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Posted by Todd Evans on March 16, 2002 at 10:07:33:
In Reply to: Importing snakes posted by Chris on March 15, 2002 at 22:04:34:
: What do you need to import snakes from other Countries?
We've actually looke into it and it doesn't seem worth it in PA. First, you must locate an exporter from the area you wish to get animals from. Then, you need to make sure they have all the papers that make the importation legal. then you need to find a port of entry. NY, or FL. once the animals come in to whatever POE you use, they need to be inspected by customs. Then you need to get the imports to YOU. WE looked in to making an order with Herpefauna Indonesia once. First off, there was a $2000 minimum order, this included any CITES permits that we would have needed. Then they would have to ship them to either Florida or NY.....well, NY has some pretty strict laws on Venomous so we dicided to attempt Florida. The problem was, we would've ended up paying more to have the darn things shipped to us from Florida that we would've had to charge too much for the animals to make up for that difference. This is why the majority of importers are in either Florida or California. They are probably within say 20 miles of the closest POE. There are ways that you can go about doing this on a smaller scale through a customs broker. What I believe the procedure consists of is basically one importer placing a multitude of orders for smaller companies. Since they get all the headaches of doing the actual importation, they can still charge wholesale prices for the animals. I mean granted it's not import prices, but this is where a BP will go from $2.50 import (add some fees) up to $15 wholesale (add some fees). Then their taken to a show by the wholesaler and sold for $50-75 (wholesale still) Then pet stores can order lots from wholesalers and resell them for $100-$150. At some reptile shows you can skip a couple middlemen and get the snakes for just above import price (they still want to make SOME money) With quantity ordders, you could get BP's for $5 each.....then again, you just bought 50 of them. It IS a pain in the butt to import on your own. We MAY still attempt it, but if we do, then we're going to rent a uhaul and go to Florida to pick the buggers up ourselves. I believe the customs broker route is the easiest to take, while still costing a bit more than direct importation. You also have to make minimum orders and they're usually bulk.....you know, say a South American shipment.....100 red eyed tree frogs, 15 black and white tegus, a couple wild caught boas or anacondas, some smaller frogs. Then again, the majority are going to die anyway.......oh well, enough about importing,
Todd
