The US Federal Government is Considering Injurious Species

[AdvythAF]

Are Frogs Injurious Species? - Extinction Countdown - Scientific American Blog Network

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is considering banning the transport of amphibians over state and national lines. I think that this will severely impact the hobby, and I hope they come to a reasonable decision regarding the topic. Some organizations are pushing for a complete ban, which, I think is unreasonable.

Put in your thoughts on this below!

 

[Sith the turtle]

I personally won't say anything. It'll be good for the native species of amphibians, but they could make it so only captive bred specimens are available. Being cb has less of a chance of infecting the natives than wc

 

[sde]

I hope they ban all WC imports, that would be splendid. However it would really suck for keepers if they banned all interstate traffic as well, many people's hobbies would come to a standstill and most likely many people would stop breeding their animals for fear that they wouldn't find buyers. I think it would cause the countries captive amphibian population to drop severely, along with the number of hobbyists.
On the flip side, however, it is easy to see the good it could do, but the question is, has it already spread to the point where stopping it won't actually make a difference? The western US already has it all over, but much of the central US is yet to have reports of it. So, i think the answer is no, if we stop it it should make a difference.

It would be a sacrifice for hobbyists, but i guess it depends on if you think protecting the wild amphibians a serious enough of a problem that stopping interstate traffic altogether is worth it.
It's a tough subject, for sure.

 

[Rupert]

I've also heard that this "chytrid disaster" is something along the lines of mad cow disease fear or the old SARS syndrome..... that its a new fashion to blame everything on chytrid while in reality it is not.... not sure which to believe...

 

[michael]

Bd and Bsal are serious concerns in the hobby. The article you referenced appears to be about five years old. Right now I think recommendations being made are mostly about Bsal and imports of w.c. caudates that might be carriers.

 

[physalia]

Has there been any new news since this went to the public inquiry phase years ago? I tried searching for info but could not find any. The current issue for Bsal that Michael mentions is from a different, more recent, petition specific to caudates.