Legality of hybrid salamanders

[meteordemon]

Question: Assuming you do not own the parents, what is the legality of obtaining hybrid species when 1 of the parents are legal in your state, and the other is protected/ invasive? Is it just a toss up with fish & game? Is it different from state to state? Is it straight up illegal?

An example would be ownership of an axolotl/ andersoni hybrid in Oregon, where axolotls are legal, but Andersoni require permit.

Note, this not a thread encouraging intentional hybridization or debating the ethics involved, simply a question about the legality of it.

 

[Otterwoman]

I'll bet it's never been put to the test, so there is no data.

 

[Herpin Man]

My position would be this- since an axolotl is legal, I would consider it an axolotl. The risk would be that Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife would become aware of the animal, and subsequently suspect it of being something other than an axolotl, and that they would then go to the expense of proving that it was not an axolotl.
That's a pretty small risk, in my opinion.

 

[curtpw]

" Is it just a toss up with fish & game?" if by "toss-up" you mean government agencies have a lot of leeway in how they interpret + enforce the law, especially when there are no relevant judicial precedents constraining their activity, then yes. As long as no commercial activity or publicity is involved they almost certainly have better things to do than contemplate the legal status of salamander hybrids.