Legality of Fly River Turtles

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I'm kinda confused does this mean they are legal are we talking technically??? does this mean wtb or wts can be done on mfk???? I'm :confused:
 
Nic;1011679; said:
I'm kinda confused does this mean they are legal are we talking technically??? does this mean wtb or wts can be done on mfk???? I'm :confused:

From what i understand it means that they cannot be exported from their country of origin (ie there native land), but can be smuggled through to surrounding and near countries and can then be exported legally to other countries such as you in the US, as the country exporting is no longer the FRTs native land.
 
i don't think it works like that. if so, wouldn't asian arowanas be legal if i import them into the US from canada?

yes, this is a big grey area. i see this over and over again. i was recently looking at a young pair of cuoras. they have been on cites 2 since 1997. so should i put my head in the sand? btw the seller who is stating that they are wc
 
b-man;1011852; said:
i don't think it works like that. if so, wouldn't asian arowanas be legal if i import them into the US from canada?

yes, this is a big grey area. i see this over and over again. i was recently looking at a young pair of cuoras. they have been on cites 2 since 1997. so should i put my head in the sand? btw the seller who is stating that they are wc

Asian aros are protected by CITES and applicable laws that FRTs aren't...
 
CITES class II allows restricted sale which is exactly what this is. Sometimes the CITES listing is a bad thing as it adds appeal to a collectors list. Overall it adds dollars to the price which is usually a good thing as even illegally sold specimens will be more valuable and hence appreciated in its country. The world is made of these grey areas otherwise we wouldnt have or need lawyers.

There are also a small minority of wildlife keepers who have the means and knowledge to try captive breeding of species. Imagine if a species were totally protected and its habbitat got wiped out ... wouldnt you hope that some specimens were illegally caught, sold and hopefully bred???

If its a ethical and legal issue then the only person who can decide this is yourself. If you are simply a collector then my advice is to pass. If you are trying to breed then I would encourage you buy even though this may be illegal.
 
b-man;1011908; said:
uhmm.......

frt are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:
and listed is on CITES: Appendix II as of 2004.

Sorry was told by someone I thought knew that they weren't.
 
Yes, you can have FRTs. The CITES Appendix II listing allows for the legal export of this species from their countries of origin. The US ESA allows for the importation of LEGALLY exported (with proper paperwork) FRTs from their countries of origin.
Once legally in the US, no further paperwork is required under the current revisions of the laws. The only paperwork required is a legal import license held by the US importer. No paperwork is required for the sale of FRTs to distributors/wholesalers. And, no paperwork is required by the retail end-user (hobbyist).
 
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