FWS will be considering these species to be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): Bornean earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis), blue tree monitor lizard (Varanus macraei), bleached sandhill skipper (Polites sabuleti sinemaculata), and pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus).
NARBC St. Louis (auction Saturday night)
NARBC heads back to the St. Louis area for its final show of 2023! Be sure to hit this one to see some of the best breeders and businesses in herpetoculture. There will be so much to see!
USARK will be there and we will be having a Saturday night auction. The auction room will open at 7:00 following the Happy Hour at the Embassy Suites that starts at 5:30. We have a huge banquet room with plenty of seats so please come and join us! Everyone is welcome to attend and bid on the hundreds of donations. Thank you to all donors, members, and supporters who make USARK possible!
USARK always needs volunteers at reptile shows we attend and we cannot thank those who help us enough. You are HUGE contributors to making our mission possible. If you would like to volunteer for USARK at this show, send an email to vanessa@usark.org.
Show Schedule:
Friday: Setup and VIP
Saturday, November 11: 10:00-5:00 (VIP at 7:30 AM)
Auction: Saturday night! The room opens at 7:00 and the auction starts at 7:30.
Sunday, November 12: 11:00-4:00 (VIP at 10:00 AM)
Location:
Saint Charles Convention Center
1 Convention Center Plaza
St. Charles, MO 63303
Get full show details at https://www.narbc.com/StLouis/show_info_narbc_stlouis.html. Thank you to NARBC for their continued support!
New Shirt For Sale + USARK Info Cards
Buy the shirt at https://usark.org/product/shirt-tarantula/.
Buy info cards at https://usark.org/shop/ (three options).
Artist edition shirt! The tarantula artwork was created by Adeline Robinson Art at https://www.adelinerobinsonart.com. This screen-printed, cotton/polyester blend shirt is extremely soft and wrinkle-resistant with a slightly modern fit (but true to size). U.S. domestic shipping is free! Plus, one USARK sticker per shirt is included. No international shipping at this time. NOTE: Most shirts will arrive in 10 business days or less (but there may be delays). You will receive tracking via email when your order ships.
CITES Amphibian Trade Review
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is conducting a review of the global amphibian trade. As part of this effort, CITES and The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have developed a questionnaire to gather information on amphibians, including the following:
- the levels of international trade in amphibians (legal and illegal);
- captive breeding of amphibians;
- threat of diseases to and from amphibians in trade;
- and the national/regional (and/or local) management, enforcement and regulatory priorities of amphibians in international trade.
Read the CITES announcement and take the survey (link on the second page) at https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/23-CITES-amphibians.pdf.
Additional information and any inquiries relating to the survey should be submitted by email to the IUCN at Oliver.Tallowin@iucn.org and copy to info@cites.org.
Potential ESA Listings
This has been posted in the Federal register at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/17/2023-17726/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-90-day-findings-for-five-species.
FWS will be considering these species to be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): Bornean earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis), blue tree monitor lizard (Varanus macraei), bleached sandhill skipper (Polites sabuleti sinemaculata), and pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus).
When a nonnative species is listed under ESA, even domestically born and bred animals can no longer be sold in interstate commerce by private breeders. This is actually anti-conservation as these animals in the wild face habitat decimation, and poaching for medicinal, food, and other purposes. Rather than allowing the global population of a species to grow to conserve species, ESA listings prevent that from happening in the U.S.
The petition was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. We will post links and updates at https://usark.org/23esa2/ when available.
You can read more about the problems caused by the ESA listing of nonnative species at https://usark.org/23esa/.
ALERT: Lacey Act Amendments
UPDATE: We have updated our alert with links to contact all sponsors and co-sponsors of the two Lacey Act amendment bills now in Congress. Please check if you are a constituent of any of the listed legislators and then take action if you are. Thank you! Check out our latest video about this on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmtZM7u2Vvk&t=28s.
Find more details and a comprehensive FAQ at https://usark.org/23lacey/. We will be updating this alert.
USARK Hats are Available Online
Our shop is open at https://usark.org/shop/ (or just click the “Shop” link in the menu on our website). We currently have two shirts and three hats available for sale.
Find A Vet
Need a good herp veterinarian? The Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) can help. ARAV provides a free Find-A-Vet service at http://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661.
