Lacey Act shipping rules?

Where's a good place to go to find the Lacey Act rules for shipping amphibians? I did a quick search and am now more confused.

Exerpts from:

United States Code Annotated Currentness. Title 16. Conservation. Chapter 53. Control of Illegally Taken Fish and Wildlife.


Citation: 16 USC 3371 - 3378

Citation: 95 Stat. 1073

Summary: The Lacey Act provides that it is unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States or in violation of any Indian tribal law whether in interstate or foreign commerce.




(a) The term “fish or wildlife” means any wild animal, whether alive or dead, including without limitation any wild mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, coelenterate, or other invertebrate, whether or not bred, hatched, or born in captivity, and includes any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof.

(b) The term “import” means to land on, bring into, or introduce into, any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether or not such landing, bringing, or introduction constitutes an importation within the meaning of the customs laws of the United States.










(1) Taken


The term “taken” means captured, killed, or collected and, with respect to a plant, also means harvested, cut, logged, or removed.


(2) Taking


The term “taking” means the act by which fish, wildlife, or plants are taken.


(k) The term “transport” means to move, convey, carry, or ship by any means, or to deliver or receive for the purpose of movement, conveyance, carriage, or shipment.







It is unlawful for any person--


(1) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States or in violation of any Indian tribal law;


(2) to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce--


(A) any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State or in violation of any foreign law;






(b) Marking offenses

It is unlawful for any person to import, export, or transport in interstate commerce any container or package containing any fish or wildlife unless the container or package has previously been plainly marked, labeled, or tagged in accordance with the regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of section 3376(a) of this title.






So, Here is the deal:
The Lacey Act makes it a federal offense to posses, sell or ship ANY plant or animal that is illegally collected from anywhere on the planet in the United States and it's territories. The law also applies to any captive bred progeny of illegally collected plants or animals. It is also illegal to mislabel or otherwise misrepresent the plant or animal as other for the purpose of sale and shipping. There are exceptions, permits and the like are available in some cases. The key words here are "illegally taken".

I will use Ambystoma texanum here in Nebraska as an example: A. texanum is a protected species Nebraska, my state of residence. If I caught some and sold and shipped them to you, not only would I be violating Nebraska Law, I would be violating Federal Law. The Lacey Act re-enforces applicable state, territory and tribal laws.
Now, If you caught some A. texanum in a state it is legal to do so and sold and shipped them to me, this would be legal federally only if you included a certified affidavit stating that the source of the animal is NOT Nebraska and it was legally collected with Fishing Permit blah-blah-blah (as this fulfills the Nebraska Law).
The shipping box would have to be clearly labeled Ambystoma texanum. We would both have to maintain the affidavit on file for the life span of the animal AND its progeny to comply with Nebraska Law and the Lacey Act as the Act re-enforces the state law.


The Lacy Act's applicability varies greatly based on all the other amphibian related laws, and varies from state to state!
The current revision of the act adds in applicability to logging and timber products.

this would be legal federally only if you included a certified affidavit

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Certified by whom?

Exerpts from:


(A) any fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or
(b) Marking offenses

It is unlawful for any person to import, export, or transport in interstate commerce any container or package containing any fish or wildlife unless the container or package has previously been plainly marked, labeled, or tagged in accordance with the regulations issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of section 3376(a) of this title.

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Thanks for your answer. I'm mostly interested in correct shipping requirements within the U.S. When I go to paragraph (2) of section 3376(a) it doesn't say what the regs are. It just tells you that the secretaries of the interior and commerce will make regs for the labeling of containers or packages containing fish and wildlife.

I want to know what is the legal way to ship my salamander to anybody in the U.S. My impression over the years has been that the outside of the box has to be clearly labeled that the box contains live amphibians or salamanders. I think their also has to be a list of what is being shipped. I'm not sure if the list is supposed to be inside the box or outside. I usually put mine inside.

Mark said:

Certified by whom?

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In most cases a notary public.

michael said:

Thanks for your answer. I'm mostly interested in correct shipping requirements within the U.S. When I go to paragraph (2) of section 3376(a) it doesn't say what the regs are. It just tells you that the secretaries of the interior and commerce will make regs for the labeling of containers or packages containing fish and wildlife.

I want to know what is the legal way to ship my salamander to anybody in the U.S. My impression over the years has been that the outside of the box has to be clearly labeled that the box contains live amphibians or salamanders. I think their also has to be a list of what is being shipped. I'm not sure if the list is supposed to be inside the box or outside. I usually put mine inside.

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Shipping requirements vary from state to state based on that states laws. I have been unable to find any federal statute or Postal regulation that specifically dictates shipping methods for amphibians. It appears they leave it up to the state and back up the laws with the Lacey Act.

Here is a bit more information(Nice chart at the end listing state regulations):

The Reptile and Amphibian Communities in The United States

My standard, though sometimes I get in a hurry and short it, is to mark on the outside of the box the common name, Latin name, quantity and origin (i.e. captive born in GA). The rule of thumb is that no marking is better than mismarking. Some people mismark boxes because of the flack they receive from carriers, especially desk help, about herps even when the carrier accepts that form of cargo. This is a a blatant violation, especially if you're using USPS (a whole nother set of rules). I got this advice from a USFG agent years ago.

rust said:

My standard, though sometimes I get in a hurry and short it, is to mark on the outside of the box the common name, Latin name, quantity and origin (i.e. captive born in GA). . I got this advice from a USFG agent years ago.

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I think the way Rust does it is more like what is required by the Lacey act. I just can't find it spelled out anywhere. I usually put "Live salamanders" on the outside of the box and a list of what is being shipped inside. I don't always do that and write the "Live salamanders" a little on the small side to not upset the people at the post office to much.
I do know if the salamander is in water the post office requires you to label the box "contains water."

If you are shipping a certain carrier, say, USPS or UPS or something, how do you know if they are being kept in a climate controlled area, or if they are boiling at 120 degrees F in the back of someone's truck in the sun, or waiting at your door in the blazing hot sun?

Sugar gliders, for instance have to be specially flown by Continental Airlines because they know how to handle animals, have a great safety record, and they have them safely climate controlled. People are trained to take care of animals during an unforeseen overnight layover. It costs at least $100 to fly them. They won't fly them to New Mexico or Arizona during the summer because it gets too hot for even the climate controlled areas of the plane.

So what about shipping our salamanders? How safe are they to send them somewhere?

Critter Mom said:

If you are shipping a certain carrier, say, USPS or UPS or something, how do you know if they are being kept in a climate controlled area, or if they are boiling at 120 degrees F in the back of someone's truck in the sun, or waiting at your door in the blazing hot sun?

Sugar gliders, for instance have to be specially flown by Continental Airlines because they know how to handle animals, have a great safety record, and they have them safely climate controlled. People are trained to take care of animals during an unforeseen overnight layover. It costs at least $100 to fly them. They won't fly them to New Mexico or Arizona during the summer because it gets too hot for even the climate controlled areas of the plane.

So what about shipping our salamanders? How safe are they to send them somewhere?

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When I ship a salamander in summer, I correspond carefully with the recipient to ensure that the latter scenario (left in the sun on the doorstep) cannot happen. This sometimes means doing a "hold-at-PO" shipment, or having the box shipped to an alternate address where it can be safely received with certainty. Beyond that, I assume that the package WILL be exposed to heat during part of the journey. I pack them in a well-insulated container with a cold pack. In nearly all cases, the cold pack is still cool when the package arrives, thus showing fairly certainly that the animals stayed cool. Salamanders can be shipped safely in summer, but it has to be overnight shipping, and it has to be planned carefully and done with the right equipment. Sugar gliders are a totally different thing though, you can't just put them in with a cold pack!

I hear that there is a new airline (Pet Airways) in the US that is exclusively devoted to shipping animals. However, they operate from only a few airports, and I have no idea if they take exotics.

Your post and my reply are rather off the original topic, Crittermom. Would it be OK if I moved them to separate thread elsewhere?

For climate control you can go with Bax Global. That is how NASA gets their salamanders shipped. They are picked up by a courier. If their is a lay over the animals are put in a climate controlled room. I think they also have a vet check on them. When I ship Bax Global it costs about 80.00 for shipping. The same box would cost about 35.00 through the post office. I usually check temps at the location I'm shipping to, put in a styro with an ice pack, check delivery time, put a bunch of express mail stickers on the box and ship.

Last week I shipped an axolotl to a location with about 105F temp. I double boxed them and used two ice packs. It showed up cool. I spent about 50.00 on doubleboxing, ice packs, and postage.

Wow! That must really raise the cost of the animal, but the safety of the animal really must come first. (I mean, what good is it if it arrives and it is in no better shape than a WC at the pet shop would be?)

Yeah, Jennewt, go ahead and make a new post or move this part to another area if you think that would help. Whatever you think would be best! I didn't mean to de-rail the thread. I just had some questions and it sort of looked like it was heading in that direction...or at least the way I look at things it did.:wacko:

Thank you,
Critter Mom

Your post and my reply are rather off the original topic, Crittermom. Would it be OK if I moved them to separate thread elsewhere?[/QUOTE]

This does kind of speak to the Lacey Act. Part of it is humane care of animals in shipment. If the animals show up dead you can be cited for violation.