D.W.A license

[infinity]

I just found out that I'm limited from buying certain species due to the Dangerous Wild Animals act... I didn't know this until a few hours ago so can anyone advise? - For those not in the know, it's basically anything really toxic or that could potentially harm people. I'm sure a lot of people just don't bother but i'd like to be safe and get maybe some tarantulas but especially scorpions so does anyone know of a list or a site with the "can haves and cannot haves" ?

p.s. sorry to the individual whom I was going to buy one from but whom i cancelled on... (due to this reason)

Is it easy to get? How much? would i have to register every species i get?

 

[PseudoDave]

All depends on your local council. For me to get one, it would be £850, but there is not a single person in my town with a dwa due to the fact that the person responsible will not issue them. Lost alot of good animal keepers locally because of this and also a big cat rescue centre.

It would be impossible to give a list of can/cant haves myself, the list would be endless. However, ANYWHERE that is selling something that requires anything like a dwa or cites paper work etc, will have that as a notice next to the animal and if they dont they are not worth buying from/reliable in any way. Most true tarantulas do not require a dwa, there are exceptions of course. Confusing though, is the fact that I have kept a funnel web before and a friend has a good sized colony of the different funnel webs found in australia, with no license required. You do need a dwa to keep an ostrich though, as long as you dont kill it to eat before it gets to 4 feet... :?

To get a dwa, you must first pay, normally half of the total as a 'vet fee' for a chief vet to come out and inspect your enclosure, 'knowledge', intentions and any public safety issues that may be in place, if he then says 'no', you lose your money and get nothing. That's how it all works in this town anyway, maybe the council/wardens where you are, are more intelligent. I am aware also, that the dwa is much, much cheaper in some counties.

Dave

 

[Peloquin]

Here is the current DWA list. [if the link will work]

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countrysi.../animallist.pdf

 

[PseudoDave]

Although bare in mind that the 'current' list is not an absolute one, it's not a list of every animal that needs a dwa, but a list of the most common zoological species. See how small that invertebrate list is? Wow, there's many more species that need one than that...

Dave

 

[PseudoDave]

Infinity, I noticed your wanted ad about trying to track down a scorpion that is not on dwa list but the thing is it's left me a little confused. I've found countless commercial and private websites/breeders just from a yahoo search, for that species and many others, that provide a great selection of legal scorpions, in fact I have found it more difficult to find as many websites actually selling dwa scorpions in the first place. One thing I didn't mention in my other reply is that even some animals such as Tarantulas and Scorpions that are NOT on the list can actually inflict MORE damage than some of their dwa counterparts, this is due to venom studies moving about 5% of the speed of the pet trade and scientific discoveries. There are spiders on our livestock list that in their native countries are feared due to the destructive power of their bite, yet I can order them in for as little as £15 and they do not require me to sell them to a dwa holder only. Crazy... My point is that you could have the most deadly scorpion in the world, yet with a little intelligence and forethought it would be no more dangerous to the keeper than a pet mouse. Research, plan, think...

This is the coasttocoast website, i'm not suggesting you use them to get your scorpion, but they normally have a few species available and it'll give you an idea of what to search for on the internet. Good luck in your search.

http://www.britnett.net/c2c/page3.html

Dave

 

[infinity]

where are you finding all of these?! But anyway, most sites i've found mainly focus on the forest species and i'd prefer the desert species- and the ones that generally do have the desert species are either extortionately high, foreign, don't sell by credit card/ paypal or only have one or two... It's for a uni project (and later for pets...)

But thanks for those that have mentioned websites already

 

[PseudoDave]

Like i say, i'm finding them all just by doing a yahoo search, simple keywords like scorpion, desert scorpion,scorpion care, anything like that is turning up shop sites.

This company IS too expensive, but if you copy and paste the latin names in other searches it'll narrow it down further...

http://www.faunology.co.uk/shop/customer/home.php?cat=263