you'd be surprised. it has happened on a frog forum i know too. And yes one issue with getting caught is its up to them. they COULD confiscate and euthanize. I have heard of it before. they are really cracking down right now. even worse. the issue started with xenopus frogs in the 1980's. we were able to use those frogs to determine if a woman was pregnant. when they figured out how not to use the frogs and use dipsticks for pregnancy tests they released all those xenopus frogs ( very illegal to own now in cali) into the environment. ( you may even see them in the canals there...they are native to Africa) what they did not know is that they carried the deadliest fungus/disease known to frogs. this spread throughout the U.S. and eventually down to latin and s.america. Xenopus are carriers however not affected tho we are losing frogs now. I have some tree frogs through the amphibian steward network to try and conserve them as in a year we prolly wont see them in the wild ever again and reintroduction into the wild when chytrid the disease is there is not an option. Their habitats have been tarnished by this incredibly lethal disease. it is very sad. they are trying to make it illegal for frogs/reptiles now in cali. its in the bill.
hefty fines. yes if someone signs up and puts timbuctoo as their location we can prolly help them and i believe in helping. i will not send one of my babies somewhere where they COULD be confiscated. we care so much about them. we want them to be in permanent forever loving homes that will be able to find vet care and not be hiding from the law and potentially have them need to be rehomes, confiscated, whatever cali does.
so thats how it started and eventually spread to non-native animals. San Franscisco is really doing some odd things! i mean its illegal or they are trying to make it illegal to buy bottled water and soda from a pop machine LOL!
ridiculous if you ask me. vets take an oath when they graduate. an oath that is in the best interest of animals. they also take on insurance. would a vet be willing to potentially loose their practicing license and insurance to provide care for animals? thats a controversial issue. I'm not sure but could they get fined as well? depends on the laws and i havent looked them up in full.
a lot of animals are being put into the bill. frogs/reptiles now too in addition to the dumb python one. which btw is open for comment with the fish and wildlife service now if we want to try and advocate and stop these bans.
I doubt gliders will ever be legal same as ferrets. they have been illegal for some time. do people own them under the radar ...yes. do people take proper care of them? SOME and a lot dont tho because of limited resources.
an ethical question is do vendors help in the care of these animals including gliders? should they? are we supporting them being owned?
i would help with food etc. from my store as i want the best for them. do i necessarily agree with them being owned? prolly not since they are illegal and i worry about their welfare. but i would never turn an animal away that needs proper nutrition etc.
yes people own them and take wonderful care of them there. but i am sure there are also people that don't take so good of care of them. even in legal states we have those kind of people. add on that they are illegal makes it so much worse.