Rumours and Nonsense

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I have tanks full of frags...I am not scared at all...its a load of bull. Read the law...each and every petshop should be shut down if that law is applied to the marine hobby. How the hell is MCM going to explain that they are charging a member of the public when they are themselves dishing out permits to the shops who import the very same corals...then SARS is also in the poo cause their jobs are to inspect each shipment and ensure tax is being paid and all is above order...what about the clearing agents...means they also knee high in the poo.... People need to think about this logically - the first people who are going to be asked questions will be the businesses...not the guy who has a few small tanks at home selling frags to buy salt. NONE of the reefers in SA are selling huge amounts of coral and making tens of 1000's of rands a month.
 
I seriously think you underestimate what you are suggesting. Drafting laws is not something that you can just do on the fly. We are talking about hundreds of thousands in attorney fees and years and years of work after which goverment can just deny you anyway.

Quite frankly it seems like we are operating in a grey area of the law, considering that the laws don't specifically mention home aquariums. In my opinion then it is easiest to just let things be. Aquariums have been around in South Africa for years and years and I cannot find one instance where a reefer was prosecuted.

The laws are designed to protect wildlife and not to prosecute reefers for picking up seashells. The only way in my opinion that you will get any laws changed is if a reefer actually gets charged, goes to court, and wins his case. You will then have a precedent that will prevent people from trying to prosecute somebody else under similar circumstances.

In short just let this lie, rocking the boat will draw undue attention to our hobby which I think is not needed.

I agree with keeping things on the down low.
It is interesting to research how Falconry is regulated, in our country and worldwide - There's a lot of similarities, conservation aspects, breeding, collecting and animal husbandry.
also interesting to observe how little interest is drawn towards it purposefully.
 
I have tanks full of frags...I am not scared at all...its a load of bull. Read the law...each and every petshop should be shut down if that law is applied to the marine hobby. How the hell is MCM going to explain that they are charging a member of the public when they are themselves dishing out permits to the shops who import the very same corals...then SARS is also in the poo cause their jobs are to inspect each shipment and ensure tax is being paid and all is above order...what about the clearing agents...means they also knee high in the poo.... People need to think about this logically - the first people who are going to be asked questions will be the businesses...not the guy who has a few small tanks at home selling frags to buy salt. NONE of the reefers in SA are selling huge amounts of coral and making tens of 1000's of rands a month.


Who are you, really? :whistling:
 
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Its not really rumours and assumptions...it has been stated what the intentions are on one of the other forums.

Lol I didnt even get a chance to grab my pitch fork and light my torch. That mob didnt waste time. It was more like killkanga haha
 
Some interesting comments being put forward, both here and to me via email, with regards to setting up a separate committee or group to deal with this, in essence a good idea I suppose, but I have to ask, is it really necessary? Is the government gunning for us? After all these years of openly fragging, has anyone here ever been approached by someone from these authorities and been advised or warned that what they are doing is illegal? I have to admit, I kind of agree with the storm in a tea cup analogy, I mean, is this all really so necessary?
 
Although having said, that, there are basically 2 issues at hand here, the one being fragging, the other is members reporting each other. My post above refers to the fragging part of the discussion.
 
Some interesting comments being put forward, both here and to me via email, with regards to setting up a separate committee or group to deal with this, in essence a good idea I suppose, but I have to ask, is it really necessary? Is the government gunning for us? After all these years of openly fragging, has anyone here ever been approached by someone from these authorities and been advised or warned that what they are doing is illegal? I have to admit, I kind of agree with the storm in a tea cup analogy, I mean, is this all really so necessary?

Dean would you mind if I posted the person in questions response from another forum...it may give some clarity to everyone. Names can be excluded if necessary.
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Dean would you mind if I posted the person in questions response from another forum...it may give some clarity to everyone. Names can be excluded if necessary.
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Yes of course I don't mind, although I'm not sure if you need permission first though? We don't want copyright or plagiarism to be added to our charge sheet. :p
 
Actually, let me rephrase that, please do get permission from the post owner first.
 
Interesting thread to say the least. I havent seen the offending thread that started all of this but I can say that a lot of the posts made in this thread is barking up the wrong tree. The idea of forming committees etc wont work as SAPTA (The South African Pet Traders Association) is the "official" voice of the trade to Government. Anyone wishing to raise any concerns about permits etc should do it via SAPTA. Get hold of @Adam Scott as he is acting Chairman/person at the moment.
 
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Aquariums have been around in South Africa for years and years and I cannot find one instance where a reefer was prosecuted.

Well....
RSS Breeding Albino Ocellaris will get you thrown in jail in South Africa - Marine Aquariums of South Africa

I know it concerns the breeding of clown fish but the same "grey area" applies here.

If you look at the Notice of Rights the reason for the arrest was for the "Possession of marine species without a permit". By that standard we all should be arrested. All it takes is a report to the authorities and an uneducated law enforcer and you've got rap sheet.
 
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