Catching Tadpoles?

[ConcinusMan]

Like Steve said, Joe saw the way we reacted and was just joking, or rather "Trolling"

Now C'mon. You really think he was serious?

not as big as the bulldozer i use to fill in the ponds after i collect everything out of it

i just collected the whole United States tadpole population...all by myself

but my snakes are hungry...what should i give them...oh how about carrots? would that be eco friendly?

Only if they were organic carrots, Joe.

[RedSidedSPR]

But had I been joking when I first mentioned it...

[ConcinusMan]

...then you probably would have let us off the hook fairly quickly, I would think.

[infernalis]

Taken directly from the North Carolina Government web site....



" no person may take, possess, buy, sell or transport any wildlife, whether dead or alive in whole or in part. Nor may any person take, possess, buy, sell or transport any nests or eggs of wild birds except as so permitted. No person may take, possess, buy, sell or transport any wildlife resource in violation of the rules of the Wildlife Resources Commission."

So you are breaking the law in your state.

[ConcinusMan]

If you know for sure you are dealing with a non-native species that has established itself in your area, that wouldn't apply. At least, it doesn't in my State since non-native birds aren't considered "wild birds" and bullfrogs are an invasive species that are having a direct negative effect on our native frogs. Even opposums aren't "wildlife" here. Perfectly legal to do with them, what you wish. You can kill, collect, keep them as pets, etc.

Anyway, it's pretty easy around here because bullfrogs are so recognizable, even their larvae are. No way to mistake natives for bullfrogs around here and anywhere you go where frogs occur, bullfrogs dominate. It's no coincidence that those same areas are also saturated with big garter snakes.

Get caught collecting bullfrogs or their tadpoles around here, and you're likely to get a pat on the back and a nod from fish and game.

[infernalis]

If you know for sure you are dealing with a non-native species that has established itself in your area, that wouldn't apply. At least, it doesn't in my State since non-native birds aren't considered "wild birds" and bullfrogs are an invasive species that are having a direct negative effect on our native frogs. Even opposums aren't "wildlife" here. Perfectly legal to do with them, what you wish. You can kill, collect, keep them as pets, etc.

Anyway, it's pretty easy around here because bullfrogs are so recognizable, even their larvae are. No way to mistake natives for bullfrogs around here and anywhere you go where frogs occur, bullfrogs dominate. It's no coincidence that those same areas are also saturated with big garter snakes.

Get caught collecting bullfrogs or their tadpoles around here, and you're likely to get a pat on the back and a nod from fish and game.

The law in his state does not differentiate invasive or native, if he Environmental police don't even need warrants, and more than one snake collection has been seized due to violations.

He would get in less trouble getting pulled over with drugs than having wildlife in his car.

[d_virginiana]

The law in his state does not differentiate invasive or native, if he Environmental police don't even need warrants, and more than one snake collection has been seized due to violations.

He would get in less trouble getting pulled over with drugs than having wildlife in his car.

Haha, does the three-legged possum I used to have count as possession of a wild animal or a wild animal 'in part'?
What about the dozens of injured snakes, frogs, turtles and lizards that I have saved from my decidedly non-native cats and dogs and kept in captivity until they had recovered? The hunter-orphaned ducklings we raised/released a few years ago?

Point being; I think nearly everyone has, at some point, taken some sort of animal from the wild and with or without the law on their side, it isn't always to the detriment of the animals or the ecosystems. I can and will criticize the capture and shipment of wild animals for profit and without regard to their potential to invade other areas, but I think this is getting a bit extreme....
So much of what we do as humans disrupts the natural world. Every time we build a shed in our backyard, go fishing, or wash our cars in our driveways we are doing just as much if not more damage to nature than someone taking a few tads to feed a species of animal that (if it is an eastern garter) actually is native to the area.
I very much respect the law, but there's a point at which common sense and humanity take precedence, and my opinion on taking a few wild tads as feeders to get non-eating babies to eat isn't changed at all by the fact that it's illegal. (Oddly enough, I've never actually used wc feeders myself due to a particularly odd OCD quirk...)

[ConcinusMan]

What about the dozens of injured snakes, frogs, turtles and lizards that I have saved from my decidedly non-native cats and dogs and kept in captivity until they had recovered? The hunter-orphaned ducklings we raised/released a few years ago?

They especially don't want people doing that, (rehabing and/or releasing wildlife without a license) however well intentioned that person may be. Especially when it comes to ducks (because they are game) and turtles (many are endangered, threatened, or otherwise sensitive)

[d_virginiana]

They especially don't want people doing that, (rehabing and/or releasing wildlife without a license) however well intentioned that person may be. Especially when it comes to ducks (because they are game) and turtles (many are endangered, threatened, or otherwise sensitive)

Yeahh, I'm aware they don't like that. It's the primary reason none of those animals hang around very long after they are well enough to move about and get back to being wild (and why there is no real evidence of their ever having resided in my household). If there were any licensed wildlife rehab people within an hour or two of where I live, I'd gladly take the animals there, but there aren't (honestly, I should probably just look into getting licensed...)
I understand why it's a law, though I can't really say I apologize for taking a half-dead turtle from my dog, giving it a bit of neosporin, and feeding it from our garden for two weeks until it could walk again, ya know?

But all that aside, my point was that the wildlife possession laws got brought up on this thread, while I've seen plenty of threads along the lines of 'saved this garter from my cat' where someone takes a wild animal and keeps it and gets nothing but praise. I have no issue with that (obviously) but it just seemed a bit unfair when the same law was broken in both cases, you know? I'm on the third day of no sleep and intense family drama, so I apologize if what I'm writing is of dubious logic.

[d_virginiana]

bullfrogs are an invasive species that are having a direct negative effect on our native frogs. Even opposums aren't "wildlife" here. Perfectly legal to do with them, what you wish. You can kill, collect, keep them as pets, etc.

Our wildlife is very good at invading other states.