I am having a very hard time understanding your objections to someone keeping Rusty crayfish if they aren't breaking any laws and have no intention of releasing them into the wild.Sure they are invasive but so are a ton of other things which one is permitted to purchase. There are a lot of things in Canada which pose a threat or may pose a threat but aren't banned in most if any provinces. Off the top of my head Fanwort, Milfoil, Asian Clams, Snakeheads (only Ontario and Saskatchewan)), Koi, Weather Loach, Water Chestnut,Red Swamp Crayfish, Yellow Floating Heart ect.. I am no expert on your guys laws in the states, I know more things are banned there then here and the various states have there prohibited/regulated lists but the fact remains there are various plants and creatures for sale which are invasive and do pose a threat to the regions in which they are being sold in.I believe Koi are permitted in most if not all states (possible exception Maine) and they have a fairly nasty reputation as an invasive species.They can do lots of damage, a few years back in New Brunswick I believe they did serious damage to a trout pond or Lake and the government had to poison the whole thing to get rid of them. Maine is concerned enough about them to ban them, other states with similar climates don't.Point is they have invasive tendencies and lots of people keep them and lots of places permit them.I did some reading on things with invasive tendencies on the following websites, though I am not sure how current the info is (possibly some things have changed in regards to whats prohibited) but anyway here they are.
http://www.creativepondsandlandscapes.com/DNRexoticplants.htm
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/species.asp?filterBy=Aquatic&filterVal=Y
One notices that various species of an invasive nature are prohibited in some places and permitted in others and it isn't necessarily because they can't survive and pose a threat in the places they are permitted, its solely based on the decision of the state. I notice via your profile that you are from Minnesota. Minnesota did and from what I can see still does allow the sale of both Fanwort and Yellow Floating Heart. Those species are doing some real damage in my country and are highly invasive. Fanwort is choking some lakes in Ontario to death and spreading uncontrollably and right here in my province of Nova Scotia Yellow Floating Heart has invaded and is basically killing Little Albro lake ( I can post some pictures of both situations if you like I am afraid its pretty nasty stuff). I would venture a guess that they would do the same in your state given its similar climate.Seems like its legal to buy/sell/possess them there unless something has changed.. My point is that there are lots of things out there with invasive reputations possessed by a lot of people, so just because something has the reputation doesn't mean its wrong to want to possess them or at the very least there are a lot of people doing the same thing as i am trying to do (own something with an invasive reputation).
It boils down to whats legal by law and what isn't. I am a law abiding citizen and if its illegal to sell them everywhere and illegal to import them then i am perfectly fine with fully dropping the subject ( i am no law breaker).In regards to "other crayfish being available I have tried Australian Blue, Australian Redclaw, Red Swamp and marbled and that is about all the types one can get directly at the pet stores in my province so if I want to try"other types" I have to look a bit further afield. I want to try the Rusty because they are big, very hardy and active. they have an invasive reputation but so do a lot of other things on the market.I am not pro invasive species in the least but at the end of the day its the governments responsibility to prohibit and regulate things not mine. If they are a serious threat then possession and sale should be banned everywhere.My obligations as the owner/buyer are to not purchase or import prohibited species and not to release anything into the wild. It isn't to not buy something which i am legally allowed to have simply because its got invasive tendencies. After all barring any ill prepared ill conceived outdoor setup allowing accidental escape any species in a proper indoor setup is only as invasive as its owner allows it to be.
Let me also say I am no expert on the American laws and I am not personally attacking you. I only have 2 simple questions which I would like to see some proof with. Is it legal/illegal to buy and sell Rusty Crayfish in every part of the states they are found and is it legal/illegal to import them. I just need clarification on these points. If its legal in places then I would like to know where to get them. If its illegal everywheres then I will drop the subject,apologize and try another type. Thanks
http://www.creativepondsandlandscapes.com/DNRexoticplants.htm
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/species.asp?filterBy=Aquatic&filterVal=Y
One notices that various species of an invasive nature are prohibited in some places and permitted in others and it isn't necessarily because they can't survive and pose a threat in the places they are permitted, its solely based on the decision of the state. I notice via your profile that you are from Minnesota. Minnesota did and from what I can see still does allow the sale of both Fanwort and Yellow Floating Heart. Those species are doing some real damage in my country and are highly invasive. Fanwort is choking some lakes in Ontario to death and spreading uncontrollably and right here in my province of Nova Scotia Yellow Floating Heart has invaded and is basically killing Little Albro lake ( I can post some pictures of both situations if you like I am afraid its pretty nasty stuff). I would venture a guess that they would do the same in your state given its similar climate.Seems like its legal to buy/sell/possess them there unless something has changed.. My point is that there are lots of things out there with invasive reputations possessed by a lot of people, so just because something has the reputation doesn't mean its wrong to want to possess them or at the very least there are a lot of people doing the same thing as i am trying to do (own something with an invasive reputation).
It boils down to whats legal by law and what isn't. I am a law abiding citizen and if its illegal to sell them everywhere and illegal to import them then i am perfectly fine with fully dropping the subject ( i am no law breaker).In regards to "other crayfish being available I have tried Australian Blue, Australian Redclaw, Red Swamp and marbled and that is about all the types one can get directly at the pet stores in my province so if I want to try"other types" I have to look a bit further afield. I want to try the Rusty because they are big, very hardy and active. they have an invasive reputation but so do a lot of other things on the market.I am not pro invasive species in the least but at the end of the day its the governments responsibility to prohibit and regulate things not mine. If they are a serious threat then possession and sale should be banned everywhere.My obligations as the owner/buyer are to not purchase or import prohibited species and not to release anything into the wild. It isn't to not buy something which i am legally allowed to have simply because its got invasive tendencies. After all barring any ill prepared ill conceived outdoor setup allowing accidental escape any species in a proper indoor setup is only as invasive as its owner allows it to be.
Let me also say I am no expert on the American laws and I am not personally attacking you. I only have 2 simple questions which I would like to see some proof with. Is it legal/illegal to buy and sell Rusty Crayfish in every part of the states they are found and is it legal/illegal to import them. I just need clarification on these points. If its legal in places then I would like to know where to get them. If its illegal everywheres then I will drop the subject,apologize and try another type. Thanks
