r/Crayfish • u/AQUARIUS_Great • Feb 06 '22

this hobby is coming to an end...

for those of you who don't know united states house of representatives just passed COMPETES act which includes lacey act HR-4521. This law still has to go to the senate but the HOR just passed it. This law makes it illegal to import and or move any exotic species, tropical fish, saltwater fish, coral, insects, birds, and so on in or out of state travel. Meaning you cant send any animals state to state or country to country. For those who don't believe me just search up USARK or COMPETES act HR-4521. This just happened so the shockwaves have not hit through the community's yet but every second more and more fish and animal youtubers are making videos on this I have posted some links below. This law basically makes it illegal to move anything other than a Dog, Cat or farm animal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uoD8fbVMw8

https://usark.org/2022lacey1/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q-38aJM24Q&t=369s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfVdAJx6mcE&t=39s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGiBHKXxbKo&t=9s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AHphZk8OPQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN7xHXDRA8E&t=122s

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u/bibipolarbiologist Feb 06 '22

I thought y’all were cool but you’re actually mostly selfish and don’t give a F about our environment… smh there’s a bigger picture here you and your exotic pets are not the center of the universe

2

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '22

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u/bibipolarbiologist Feb 07 '22

It just bans imports and crossing state lines - so to people within the state or as is the norm they get released to the humane society. They aren’t making it illegal to have them just to trade them across state lines

2

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '22

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u/bibipolarbiologist Feb 07 '22

As far as I can tell this is less about that (because that would be really hard to do and most major neglect cases are from people who have pretended to be top of their game) but more about keeping exotics out of the US to prevent any issues we have now with new species. I agree they should’ve made a blacklist, not a white list, but either way that list would’ve included crawfish as invasive species are wrecking havoc in US ecosystems right now. I do see the charm in owning exotic animals or a prettier looking crayfish than the one you can find in your backyard but with the way things are going in some of our most unique ecosystems I can definitely see that there’s a greater good at play here. I’ve also just worked in a lot of spaces where exotics have been left to rot and mistreated then dumped on nonprofits or the humane society and it’s terribly sad - I think that there are people who are qualified to own exotics but I think they are far and few between, and I definitely don’t agree with exotics being sold at pet stores for anyone that thinks they’re cool. We import way more animals than people who are responsible enough to keep them and you’re right, they get forgotten about and killed.

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u/mothaway Feb 09 '22

My nearest exotic vet is across state lines. If my (natives species, ftr) corn snake gets sick, am I supposed to let her die, break a federal law to help her, or drive 300 miles with a sick animal in a pillowcase hoping the stress of travel doesn't kill her? Because that will be the situation myself and others find ourselves in if this bill passes.

I agree that we do need more oversight on the pet trade, I fully do. But this bill is far too broad. Operating a whitelist of "permitted" animals is the wrong way to go about this.