# The United States, Channa and the Law



## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

As you very well may know all species of the Family Channidae
affectionately known as Snakeheads have been listed by the USFWS
as a Noxious species, I'm going to make life easy for us all and give you the 
information you need to fully understand exactly what that means, to both
those who already have them or those who will try to obtain them.

I do not endorse Breaking a federal, State or Local laws or ordnance,
While you might not like the law that is irrelevant to this post.
Please do not respond to this post complaining about it,

Little background:
October 2000, Released snakehead caught in Florida 
(where is was already illegal to own) Bringing the first signs
of a comming storm. USFWS begins to look into the issue
seriously.

Killer fish found in Crofton Maryland, May 18 2002








http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal...0,6799839.story
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressre...002/071002.html

July 23 2002, Dept of interior proposes listing of all Channidae to the
Noxious species list.
http://www.doi.gov/news/020722.htm

August 18 2002, Maryland DNR gets approval and by September the
"Croften Frankenfish" is eradicated.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressre...002/090502.html

October 4 2002 snakeheads are federally listed
"Starting today, the import or interstate transport of 28 species of live snakehead fish or their eggs is illegal anywhere in the United States. 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) made the ban official today with publication of a final rule in the Federal Register. 
The Federal Register notice was the last step in a process that began July 23 when Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced that the USFWS planned to invoke a provision of the Lacey Act. The Act allows the Secretary to add a species to the list of injurious wildlife if it is deemed "injurious, or potentially injurious, to the health and welfare of people," as well as to agriculture, forestry, horticulture or to wildlife or wildlife resources of the United States." http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/snakeimportban2002.htm

Full details on the federal law here: http://www.epa.gov/EPA-IMPACT/2002/October/Day-04/i25337.htm

What does this all mean to you? 
Well first it means, No more Snakeheads can be legally imported into the US unless
they are on ice and quite dead,

If you already owned a snakehead (in a state where they were legal prior to the ban), you may keep your fish, though Many states have recently passed laws banning possession also
More on this later.

You may not ever sell or transport it across any state line.

Buying them from a Mailorder or Internet source outside of the state you reside in is illegal.

State laws:
The following states have laws, or have proposed laws on the table banning
the possession, sale and transport of Snakeheads:
Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina,
Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee

Links of interest regarding specific state laws:
Michigan
Michigan PDF
Nevada
Florida
Kansas PDF file
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania

Interesting collection of links:
Crofton snakehead news storys
snakehead info in Invasives. org
The story of an arrest for possesing snakeheads
Various snakehead links
USGS links on snakeheads

There it is, you now can not say you were not informed about the legal issues involving snakeheads.

(I will be adding more links on specific state laws as time permits. 
If anyone has info on local city ordances I would like to see them,
I only know of one city that has specificly banned them that being Chicago)


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

someone lock the thread and post it up as a sticky

god isnt it erotically delightful when poly gets all scientific like that


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