American admits smuggling Aussie lizards

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Haha, I never said I had all the answers but I do think the export ban should stay in place. This is a complex issue and being at work I don't have the time to go into it right now.
 
Lol. It is a VERY complex issue, and I wonder if there is even an answer. There must be some viable options available, even if they just reduce the flow by part. I'm not necessarily for or against an o/s export industry - I'd need to know more info to make up my mind. But I would like to see some proactive, rather than reactive, attempts by our gov't to put an end to this crime.
 
Agreed, I have a few ideas I think would work and have worked for fishery exports etc. I'll post tonight.
 
Only in wealthy countries, slim6y. Being able to afford to purchase, keep and care for any pet is a luxury that you won't often see in developing countries. In fact, in a lot of the poorer countries, any animal that is not human is simply seen as a source of protein.
Having said that, some of the more 'switched on' locals are now discovering that there is money to be made from the live animal trade...
The thing that REALLY bugs me about this article is that the animals were wild caught! Harsh penalties 'though... quarter mil fine and 20 yrs... whoosh...
Nic

Sorry to backtrack, but I haven't found this to be strictly true. There is a big difference in developing countries between the kinds of animals that are smuggled, and whether or not locals can afford to have their own pets. The smuggled animals are always reserved for the wealthy. However, that's not to say that more common pets are not kept or seen as only a source of protein. I've never been in any culture where there hasn't been a healthy population of pet animals in society, though the way different cultures view these animals can be starkly contrasted, at times.

In terms of smuggling, the pet market is worth more than food market. In terms of wildlife in a developing country, the food market probably is higher, but that's not to say that there are no pets, either :) I hope I'm making sense.
 
11 depressa @ 1800ea, 2 x varanus pilb. @ 800ea, 2 x Nww @ 5k ea, more like 30k than the 8500 quoted. why is it only australian authorities that quote tenfold prices?

a few members are happy he ditched his cell and didn't fess up his arrangements with aussie herpers. who showed him good spots for red depressa and V.pilbs? whose place did he visit 2 days before leaving who inadvertantly made the call to a tennesee herper who snitched him in? (hint : the same qld person he dropped off a cache of nww as part of an arrangement )

still, it's an anxious wait for sentencing, he may still roll for a soft result.
 
I doubt "pet smuggling" can even compare to smuggling of wildlife pieces for medicinal soups.
Some members are obsession with pets pets pets.

I don't have the room for a live whale at home, but have been known to make room in my belly for a slice.
 
still, it's an anxious wait for sentencing, he may still roll for a soft result.[/QUOTE]

Wouldn't it be interesting if he did. Though theres F 'all anyone can do about it.
 
Smuggling of native Australian species is rife and always will be while there is a strong demand for our animals overseas. This is not something that receives a lot of attention from law enforcement authorities and the agencies that do give it some priority are not equipt with the coercive powers necessary to carry out sophistocated operations. Trust me.

Also the associated risks are low when compared with other illegal commodities such as drugs and weapons so it is seen by some as a relativley safe way to make some extra cash.

All I see here is rhetorical whinging based on misplaced sentiment. Wildlife smuggling is not "rife". If anything, smuggling is riskier than ever before due to technology and the war on terror causing searches of practically everything and everyone traveling.

Law enforcement authorities do indeed give attention to smuggling wildlife; it is preposterous to state otherwise.

The "associated risks" are not low; as I stated, the risks of getting caught are the same whether your pocket has drugs or lizards in it. I doubt Mr Plank, who is looking at a potential stretch of 20 years, would agree with you.
 
baggins I disagree with you for a number of reasons and I think I'm qualified to do so as I actually work for a LEA.

I'm not going to discuss methodologies
On a public forum but you are wrong on a number of levels.
 
I think the export bans need to stay though, otherwise there will be even more pressure on wild populations.

This is specious whinging and handwringing. We've got a country the size of the united states with practically no one living here; ( as compared to the size of the United States population ) there isn't smuggling/pet trade "pressure on wild populations" like you appear to want to believe there is.

Enough of this tail wagging the dog crap; this country shouldn't be made to stand on its nose because of the actions of a very few Mr Planks. The reality is, licensed breeders could export captive bred animals that they have legally produced. The entire process could be documented and managed, like it is out in the real world.
 
I go with you nouc, how hard would it be to take a small plane from Port Moresby (or near by) to Mareeba airport? No customs, no border security, in fact, no one around most of the time.
One question for you nouc, if we have such good border control in place, how did the 2000 GTPs found its way from Indonesia to Sydney in 1007 and 2008?
 
11 depressa @ 1800ea, 2 x varanus pilb. @ 800ea, 2 x Nww @ 5k ea, more like 30k than the 8500 quoted. why is it only australian authorities that quote tenfold prices?

a few members are happy he ditched his cell and didn't fess up his arrangements with aussie herpers. who showed him good spots for red depressa and V.pilbs? whose place did he visit 2 days before leaving who inadvertantly made the call to a tennesee herper who snitched him in? (hint : the same qld person he dropped off a cache of nww as part of an arrangement )

still, it's an anxious wait for sentencing, he may still roll for a soft result.

Someone seems to have some inside info....lol...

I'm not emplying you are involved by the way.....
 
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The reality is, licensed breeders could export captive bred animals that they have legally produced. The entire process could be documented and managed, like it is out in the real world.

I would hazzard a guess that the animals that overseas keepers would want to import, would be the rarer species and the specific morphs not held in collections outside of Australia. So then we would have an Australian hobby where not only are we restricted to Native animals only, the special animals are shipped off to the keepers with the deepest pockets. So even if exporting where allowed who would it benefit? Apart from a handful of specific breeders....
 
Waterrat the fact is we don't have good border security and despite what you hear from the politicians you can pretty much get whatever you want into the country. Look at how much the government spends on stopping drugs comming in but still it's readily available. Almost all drugs and precursor chemicals (other than cannabis) come form overseas.

With regard to this discussion, it's no secret that they watch what comes in much more closely than what goes out.
 
There is financial gain to be made by the government "allowing" pharmaceuticals into the country, but I doubt the same could be said for either the import of export of native or non-native reptiles. I'm not sure that you will find the answers by comparing the two.

Michael, I imagine those animals got here by some means similar to what you suggest. It wouldn't take a criminal mastermind to think of a plan like this. Hell, my dad mentioned starting an illegal venture like this to me last week ;) I declined, of course :D
 
I agree that licensed exporting would work but it would need to be tightly controlled. This has worked for other native species, so why not reptiles?

There have to be changes to domestic legislation first though.
 
Kristy you missed the point, and what is the financial gain to allowing cocaine into the country?
 
This thread was is about smuggling wildlife out of Australia, not in.
 
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