Reporting Illegal Activity

[freves]

Over the past month or so I have noticed a Virginia based dealer advertising Ambystoma opacum over on KS. Thinking that perhaps this dealer was unfamiliar with the VA law that makes it illegal to sell herps native to the state, I sent him a nice email explaning this. He responded with a 'thanks' and then continued to advertise the animals. This pissed me off so I sent an email to the VA dept of game and inland fisheries with a link to his ad. Today I got a response saying that the problem has been dealt with. I was not trying to be a "salamander policeman" however it is dealers like this, blatantly ignoring the law, who can potentially cast a bad light on those who are legitimate.
Chip

 

[Kaysie]

Chip, Kudos to you! I'm definitely in the same boat. Sometimes people are ignorant to the law, but it's people who blatantly ignore the laws that really piss me off. There's no reason for it, and they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law (which isn't nearly enough, if you ask me).

 

[taherman]

That's awesome, glad you reported him. I've wondered many times about all the native animals showing up on kingsnake and cannot imagine that they could all be legally collected. Also good to see VDGIF acted on it!

Well done!
-Tim