Taricha torosa for sale

[AaronK]

This species is protected in California and is for sale out of state. Is this illegal? The seller "thinks" they are wild. Are people breeding Taricha torosa and selling them?

 

[t_summ]

i'd like to know

I would also love to know the answer to this question as well. Living in California, it is so difficult to find newts and salamanders... i actually found a shop trying to sell a spotted salamander for $80.00! Taricha torosa are great looking and i would love to raise some one day.

 

[AaronK]

I am concerned people are collecting these illegally, they might endanger small populations of a sensitive species.

 

[Jennewt]

Taricha are among the more difficult species to breed. I can say with certainty that the ones you saw for sale were not bred, but collected. I'm not sure about torosa, but T. granulosa is still common in the pet trade, so they can still be legally collected somewhere.

 

[apples]

I think the current law is that it is not illegal for stores outside of California to sell Tarichas (California stores are prohibited from selling any native species, endangered or not.)

However, unless you are looking at animals from a breeder (usually they will mention that in the animal description), they are all collected. I would also be wary about what the store labels as "torosa" or "granulosa."

 

[AaronK]

The pictures appear to be of torosa. I know I'm beating this but it is illegal to collect and sell in California and they are only found here. So people are collecting illegaly and transporting to a state that has no restrictions so that they may sell them. I recently had a great experience observing torosa breeding and migrating from breeding areas. This experience created a new respect and awe for newts. They are amazing creatures. I will post pictures and a write up soon.

 

[caudataman]

torosa are found only in CA and therefore cannot legally be sold. If you have a CA fishing license you can collect a limited number for personal "consumption" but you can't sell them. I suppose a loophole could exist if a CA license holder collected said quantity, then moved out of state, then decided to sell off his/her collection, I'm not sure what could be done about it, but I'm sure that's not what's happening here.