibians infected with chytrid fungus into the
natural ecosystems of the United States may pose a threat to interests
of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife
resources of the United States. An injurious wildlife listing would
prohibit the importation of live amphibians or their eggs infected with
chytrid fungus into, or transportation between, States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or
possession of the United States by any means, without a permit. We may
issue permits for scientific, medical, educational, or zoological
purposes. This document seeks information from the public to aid in
determining if a proposed rule is warranted.

DATES: We will consider information received or postmarked on or before
December 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#home

Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-R9-
FHC-2009-0093.

U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R9-FHC-2009-0093, Division of Policy and
Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North
Fairfax Drive, Suite 222, Arlington, VA 22203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Jewell, Branch of Aquatic
Invasive Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 770, 4401 N.
Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203; telephone 703-358-2416. If you use
a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 9, 2009, Department of the
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar received a petition from the Defenders
of Wildlife requesting that live amphibians or their eggs in trade be
considered for inclusion in the injurious wildlife regulations (50 CFR
part 16) under the Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42) unless they are free of
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid fungus). The Defenders of
Wildlife is concerned that unregulated trade--primarily for pet use and
as live animals for consumption as frog legs--continues to threaten the
survival of many amphibian species, including domestic and foreign
species listed by the Service under the Endangered Species Act of 1973
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), candidate species, and other
species.

Please stay tuned for further updates from USARK.

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USARK

I suspect that fighting this listing will be MUCH HARDER than the "snake ban" because:

1. Chytrid fungus is a REAL problem as opposed to feral snakes

2. Conservationists and Animal Rights organizations will BOTH be in favour of this listing

3. Amphibian hobbyists may not be that vocal and/or oppose this issue until its too late

But, IMO, this is another proposal that should be vigorously opposed because it could also set precedent for tropical fish restrictions.

You're correct on all counts. Part of being effective advocates of our hobby is choosing our battles. Chytrid is a real problem, and if we think the trade in amphibians can go on without also spreading this fungus, we should step up and put such a proposal on the table. If not, IMO we should support restrictions on trade that will prevent that spread.

That would be highly unfortunate, since I do love my dart frogs! But my enjoyment of my personal hobby should not adversely affect wild amphibian populations.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

I agree with your sentiments, Brad, but this issue, in my opinion, has another edge to it, and that is:

1. Chytrid is already widespread

2. Chytrid may be unstoppable even with regulations in place and 100% conformity (not likely) by hobbyists, as it can spread through out an entire water shed

If point 2 does occur, then our options are:

1. allow frog extinctions to take place

or

2. actively promote captive breeding, by both institutions and the private sector, instead of discouraging it through regulation

I personally believe that education will do much more good than regulation ever will.

That may be true. We really need more firm scientific knowledge on this entire subject.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

Yep, I agree 100%.

It has been documented that academics have spread chytrid to wild populations not the hobbyists and pet trade. Most hobbyists rarely visit wild amphibian sites but academics go from site to site regularly because of monitoring programs and the global amphibian crisis. Researchers have been advocating boot washing and other practices because they realized they were the problem. Hobbyists keep their animals indoors and most don't release captives. Also, I don't believe all the cause and effect relationships have been hashed out. So we jump to conclusions and blame the pet industry? So we enact prohibitive trade regulations that are sure to shut down trade? Sounds like banning agenda.

Now, I do know that chytrid has been found in imported amphibians. But it is a far stretch to enact prohibitive regulations that would ban all trade knowing the facts I stated above concerning hobbyists, the pet trade and academics.

If you subscribe to the flawed precautionary principle then I guess you "buy" this proposed listing. This has nothing to do with the pet trade and everything to do with miss-guided academics and their cronies. It is pure agenda and miss-use of the precautionary principle. It is another example of scapegoating the pet trade. It is another way to demonize the pet trade without just cause. It sounds like someone needs some grant money! And, as usual, academics and zoos are exempt = elitist... and stupid, in light of the fact they are more than likely the cause.

It reminds me of the turtle ban in TX where the mass exodus of food turtles to China was used to ban captive propagation, commercialization and enactment of possession limits for hobbyists yet still allowing the food turtles to continue their mass exodus. Pretty ridiculous and just plain wrong!

Kinda of like the python ban which.......no point in continuing, you get it!

Later,

Welkerii

Yes. I agree. It is the researchers and all those under their purview. Have made similar comments myself.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Agreed 100%. I would also suspect there are quite a few amphibians being distributed throughout the U.S. and other countries on produce and on ornamental plants, but there's absolutely no mention of this in the Defenders of Wildlife Petition or from USF&WS.

"It reminds me of the turtle ban in TX where the mass exodus of food turtles to China was used to ban captive propagation, commercialization and enactment of possession limits for hobbyists yet still allowing the food turtles to continue their mass exodus. Pretty ridiculous and just plain wrong!

Welkerii"

Not true! This was to stop the over collecting of turtles for the Chinese Food Market.

You CAN still breed and sell them if you have a Commercial Permit
and the founding stock is documented.

Efforts are being made to make a "Captive Breeding Permit" available for herpers. I feel that Box Turtles are an ideal candidate to be the first on this permit since anyone that has babies is more than likely producing them and not collecting them.

The problem is...Game Wardens cannot identify cb versus wc even though I feel an inspection would of the facility would remedy that.

With new folks in the department that are not of the "good ol boy" genera, I have hopes this will happen but the wheels are slow to turn for sure.
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Tim Cole
www.austinherpsociety.org
www.AustinReptileExpo.com/
www.AustinReptileService.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
Conservation through Education

Tim,

Well, yes, it is true, however, TPWD has changed the rules as you point out. It would have been nice if they informed Dealer Nongame Permit holders of these new changes. As a permit holder, I was not informed. Unless this is new for the coming year.

The "turtle ban" (part of the White and Black List regulation) was promoted as an emergency measure to stop the collection and sale of turtles being exported to China for food. They didn't specify which turtles (they did this on purpose). But that is not what happened. The food turtle folks are still in business. TPWD still allows the unlimited collection and sale of food turtles (snappers, softshells and red ears) on private property (where most of them came from). And it is still illegal to catch for sale and sell CB offspring of turtles (other than food turtles) that originated from Texas (you can possess 6 for non-commercial purposes). This includes the most popular hobbyist species such as box turtles, map turtles and mud turtles. So I am correct. They used the food turtles to ban hobbyists from captive breeding native Texas turtles. I know several people who liquidated collections because of the ban on native turtle sales. Is that fair to these breeders? I don't think so. Now with the new change you speak of, you can sell captive born offspring, of turtles on the Black List, that were acquired from a legal out of state source not Texas natives. That is new. So, basically, it is okay to get legal turtles from other states and breed them and sell offspring even if they are on the Black List. That is better for hobbyists but it is not good for native Texas turtles. The gene pools of native Texas turtles are prohibited from being produced and sold. That is bad conservation. Captive propagation is conservation. And the private sector foots the bill so tax payers pay nothing to conserve these turtles. These gene pools will now be lost to development, pollution and roads.

And what happens when the other states shut down wild harvest or ban selling? We will not have ANY access to wild caught stock. Denying citizens the right to sustainably harvest wild caught herps (including turtles) is wrong in my opinion. Turtles can be sustainably harvested, as all animals can. Also, what you do with sustainably harvested animals (keep, sell or kill) is inconsequential.

Welkerii

Defenders of Wildlife files petition
Defenders of Wildlife files petition