# Amnesty Update



## Hickson (May 3, 2004)

Latest figures for the Exotic Amnesty, as of 27th April:

Victoria - 11
NSW - 5
Qld - 2

Total = 18

Three species of snake, two of lizards, two species of turtle, and a tarantula.

Hix


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## NoOne (May 3, 2004)

Wow they have been flooded


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## jimmy_the_kid (May 3, 2004)

wat exactly is that


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## Hickson (May 3, 2004)

NoOne said:


> Wow they have been flooded



yeah, everyone must be hanging on till the last minute, only a few weeks left.

Hix


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## Ricko (May 3, 2004)

are they going to go crazy on inspections after the amnesty finishes? what does everyone reckon they will do when it finishes?


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## Hickson (May 3, 2004)

Probably nothing much to start with. But, if your caught with exotics after the amnesty finishes, you in deep poop without a leg to stand on. According to the brochure the penalty "under the EPBC Act is imprisonment of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $110,000".

Hix


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## Ricko (May 3, 2004)

dats cool i sold my corn snake and the iguana! hehehe


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## instar (May 3, 2004)

probly advertise a "dob-em-in" line on telly and make bust on tip offs. i wonder how many exotics they realisticlly expect to get? dont think they will bother legit people except if they do the above and some nosey parker dobs you in because they think yours is exotic. keep the license renewed and fauna books legit should have no worries.


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## Hickson (May 3, 2004)

instar said:


> probly advertise a "dob-em-in" line on telly and make bust on tip offs. i wonder how many exotics they realisticlly expect to get?



There have always been dob-in lines. And the point with the amnesty is to give people a chance to hand them in. Now when they find a Corn Snake the excuse "I bought from a bloke I met in a pub - never seen him since" won't be accepted. 

I think it's also to raise awareness that exotics are illegal. A few members of this site were not aware of it until the amnesty was made public, and probably a lot of other people in the community too. And of course, those that new it was illegal but kept them anyway, now they know what the penalty's are and they can make an informed decision as to what to do.

Hix


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## instar (May 3, 2004)

lol, that "bloke -in-a -pub" gets about dosent he! :lol:


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## Hickson (May 3, 2004)

He must have made a fortune by now! All those pubs, round the world. And he deals in any and everything. 

Hix


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## instar (May 3, 2004)

all while remaining perpetually anonymous too, lol


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## jimmy_the_kid (May 3, 2004)

pretty shifty if u ask me i think its bill gates lol :mrgreen:


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## moosenoose (May 4, 2004)

I still reckon the whole thing is an absolute farce!! Look, I agree that you shouldn't be able to import these animals, but if by some means you had them before this whole thing came into light, what's the problem with having them registered properly (instead of being destroyed etc.). To give people the option to notify the DPI (is that who's running this thing?) and declare these animals and allow them to be properly listed on their licenses, surely they then will get *positive* numbers of the imported species that are *already presently in the country *- it's just another gun amnesty! How come they have done this _before!!??_ and the last time they allowed keepers to keep these animals under specific licenses. Anyone who knows what I'm talking about, knows that this is what happened previously. Aren't they called International Licenses or something?? If they called it properly from the start, they wouldn't be going through this mess a second time! How much is this indirectly costing people?? There's got to be a cost!


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## instar (May 4, 2004)

I hear ya moosenoose! :cry:


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## regenold (May 4, 2004)

why don't the governent make em legal?


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## Greebo (May 4, 2004)

Mate, they are more likely to legalise speeding.


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## regenold (May 4, 2004)

yeh, but they won't make money out of speeding like they would exotics


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## ether (May 4, 2004)

What is the govt's main arguement against people in australia keeping exotic reptiles. It seems to be the threat of forgein aniamls disrupting the ecosystem and the chance that they will bring in a forgein disease. Does anyone have a clear idea for what their reasons are?

Regards Ether


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## instar (May 4, 2004)

I think you hit the nail on the head ether, fear of eco disasters like cane toads are about the size of it. As Moosenoose said, those already present could be controlled and or sterilised , potential problems solved. thats the gov for you. :|


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## Greebo (May 4, 2004)

Did you miss Kevyn's post about the retic population in Florida?
I don't believe that exotics escaping into the wild is the main reason they will never be legalised. Frankly, there is nothing in it for the government. The 'revenue' they would raise would be minimal after the costs of estblishing a system, let alone enforcing it.I doubt that people that already have exotics would register them anyway in case the next government changed the rules back.
And finally there are plenty of great Australian snakes to own so who needs exotics??


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## Hickson (May 4, 2004)

Moosenoose said:


> How come they have done this before!!?? and the last time they allowed keepers to keep these animals under specific licenses. Anyone who knows what I'm talking about, knows that this is what happened previously.



They did it before and it solved nothing. There are still lots of unregistered exotics, people who say they had them for years. And there was someone who registered her corn snake, got another, and then started breeding them and selling them.

Those with the licences issued in 1997 are able to keep their exotics, and (as I understand it) those licences state that they cannot breed them or give the exotics away. But no more licences will be issued. 

What's more, the more exotics you have licenced in the country, the more opportunity there is for smuggling them in. 

Hix


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## instar (May 4, 2004)

What's more, the more exotics you have licenced in the country, the more opportunity there is for smuggling them in. 

Hix

how so? Customs and quarantine is pretty tough.

Did you miss Kevyn's post about the retic population in Florida? 

I must have, sorry.


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## Hickson (May 4, 2004)

instar said:


> how so? Customs and quarantine is pretty tough.



Not tough enough. An where there's a market, legal or otherwise, someone will try to exploit it. People will still want something they're not allowed to have, or that no-one else has. They will find ways past Customs and Quarantine.

Hix


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## instar (May 4, 2004)

yeah, thats human nature. p.s. never try to smuggle tazmanian devils out of australia in your trousers!  :lol:


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## Hickson (May 4, 2004)

instar said:


> never try to smuggle tazmanian devils out of australia in your trousers!  :lol:



The Poms put ferrets down their trousers, I s'pose that's the Aussie equivalent.
8) 
Hix


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## regenold (May 4, 2004)

lol


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## moosenoose (May 4, 2004)

Greebo said:


> And finally there are plenty of great Australian snakes to own so who needs exotics??



Your right Greebo. I'm not arguing to have these animals introduced etc, etc, but I just think the whole thing is like the cat chasing it's tail. How can there be rules originally saying that we'll license those who have them, but now they're saying we want you to hand them in to be given to zoo's or have them distroyed. I'd hate to be in the thick of it, sounds like a real mess. They should ( I don't even no why I'm putting up the argument - I'm not a politian LOL) allow people to license the ones they've got, and then say that there will be no more excuses after this......The defence rests LOL


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## JunglePython (May 4, 2004)

It will be interesting to see how many people get dobbed in AFTER the amnesty is over.

If someone has a grudge against a person with exotics then after the amnesty is over is the time to dob them in.

I personally think the exotics should be destroyed. 

I do not know anyone with exotics nor do I want to know anyone with exotics. So dont go thinking I am about to dob anyone in. 

It does seem that a lot of people are missing the implications of the amnesty. Being the last chance before reversal of the onus of proof in regards to litigation. It seems to me the amnesty is just a PR exercise so the authorities can say we warned you. Ignorance is no defence.

Cheers

Luke


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## saikrett (May 4, 2004)

i believe the main problem with exotics being introduced would be disease, could we be able to cope with the quarenteen requirements?
I dont think they will ever legalise exotics,
HOWEVER, i am still waiting for NSW to legalise crocs though.


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## regenold (May 5, 2004)

yeh i wouldn't mine them legalising crocs. 

and by the way does any one know what has been handed in?


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## instar (May 5, 2004)

theres a thread with a list of handed in herps so far. think its called "amnesty update".

sorry renegold, its not this one, my mistake, really is a thread with a list though, not sure what its called, "amnesty" something. lol


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## Hickson (May 5, 2004)

The first post in this thread tells you what has been handed in.

Hix


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## instar (May 5, 2004)

Hey it was this thread! must be affected by 2nd hand smoke from no-ones posts! lol


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