Chameleons Legal or Illegal in Australia

[Retic]

Andrew, that is absolutely the best thing they could do. Chameleons are no threat to the environment or native animals, assuming they are clean animals.

 

[peterjohnson64]

I went to the bank recently and had an interesting conversation with the woman behind the counter. Most people in out town know that I keep herps due to some recent publicity. She was very proud to tell me about her friend's chameleon.

 

[Dicco]

Haha, I like it when people say certain exotics are no threat at all, even though there is no evidence to say that , gotta love heresay and assumption hehe

 

[Hickson]

Beat me to it, Dicco!



Hix

 

[Greebo]

"Highly illegal"?

Not true. There is no reason why you can't legally keep a chameleon. The only requirement is that you have to open your own private zoo. :lol:

 

[Retic]

Can they be highly illegal ? Is that more illegal than just illegal ?

 

[Dicco]

Yeah boa of course, just like those 'Ultra Modern' houses you hear developers trying to sell

 

[Moreliaman]

Or you could go for the "blue peter" idea.............., get some glue, sticky back tape, scissors, & an old reptile magazine, cut out pics of chamelons & stick them around your home, you could even move them around to confuse your friends into thinking their really moving !, and you can have any specie you want without the fear of prosecution !

 

[SLACkra]

Haha, I like it when people say certain exotics are no threat at all, even though there is no evidence to say that , gotta love heresay and assumption hehe

now i ment that actually to get an animal onto the ok list would be after alot of research, looking at the animals chance of goign feral in australia and looking at if it has gone feral in other countries. look at their breeding, how many how frequent. what defences they have from predators and what would eat them etc. sadly enough you probably wouldnt' need to even import any animal considering how many illegal ones there already are. then make a new type of licence, eg victoria you got basic, advanced and exotic. to get an exotic licence you need to have a basic or advanced for a couple years or so.

though i am still pretty undecided, thats one way they could do it but the question i ask myself is "is it worth risking it"

andrew

 

[Saz]

If we were ever allowed to keep exotics, a chameleon would be the first on my list. Here's one a mate of mine held in South Africa recently (wild) whilst on safari. Apparently the 'natives' won't touch them because they think they are evil.

 

[pythoness]

but there just sooooooooooooooooooo cute, how could anything that cute be evil? lol

 

[Retic]

That's the point, they aren't

 

[Saz]

I know, so cute!! They look like they are wearing mittens. I think it's something about the goggly eyes that makes them think they are evil. Can't remember the whole story behind it though.

 

[SLACkra]

well they aren't evil but are they or arent they a threat to become a feral species. do they breed fast enough? will they be able to avoid predators or will they become just another snack?

one thing we have learned is never introduce a species capable of defending itself with poison....

andrew

 

[Retic]

I think it is fairly safe to say that a chameleon is NOT a potential threat to anything in this country. Whether they would be able to establish feral populations, well who knows but they certainly aren't capable of threatening other species.

well they aren't evil but are they or arent they a threat to become a feral species. do they breed fast enough? will they be able to avoid predators or will they become just another snack?

one thing we have learned is never introduce a species capable of defending itself with poison....

andrew

 

[Hickson]

They certainly are, if the species concerned is an invertebrate.

If a small feral population occurred in an area where an endangered insect lived, and the insect was endangered because of it's small distribution, then I'd say that chameleons would be a real threat.



Hix

 

[SLACkra]

I think it is fairly safe to say that a chameleon is NOT a potential threat to anything in this country. Whether they would be able to establish feral populations, well who knows but they certainly aren't capable of threatening other species.

eating other animals food for one... these little(or insome causes large) guys can hide very efficiently. some species are smaller than you pinky when their adults! i would find it hard to beleive they would be easy to eradicate if they went ferral! alot of research would be nessesary to catagorise animals as safe or unsafe. however some things like giant galapogase tortoises wouldn't be a threat as well if they went feral i think you would be pretty hard pressed to not notice some of the largest tortoise in the world! even when their bubs they're pretty big.

andrew

 

[Hickson]

I could see Galapagos tortoises being a threat if there were feral populations.

Granted, it would take a while for feral populations to build up, but you can't say categorically that they wouldn't be a threat.



Hix

 

[Guest]

what amuses me the most about the pro and con arguments for exotics in Australia

1. they are not legal here full stop.
2. the chances of them being legalised is virtually zip.
3. seeing its not likely this situation will change in the near future...
whats the point of all the pro and con arguments in these forums anyway :roll:
4. Its the same old stuff over and over and over again :roll:

 

[Retic]

Absolutely, imagine what they would do to your veggie patch...........eventually anyway.

I could see Galapagos tortoises being a threat if there were feral populations.





Hix