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Fedex and corns

You can ask the same question to 10 different agents (any of them - IRS, F & W, any government agency), and get 10 different answers. It would be nice if the answer has a name on it, so you can keep it safe and use it someday if you ever find yourself in front of a judge.

Nobody who works for the government likes to be the one to put their name on something and answer a question that could get them in trouble if their boss doesn't like the answer.

That's true, but I/we would have documented proof from an official that we were told that we were to do things a certain way, no matter who it came from...Which could be kept (and hopefully help protect) if someday one was facing a Lacy Act violation.
 
A lack of knowledge would have to be on the top of my list of reasons as I am completely guilty of that one. Up until this very moment, I was completely unaware of the Lacey Act and the requirement of the common and species name plus the quantity needing to be on the package. I have most of that info in the package, but that's just "because". Most of the packages I've received do not have that info, and the couple I have received (and noticed it on the box) I simply put down to that shipper's own personal way of shipping. FedEx did not make me aware of any regulations when I became certified, nor did they require it on the sample box I sent them. This thread most definitely needs to be "stickied", IMO!

Yeah, I wasn't aware that scientific and common name had to be included along with the quantity. I usually try to remember to print out some "Live Harmless Reptiles" labels to stick on the outside. I thought that was compliant enough, maybe not...
 
I haven't received a response from the USFW yet, but with additional digging, it was found that IATA Live Animal Regulations is where it is specified what labeling is required.

The IATA Live Animals Regulations is the worldwide standard for transporting live animals by commercial airlines. Whether it be a pet, an animal transported for zoological or agricultural purposes or for any other reason, the objective of the IATA Live Animals Regulations is to ensure all animals are transported safely and humanely by air.

It is the IATA Live Animals Regulations who specify that count, common name and species is required labeling.

As I find more information, I will post it. :)
 
I said I would post my correspondence with F&W, but with the baby and all, never got around to it. ;)

Found some of it (and the baby's still sleeping)!

Me said:
Email submitted from Contact Us form received: 9/17/2008 07:50:00 MT
Message ID: 70931928-19B9-E4C8-9479662C662E6BD3

From: [email protected]
First Name: Stephanie
Last Name:
State: PA
Country: US

Good morning,

I had a question regarding the Federal Lacey Act (http://www.fws.gov/le/pdffiles/Lacey.pdf). I ship Live Harmless Reptiles and wanted clarification on labeling packages. Currently I label my packages with the quantity, scientific name, common name and "LIVE HARMLESS REPTILES." An argument has been made that the Lacey Act just states "in accordance with existing commercial practices" as opposed to specifying what exactly is required...So one would not have to be specific but just label "Live Harmless Reptiles," "Snakes," or just the scientific name. Is this an accurate interpretation of the Lacey Act, or are we reptile shippers better off labeling with as much information as possible (as I already do) to cover ourselves?

Thank you for your time, I look forward to hearing from you.

F&W said:
Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the regulations involving marking requirements for the shipments of fish and wildlife. Our mission is, working with others, to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

We apologize for the tardiness of this response.

50 CFR 14.81 of the Code of Federal Regulations sets out marking requirements as noted below:

“Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, no person may import, export, or transport in interstate commerce any container or package containing any fish or wildlife (including shellfish and fishery products) unless he/she marks each container or package conspicuously on the outside with both the name and address of the shipper and consignee. An accurate and legible list of its contents by species scientific name and the number of each species and whether or not the listed species are venomous must accompany the entire shipment.”

The Federal statute and regulations dealing with marking requirements (including some exceptions listed in 50 CFR 14.82) can be found at http://www.gpoaccess.gov.

To more fully answer your questions about a specific international shipment, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Port of Entry where you plan to import/export your shipment. This will also give you an opportunity to ask any additional questions about wildlife shipments and understand the applicable regulations.

We provide a link to our Ports of Entry: http://www.fws.gov/le/ImpExp/Contact_Info_Ports.htm

Additionally, the State(s) where you plan ship items within the United States may have some prohibitions which differ from Federal law. You should contact your State wildlife agency to enquire about any State prohibitions. Contact information for State wildlife agencies can be found on our website at: http://offices.fws.gov/statelinks.html.

Thank you for your cooperation in complying with our regulations that help protect fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats. Please feel free to respond to this message with any further inquiries that you may have regarding this matter.

Me said:
Thank you for the response, but my question wasn't answered.

I attempted to run a search on gpoaccess.gov for additional details on
labeling, but the search function appears to be behind with the times
and does not work properly (instead of searching for all of the keywords
entered, it searches for them individually).

The parts of 50 CFR 14.81 that you included need clarified:

This is not in reference to international shipments, but about shipments
made in the United States.

Thank you, I look forward to your response.

F&W said:
Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for your follow-up inquiry.

Please find attached the most recent version of 50 CFR Part 14 (10/2008) for your reference.

If you look at 50 CFR 14.82, we believe this will answer your questions. Here is 14.82 noted below.
(a) The requirements of §14.81 may be met by complying with one of the following alternatives to the marking requirement:

(1)(i) Conspicuously marking the outside of each container or package containing fish or wildlife with the word “fish” or “wildlife” as appropriate for its contents, or with the common name of its contents by species, and

(ii) Including an invoice, packing list, bill of lading, or similar document to accompany the shipment which accurately states the name and address of the shipper and consignee, states the total number of packages or containers in the shipment, and for each species in the shipment specifies:

(A) The common name that identifies the species (examples include: Chinook (or king) salmon; bluefin tuna; and whitetail deer) and whether or not the listed species is venomous; and

(B) The number of that species (or other appropriate measure of quantity such as gross or net weight).

The invoice, packing list, bill of lading, or equivalent document must be securely attached to the outside of one container or package in the shipment or otherwise physically accompany the shipment in a manner which makes it readily accessible for inspection; or


(2) Affixing the shipper's wildlife import/export license number preceded by the three letters “FWS” on the outside of each container or package containing fish or wildlife, if the shipper has valid wildlife import/export license issued under authority of 50 CFR part 14. For each shipment marked in accordance with this paragraph, the records maintained under §14.93(c) must include a copy of the invoice, packing list, bill of lading, or other similar document that accurately states the information required by paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section.

(3) In the case of subcontainers or packages within a larger packing container, only the outermost container must be marked in accordance with this section. Except, that for live fish or wildlife that are packed in subcontainers within a larger packing container, if the subcontainers are numbered or labeled, the packing list, invoice, bill or lading, or other similar document, must reflect that number or label. However, each subcontainer containing a venomous species must be clearly marked as venomous.

(4) A conveyance (truck, plane, boat, etc.) is not considered a container for purposes of requiring specific marking of the conveyance itself, provided that:

(i) The fish or wildlife within the conveyance is carried loosely or is readily identifiable, and is accompanied by the document required by paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section, or

(ii) The fish or wildlife is otherwise packaged and marked in accordance with this subpart.

(b) The requirements of §14.81 do not apply to containers or packages containing—

(1) Fox, nutria, rabbit, mink, chinchilla, marten, fisher, muskrat, and karakul that have been bred and born in captivity, or their products, if a signed statement certifying that the animals were bred and born in captivity accompanies the shipping documents;

(2) Fish or shellfish contained in retail consumer packages labeled pursuant to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq. ; or

(3) Fish or shellfish that are landed by, and offloaded from, a fishing vessel (whether or not the catch has been carried by the fishing vessel interstate), as long as the fish or shellfish remain at the place where first offloaded.


Thank you for your cooperation in complying with our regulations that help protect fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats. Please feel free to respond to this message with any further inquiries that you may have regarding this matter.

The color coding above differentiates the four options that one has on labeling a package for shipment. All in all you must at a minimum label the outside of the package with "Wildlife" or "Live Harmless Reptiles" and include a detailed invoice listing the quantity and the common name of the contents in a readily accessible spot (which IMO could be interpreted as right on top of the styrofoam packing).

Personally what annoys me about the whole thing is that they have the important documentation spread out all over the place instead of neatly all together in one document.
 
I mark my packages Live Harmless reptiles, the common name and the scientific name. I also put Keep from heat and cold. My problem now is that Fed Ex has twice delayed my shipment due to problems on their end so that my snakes ended up being received a day later than it was supposed to. I'm almost tempted to send them via UPS even though they don't take snakes. Just ship them as perishable goods or something. I'm truly pissed with Fed Ex and their lack of professional conduct. My customer talked to a total of 21 people and I spoke to 6. I actually had one of the customer service people call and ask me how long I thought the snakes would survive in the box I shipped. Since they couldn't tell me exactly where the snakes were...I couldn't tell him...I was speechless actually. They also all made a point of saying "well, you'll get your shipping back" as if that was the issue. She got her lizards thru the USPS right on time...my snakes were still sitting on the docks at Fed Ex hub. I'm not sure what I'll do about shipping now.
 
I'm almost tempted to send them via UPS even though they don't take snakes.

You might want to check out ShipYourReptiles.com. It just opened up and is through UPS. No matter what courier you choose all of them are bound to screw up sooner or later.

Just ship them as perishable goods or something.

The above is actually illegal. Please see the post about yours about labeling requirements per the government. ;)
 
I said I would post my correspondence with F&W, but with the baby and all, never got around to it.

Found some of it (and the baby's still sleeping)!

Babies are more important than posting about Fish and Wildlife responses :laugh: Thanks for remembering it though and taking the time to post it. I wasn't sure if you ever got anything back from them.
 
After reading all that (in the response from FWS) I'll keep on labeling like I have been: 2 Pantherophis guttata // Live Harmless Reptiles

I don't put their common name on the box, since I believe common names don't mean a thing and some people are prejudiced against snakes.
 
If you carefully read the labeling requirements, you have to place the quantity and common name on an invoice that is "easily accessible" to the courier employees (whether in a little pouch stuck to the side or inside the box on top of the styrofoam) and mark the outside of the package with Wildlife or Live Harmless Reptiles. The best bet to avoid the "prejudice issue" would be just to mark the outside of the box Wildlife.
 
Actually, if you go to http://www.shipyourreptiles.com/ , they have a video that shows you correctly how to ship snakes in accordance with the law through their service, and I'm sure the info is correct, as this is the rollout of a new project, and nobody wants it to go belly up from non-compliance. I'm sure the legal department has had access to it before it was posted on their site. Watch the video if you want to know their stance, as I'm not going to put words in anybody's mouth.
I'm expecting delivery of a BP from that service within the next few hours.
I'm hoping all goes well.
I'm pretty sure if they see that series of Styrofoam lined boxes (That you buy specifically to ship snakes.) they will know what's inside the box without investigating too hard.
 
Actually, if you visit Fauna...Their was a conversation about the lack of labeling on their video (see the thread in the shipping section titled "Lacey Act"). They do not mention (when I reviewed their video at least) anything about the federal requirement of labeling and it was pointed out to them. In that thread Robyn agreed that the labeling which the Fish & Wildlife provided should be followed. I'm sure it's just a matter of time until they update the information appropriately.

Part of the problem is everyone was looking to the Lacey Act for the information which doesn't clarify. This is why I contacted F&W to get it directly from the source and they then pointed me to the correct information in 50 CFR 14.82.

If anyone would like to see the 50 CFR 14.82 PDF, PM me your e-mail address...It's too big to upload here (though it is available for download on Fauna).
 
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