Breaking The Law

[josh_g]

You can keep either of the mentioned fish with a permit. I wanna try and get one to keep some channa argus (northern snakehead) one day that would be sweet.

 

[Crossfire]

Snakeheads are are evil, evil fish! The UK has the right idea by banning them....look at what happened to the Potomac River!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I know for a fact the relevant US Govt. Agencies monitor AquaBid for illegal species and plants being offered for sale. I am not sure what other sites they might watch. But think about about it for a minute. If your job was one which involved enforcing the regulations, where would it occur to you might be a good place to look for leads into who or where illegal species might be.

I know I would be inclined to monitor online fish sites. So I do not think it matters whether of not the mods would report one. And wgy would you limit it to the mods? Why can't any concerned member who may agree with the laws report something like this?

I simply do not understand people today. They think it is smart to post a vid of themselves breaking the law. I always thought the idea when one committed a crime was not to get caught. And as part of that one tried to hide all evidence of such not splatter it out there for the world to see.

 

[lloyd]

I know for a fact the relevant US Govt. Agencies monitor AquaBid for illegal species and plants being offered for sale. I am not sure what other sites they might watch. But think about about it for a minute. If your job was one which involved enforcing the regulations, where would it occur to you might be a good place to look for leads into who or where illegal species might be.

I know I would be inclined to monitor online fish sites. So I do not think it matters whether of not the mods would report one. And wgy would you limit it to the mods? Why can't any concerned member who may agree with the laws report something like this?

I simply do not understand people today. They think it is smart to post a vid of themselves breaking the law. I always thought the idea when one committed a crime was not to get caught. And as part of that one tried to hide all evidence of such not splatter it out there for the world to see.

well if i ever brake the law with some illegal fish please dont look at my posts and tell the authorities

 

[FishFanatic04]

I know for a fact the relevant US Govt. Agencies monitor AquaBid for illegal species and plants being offered for sale. I am not sure what other sites they might watch. But think about about it for a minute. If your job was one which involved enforcing the regulations, where would it occur to you might be a good place to look for leads into who or where illegal species might be.

I know I would be inclined to monitor online fish sites. So I do not think it matters whether of not the mods would report one. And wgy would you limit it to the mods? Why can't any concerned member who may agree with the laws report something like this?

I simply do not understand people today. They think it is smart to post a vid of themselves breaking the law. I always thought the idea when one committed a crime was not to get caught. And as part of that one tried to hide all evidence of such not splatter it out there for the world to see.

Too right. That's why I keep all my videos of me doing illegal things to myself. Just in case.


The forum has a search box, key words like "snakehead" would bring up all of the posts.

 

[KittyKat]

[…] it's easier just to ban them outright than to state that you can only keep with a license/in a pond blah blah.

There are actually very few fish that are banned outright. In fact, most species are covered by Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (section 14), which pretty much just says "releasing non-native species is an offence".

It is free to apply for a licence for those species that cannot be kept freely, so why not just try it? The form is quite simple and the accompanying leaflet has the full list of which fish need a licence (including which are covered by a blanket licence) and exceptions. The list is covered by The Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species), Order 1998 and the amendment (2003).

Of course, the problem is that the licence form asks for the supplier of the species, so they also need to have a licence or the fish need to be imported from abroad.

 

[josh_g]

snakeheads are far from evil fish they do what they have to survive. It's like saying a lion is evil because it hunts other animal to survive. What a tard. And only channa argus are banned in the U.K pick up a book

 

[lloyd]

Technically my question still hasnt been answered

 

[PERCY]

Technically my question still hasnt been answered

I'm pretty sure you haven't gave them your personal details so how could they report you?

 

[KittyKat]

would the mod team be ablieged to try and alert the appropriate authorities?

There is no legal obligation to report an offence, but apparently there is a moral duty to do so. On the other hand, if the person keeping a fish illegally got caught and taken to court (the fine in the first case brought under the ILFA was £1650 + £2000 in fees), then anyone asked to help with the prosecution would be obliged to do so, or they would be perverting the course of justice.

 

[Baccus]

Recently a forum memeber on another forum I frequent suspected another member of selling a new previously unknown shrimp species in Australia, (for those who don't know Australia is a stickler for not allowing live imports of inverts and even cherry shrimp, crystal reds and crystal black shrimp are not "techniqually"or officially here) since the person was reported to mods the owners/ managers of the site has put a ban on their sales section tread of ALL non native shrimp. This ban has made a lot of shrimp loving members feel they are all being victimised for the actions of one individual.

So I would say that if a member of any forum/ online community flaunted the law than any other member has the right/ potential/ obligation to bring the suspect actions to the notice of the powers that be.

Personally I don't agree with how the other forum has dealt with their problem, but at the same time although I moan about not being able to get Sulawesi shrimp I realise the ecological impact the accidential or deliberate release of any species can have. And I have no doubt that enviromental protection agentacies would be monitering any online communities relating to what they are trying to protect.

 

[Mauigirl]

WOW!! without question, your right to own/enjoy a pet is far , far , far, outweighed by the potential, however small, and your intention good to ever allow a potential introduction of an invasive / destructive species to even come close.
Best of intentions become the worst of mistakes.
I love the fact that some are not allowed in areas because of this, just means as a species ourselves (supposedly the dominant one) we are (starting) to pay attention to at least part of our total Biotope.
Balance and a attention to the integrity as if we weren't here is preferable. less foot print more soft stepping IMO!!!

 

[raptorrex]

i would, without thought, report them. especially as many are just "current trend" pets.
its not the actions, or carelessness of the keeper so much, as the actions of suppliers who find them selves with stock they cant shift.
massive environmental damage has already been done, with this sort of thing.
I'm unsure why anyone thinks they have the right to decide which laws they follow.

and YES, DEFRA will follow online, if a problem has been reported. several years ago a seller was nabbed, for selling Marble Crayfish (UK), because of forum/community reports.

if you are going to keep illegal stock, be bright enough to keep your mouth shut, at least.

 

[MBOU]

^ I have to agree.

Laws might be a complete pain in the backside but they are generally there for a reason.

If you decide to break the law then realistically, you deserve the consequence of doing so. I think if people steal, cause harm, threaten, damage property etc which are all breaking the law then those people all deserve to be punished. IMO law is the law and its there for a reason, if you break it... you cant complain if other people report you for doing so.

That said, I dont have any doubt that they could probably track you down anyway. I'm sure they could easily find out your name from the forums and no doubt be well within their rights to your IP address or whatever. Big Brothers watching you people are very easy to track online.

Its completely unrelated but on another forum i was on, a member reported another member to the police (thinking they were going to cause harm to themselves or someone else in the process) and they got whatever warrant? they needed and used the forums and internet to track down the address for this person. Turned up on their doorstep. Didnt take many hours for them to do...

EDIT: I think its one thing when a member of this forum has accidentally been sold a banned species of fish and its been pointed out on the forums etc... but when the member chooses to ignore advise, flaunt the fact that they have a banned species and keep posting about it and the fact they are looking for yet more banned species to go in a pond... I personally think it *is* within the Mods right to report it... if anything... i think they should be reporting it because like it was pointed out, forums are often where people go to when they get odd fish.