The Seachem Letter:

We are writing you to make you aware of a federal legislative effort that threatens our industry and the entire aquarium hobby. The United States House of Representatives recently passed HR 4521, which contains an amendment (#160) that modifies provisions of the Lacey Act (Section 71102 of the Amendment) regarding importation and transportation of wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibians, or reptiles, or the offs.pring or eggs of any such species in the United States.

This legislation gives the Federal Government the emergency power to immediately suspend all imports of species found to be “injurious to humans, agriculture, horticulture, forestry, wildlife, or wildlife resources for up to 3 years” and presumes that all species are harmful until whitelisted.

With the exception of dogs and cats, nearly all other species fall under this definition, meaning you cannot sell them and your customers cannot buy them. All your product inventory used to support your customers will become worthless overnight. Further, the Government has the ability to enforce this legislation with criminal penalties and civil fines. The process for “whitelisting” is currently undefined, and is not required to be published for up to a year. Similarly, although the statute has a seeming exception for species that are already traded in “non-minimal” quantities, there is no definition of “minimal” provided; it is left up to the government to decide and they do not have to decide for over a year. Can your business survive without the ability to buy and sell fish? Will your customers need your products if they can’t obtain the pets that you support?

WHAT CAN YOU DO? You can help prevent the enactment of this legislation by contacting your Federal Senators and encouraging your customers to do the same. We encourage you to write to your Senator immediately and demand to either vote against the entire legislation or alternatively remove this provision. The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) has set up a free web-based form to allow you to easily write to your Senator here:

https://cqrcengage.com/pijac/app/write-a-letter?3&engagementId=513850

간단히 요약하면 하원의원에서 통과한 HR4521은 야생 포유류, 어류, 야생 조류, 양서류, 파충류의 자손이나 알의 수입과 운송을 제한하는 법안임

야생에 해가 되는 것으로 판명된 모든 종의 수입을 최대 3년간 즉시 중단할 수 있는 비상 권한을 부여하고 화이트리스트에 등재될 때 까지 모든 종이 유해하다고 가정

non-minimal 수량으로 거래되는 종에 한해 예외를 가지고 있지만 최소에 대한 정의는 나와있지 않음

결국 수족관에 있는 거의 모든 종은 판매가 중단되고 물고기를 사지 못하는 고객은 당신의 물건이 더 이상 필요하지 않다는게 글의 내용임