Lacey Act Update w/ Phil Goss President of USARK

I sit down with Phil Goss who is the President of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers, also know as USARK. We discuss the new Lacey Act Amendment in the America Competes Act and how it will impact the Exotic Pet Hobby as a whole. He also gives us updates on new developments and how best to move forward as a hobby.

Q: Does this include invertebrates?

Yes. We know that aquatic invertebrates are included. While the legislation does not mention terrestrial invertebrates, FWS can regulate terrestrial invertebrates (i.e., Endangered Species Act), and terrestrial invertebrates are included in the FWS definition of wildlife:

“Wildlife is any living or dead wild animal, its parts, and products made from it. Wildlife not only includes mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but also invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans, arthropods, molluscs and coelenterates.” – FWS

Also, within the Lacey Act the term “fish or wildlife” means: any wild animal, whether alive or dead, including without limitation any wild mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, coelenterate, or other invertebrate, whether or not bred, hatched, or born in captivity, and includes any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof.

www.USARK.org
www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesAssociationOfReptileKeepers


You can watch the video version of this podcast on The Exotic Pet Collective YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/ZqM--dnqIRk