Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been wondering recently,exactly how hard it is to illegally import an animal like say a parsons chameleon.i am not an importer and have no desire to obtain a parsons but im just wondering exactly whats stopping someone from sneaking in a couple parsons or other restricted chameleons in a shipment of say panthers from madagascar.like i said,i have no experience in this matter,but everything i have read about mass shipments of animals is that they are usually not seperated and many animals are in one cage.wouldnt it take an experienced eye and quite a bit of time to pick out a young parsons from a cage full of panthers?

>>i have been wondering recently,exactly how hard it is to illegally import an animal like say a parsons chameleon.i am not an importer and have no desire to obtain a parsons but im just wondering exactly whats stopping someone from sneaking in a couple parsons or other restricted chameleons in a shipment of say panthers from madagascar.like i said,i have no experience in this matter,but everything i have read about mass shipments of animals is that they are usually not seperated and many animals are in one cage.wouldnt it take an experienced eye and quite a bit of time to pick out a young parsons from a cage full of panthers?

C. parsonii have become a species of special focus to CITES and the FWS. They keep a fairly close eye on imports of this species and shipments which might contain them. They aren't very difficult to differentiate, even as juveniles, with minimal coaching. An importer would have to explain the processes of the fws inspections. While I'm sure a determined individual could find a way, most exporters and importers won't take the risk as getting caught doing this could carry major penalties and fines as well as being heavily watched and hassled for a long time in any future importations. The result for the animal is also not pleasant if they are found as most will die in the zoos they are distributed to after they are confiscated. Finally, attempting to do so undermines every effort of those who try to conduct legal shipments of chameleons and those who work with them in captivity. It simply is a bad idea and the potential consequences to those immediately involved and the rest of the chameleon community are not pleasant.

Chris
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Chris Anderson
parsonii_hoehnelii@hotmail.com
Editor - Chameleons! Online E-zine: http://www.chameleonnews.com/
Admin - Captive Chameleon Bloodline Tracking Database (CCBTD): http://www.chameleondatabase.com/
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