Endangered and illegal?

[karisha]

I was hoping to get some insight from some other members from the states.

I have been trying to purchase a couple of axolotls from a pet store owner I have been dealing with very regularly. She does not have them herself, but gets them from a breeder. We have been trying to get them for 2 weeks now, and then all of a sudden she calls the breeder today and they told her they were no longer allowed to sell them, because they were put on the endangered species list and are now illegal to sell. Could this be so?!?!

 

[jennifer]

Axolotls have been a CITES listed species for a long time. This causes problems for international shipping, but I don't think it causes problems within the US. Are they being ordered within the US?

Another possible explanation is that the pet store owner is actually trying to order waterdogs (tiger sal larvae, which LOOK just like axolotls... a lot of pet store people and wholesalers wouldn't know the difference). More states are making it illegal to sell waterdogs.

 

[sergé]

CITES is only for wild caught animals. Captive bred axolotls are free to trade.

 

[russ]

Actually CITES does not differentiate between WC and CB, but applies to international trade in wildlife.

And no they are not covered by the ESA.

RUSS