jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
The definition of "ranched" is related to, if I interpreted their gobblety-gook correctily, a CITES I species taken from the wild the species reclassified as CITES II. There is a HUGE difference between exporting/importing CITES I and CITES II . (CITES I being the most controlled.) The idea is that if you are farming a CITES I species, you can sustain the wild population and legally export the product, such as crocodile skins. It should apply to chameleons very well, but I don't know if any chameleons are listed as CITES I. That's the catch--ranching is related to CITES I animals.
Here's the CITES definition of Ranching:
"a) the term ‘ranching’ means the rearing in a controlled environment of animals taken as eggs or juveniles from the wild, where they would otherwise have had a very low probability of surviving to adulthood;"
CITES only affects international trade (crossing international borders). What happens inside a country's borders is not governed by CITES (which is the Convention of International Trade of Endangeres Species.
The US goes a bit further and declares some species "Endangered." Then, you can't even sell them across state borders. They will be putting one of my parrots on this list and I don't quite know how it will affect me, especially if I ever return to Canada or even move out of my state. There is a lot of politics involved and some of it doesn't make any sense from a conservation stand point.
Just know if you are ever dealing with US Fish and Wildlife, they are not necessarily sensible. Nor do they know their OWN regulations.
I had one official in Washington tell me that under no circumstances could I import an ivory piece that was made out of Indian elephant ivory. She sent me a link to the brochure that explained it all. Except right there in her own brochure, was the conditions that Indian elephant ivory could be imported.
Another time, I brought out of Saudi Arabia a wild caught Umbrella cockatoo (CITES II). Saudi Arabia brings in a lot of mostly illegal wild caughts. This bird had been the pet of a British couple who moved to the US and ended up leaving the bird with my avian vet because the paperwork and quarantine was not possible. Every summer I went back and forth between Canada and the Kingdom with my parrots so got to know the CITES Manager who did my paperwork. Every time I went in to see him, I always brought up this cockatoo--why wouldn't he just give them the paperwork because withholding it wasn't going to stop the illegal trade since this bird was already here. Finally when I left on exit-only, I asked him if he would give me the paperwork for the cockatoo and he did. I quarantined him in Canada and then got all the paperwork to bring him into the US to reunite him with his owners. I called US Fish and Wildlife repeatedly, asking if I had all the documents I needed. I drove the bird across the border, had him inspected by everyone who was to inspect him (every inspection/permit costs fees, of course) and then flew him off to his owners.
Four months later I moved to the US. I called and double checked I had everything in order for bringing my own birds across the same border using the same US Fish and Wildlife office. All good. Two days before I was to fly to the US Virgin Islands, lo and behold, suddenly I needed a Wild Bird Conservation Act permit. I mean, why didn't they tell me that before???? It's their own darn permit!!! They didn't tell me about it because they didn't know the permits their own office required! Fortunately they didn't know they needed it for the cockatoo because he couldn't ever get it as a wild caught.
The last time I dealt with them the inspector manhandled a very delicately carved antique ivory sculpture. I was furious--I had to take it out of his hands before he broke it. At least he put on the gloves I gave him to wear.
I just hate dealing with them. Does it show?
