CITES question, is this a true statement?

Slippertalk Orchid Forum

Help Support Slippertalk Orchid Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ChrisFL

General Disarray
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Messages
471
Reaction score
0
Location
Austin, TX
Basically untrue, but the statement does have a grain of truth in certain limited circumstances: once a species is legally imported in sufficient quantities and for sufficient length of time that provides 'cover' for smuggled specimens by making it harder for FWS to discriminate between them. Like Paph hangianum, Rhizotrochus typus has been legally imported to the US on enough occasions that FWS can no longer assume individuals in possession to be breaking the law.

This still doesn't legalize illegal imports, though, and if FWS can prove someone knew or should have known that propagules derive from an illicit source then there's still potential liability under the Lacey Act. Knowingly mislabeling any specimen in interstate or international commerce is also prohibited, even for species otherwise legal to possess and trade, so definitely inaccurate to say there's no domestic regulation of trade in CITES-listed species.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top