I understand the way you feel Jeff. It used to always frustrate me thinking about the differences between owning an Appendix 2 animal compared to a appendix 1 animal.
In time I learned to appreciate the factors involved and did what I thought was right. I feel that to have the opportunity to own such rare and endangered animals come with a certain responsibility. I feel that if a person wishes to own an appendix 1 animal, you should be responsible to prove that the animal has indeed been legally imported and obtained. CITES 1 animals are the most threatened species and therefore should be properly maintained in captivity.
With the care of CITES 2 animals there are some differences. For the common animals in the pet trade there is no doubt that they have been imported legally. Ball Pythons are imported by the hundreds of thousands every year and common boas by the thousands. Therefore you can be certain that they are legal animals. If you were still concerned about the responsibility of permits then you could simply obtain them from the original importer.
There are also many CITES 2 animals that cannot be obtained that easily because of protection in their country of origin. This is where I feel you again should have a certain amount of responsibility owning these animals. If you know animals are hard to obtain because of one reason or another I would think you would question where they originally came from.
When it comes to exportation and importation of CIUTES 1 or 2 animals these responsibilities are again needed in order for successful transportation of the fauna.
Any ways this is IMO and I feel to be a successful and responsible herper these considerations should have to be considered.
Thanks,
Darren Hamill
http://www.hamillreptiles.com
Hybrid Mode
