peterj Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi, New to this forum and a bit qurious about your laws etc. If I understand it correctly you can keep some exotics, but not all. What is the reason to that? Since you have that situation isn´t a lot of people keeping illegal animals or is everyone satisfied with the situation? I myself keep mostly snakes. How commonly kept are they in NZ(legal or illegal)? In my opinion, I think it´s a shame you cant keep exotics. I should probably be lucky I am situated in Europe. Another thing I am wondering is if a lot of people are keeping native reptiles? How are the laws regarding those? I really love your Green geckos, and would love to own some one day. There are a few in Europe, but not many. Anyway,looking forward to hear your opinions! Regards Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 Its a bit of a iffy situation in nz with the gecko's now. We hand a license to keep them and now you cant get license's to keep them and our license has expired, so we have fallen into a black hole with the legality of keeping geckos. Our green gecko's just keep breeding and are not the easiest things to look after in regards to food. The reason that some exotics have been banned is what would happen if that snake you had escaped and started to eat native wildlife? There are any examples of exotic wildlife destroying native bush and killing of other animals around the world....for example the Possum here in New Zealand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 While I lived in Holland I had friends with herps and they expressed interest in the green geckos as well. Here's a quick rundown on native herps to help you understand. Ever since the 70s NZ has had a strict and explicit ban on the movement of reptiles and amphibians in and out of the country. This is to prevent the loss of rare and delicate native species like the Green Gecko. In the last 12 years, even keeping them without a zoo license is illegal and can result in fines or even jail time. Some have old permits but most are now expired. If you want to see NZ Green Geckos you're best trying to find some in the EU and can expect to pay thousands for one. On the flipside, herps that are common as mud in the rest of the world like bearded dragons, blue tongued skinks and australian water dragons cost us hundreds or thousands of dollars each. If you are thinking you can save money or time by trying to get green geckos from NZ, think again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterj Posted June 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 So if you had a license to keep geckos and it has expired, what will happen to them? Are you handing them over to the authorities or are they put to sleep, or what? Just sounds plain stupid to me. If someone is breeding a native species, it should be incouraged by the authorities. Regarding the exotics. I can somehow understand what you are saying. If people release animals in to the wild it is a problem. However, it would be much easier to have control over it, if it was legal and all animals were registered. And how come certain species are ok? A red-eared slider can definately do well in NZ and destroy a lot! I am not really following here... Would be really interesting, if someone could post a list of what species are legal to keep. Except this forum, thats mainly fish, does it exist a NZ reptileforum also? Sorry for all the questions. Just keen on knowing. Regards Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 If someone is breeding a native species, it should be incouraged by the authorities. Regarding the exotics. I can somehow understand what you are saying. If people release animals in to the wild it is a problem. However, it would be much easier to have control over it, if it was legal and all animals were registered. And how come certain species are ok? A red-eared slider can definately do well in NZ and destroy a lot! I am not really following here... You are assuming the authorities have common sense, and that they base their decisions on logic, and with help from those in the know, people involved with the industry/hobby etc. Instead of encouraging people to look after and breed native animals like gecko's, they put up barriers and make it difficult. Imagine if tuatara were being kept and bred to the same extent as bearded dragons, perhaps with a percentage of offspring being released into reserves. Instead they happily let people keep animals like red eared sliders, that are capible of living outside in warmer areas and actually have a chance at becoming an established pest, but they ban animals like amazon stingrays that are hard enough to keep alive in captivity, let alone in a cold muddy river in NZ. There are plenty of people who keep animals like gecko's without permits, simply because they can't be bothered with all the red tape and bureaucracy. I hate to think what would happen to the animals (and the responsible owners who look after them well) if they were found out by the authorities, common sense would play no part and we'd end up in a situation where the animals would probably be destroyed and the owner prosecuted for breeding and increasing an endangered species. :roll: If you don't mind me asking, why such an interest in our laws? Are you planning on moving here some time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 well said david Hi peter you write english very well, are you swedish or have you moved there from another country ? back to topic there are different grades of licence in new zealand for keeping native species after a long period of time and good breeding and record keeping you can climb the ladder. all native reptiles require a permit to keep, this was brought in as our native skinks were being sold in the pet trade, animals from the south island were being sold in auckland. Some from localised areas that were discovered to be seperate sub species. Many of our species are localised in very small areas and very small numbers, some so in short supply 1 rat in the wrong place could wipe them out. skinks brought in nth island shops were being let go by lazy owners possibly mixing genetics who knows. I agree that it should be easier to get your permit to keep native animals as in the right hands species have been saved by the hobbyist before - Princess of wales parakeets in aussie for one. I also believe that laws have to be in place to protect the animals and their genetic diversity from exploitation by anyone who doesnt have the animals welfare at heart. we also need to make more captive breeding programs to ensure some species survival, passionate hobbyists are one way the government could save spending their valuable taxes on their non funding of conservation groundwork. like davids post a percentage could be sold by breeder and a percentage into wild release programs, all could be dna tested as a control measure to ensure honesty. some could even be sold overseas with the money coming back to new zealand conservation projects to be put into predator control programs or other species conservation projects. i for one would be happy to follow regulations to keep and breed our natives to help ensure they are still around for future generations enjoyment, your average kiwi doesnt realise the fauna on his doorstep present forum excepted what is swedish for BIG BROTHER Cheers mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterj Posted June 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2007 Call me strange, but it´s actually sort of a hobby to me, looking in to wildlife laws. I am not planning to move, but have visited your country ones in the early 90th and would love to go again. Not so many years ago, we were forbidden to import reptiles in to Sweden. However the authorities were forced to change the laws when we joined the EU. Our neighbours in Norway(not a member of the EU) have a total ban in keeping and importing reptiles. During the ban in Sweden a lot of animals were smuggled in, and it´s the same in Norway still. Noone obeyed the law, since it was no real reason to follow it. It´s nice to hear that passionate people keep your native species regardless of the laws, but it´s a shame it has to be like that. Captive bred animals,should be possible to hand over to other people both in your country and overseas. I totally understand if it´s illegal to take animals from the wild if they are rare, but CB animals are a totally different thing. Regarding the exotics, I assume a lot are also kept illegal and I understand why. A responsible keeper should be able to have a snake or a lizard. If they are worried about them beeing released in to the wild, mirochip all exotics and register who it belongs to. That would for sure make people think twice before doing anything stupid. Mark: Thankyou for the nice comment. I am swedish. Regards Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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