Wild Caught, Poaching?

[Chameleon Brothers]

I was wondering how people get wild caught chameleons. Is it considered poaching?

 

[Psychedelic Chams]

No its illegal to transport them though smugglers get caught often

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Some wild caught chameleons are legally allowed to be exported and there are quotas on how many are allowed out of their native ranges over the year. So that's where majority of them come from but there are some smugglers and poachers that get around the system. Those are the most harmful because the quotas at least *try* to address sensitivty of the species population. Some quotas do that better than others.

 

[Chameleon Brothers]

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How do people get in touch with people who do this legally?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

You find ads of chams for sale, such as on kingsnake.com or sometimes some of the online stores like LLLReptile have some wild caught available depending on the species and time of year.

 

[Carlton]

No its illegal to transport them though smugglers get caught often

Under what circumstances? Where? Please clarify. Not true for all species or locations.

 

[Carlton]

How do people get in touch with people who do this legally?

If you want to find "import export services" check on larger herp sites such as Fauna Classifieds or kingsnake.com.

 

[Chameleon Brothers]

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Thanks I appreciate it.

 

[fluxlizard]

A word of caution though- I notice you are asking a lot of fairly "beginner" questions. Jumping straight from where you are into wild caught chameleons may be a bit of a shock to your current expectations. Wild caught chameleons involve special care to clean them from parasites and acclimate them, and even when you do everything right, there is still an element of gambling to it- some animals are just don't acclimate, some are in too bad condition to recover, some are just plain old, etc.

 

[Chameleon Brothers]

thanks

Thanks, I have a more experience business partner and I don't plan on buying any wild caught. I just wanted to clarify how people got them and whether I was encouraging something that was illegal if I purchased offspring from wild caught chameleons.