FWS Reviews Petition to List All Live Amphibians in Trade as Injurious Unless Certified
The Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing a petition to list, under the Lacey Act, all live amphibians or their eggs in trade as injurious unless certified as free of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid fungus). Written comments on the petition are due by December 16, 2010.
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If Petition Granted, FWS Says Permit for Import and Interstate Transport Would be Required
The importation and introduction of live amphibians infected with chytrid fungus into the natural ecosystems of the U.S. may pose a threat to interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States. An injurious wildlife listing would prohibit the importation of live amphibians or their eggs infected with chytrid fungus into, or transportation between, States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States by any means, without a permit.
Petitioner Concerned About Trade in Pets, Live Animals for Frog Legs
The Defenders of Wildlife is concerned that unregulated trade—primarily for pet use and as live animals for consumption as frog legs—continues to threaten the survival of many amphibian species, including domestic and foreign species listed by the Service under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended, candidate species, and other species.
Proposed Regulatory Text Also Affects Exports, in Addition to Imports, Interstate Commerce
The petition proposes the following revision to the FWS regulations at 50 CFR 16.14:
"All live amphibians and their eggs are prohibited entry into the United States, or to be exported from the United States, or transported in interstate commerce, for any purposes, except in compliance with this section.
Upon the filing of a written declaration with the District Director of Customs at the port of entry as required under Section 14.61, species of live amphibians or their eggs may be imported, transported, and possessed in captivity only if the shipment complies with a certification and handling system that meets or exceeds recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health in its Aquatic Animal Health Code on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
No such live amphibians or any progeny or eggs thereof may be released into the wild except by the State wildlife conservation agency having jurisdiction over the area of release or by persons having prior written permission for release from such agency.
All live amphibians and their eggs are prohibited from interstate commerce in the United States and from export out of the United States unless in a shipment accompanied by a written declaration, in such form as the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service shall provide, which indicates the shipment meets or exceeds the recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health in its Aquatic Animal Health Code on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.”