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Tarantula Laws in South africa?

U

Umbra

New Member
3 Year Member
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9
Hi guys.

Well, here goes my first "official" post...

I am a very curious and skittish person by nature. I easily get stressed out to the point that I need medical stuff to stay calm and relax.

I felt it was necessary to say that before I say what this post is all about just to emphasize how important/stressful this topic is to me and how much I would appreciate any help AT ALL regarding this.

Recently I have read that back in 2014 there was some story going around that they wanted to ban all tarantulas AND feeder crickets in South Africa. How was that sorted out? How did they even try that? And what is keeping the government from yet banning this fantastic and relaxing hobby in the future?

On a lighter note, I am just curious about tarantulas that are already banned in SA. for my safety, what species are illegal to keep in SA?

Thanks so much for any info, I really appreciate it :)
 
plessey

plessey

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As far as I know keeping any local species is a no no although I vaguely remember a loop hole with Brachionopus iirc and if you live in the Western Cape then you were not allowed to keep any tarantulas.
 
U

Umbra

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
9
plessey said:
As far as I know keeping any local species is a no no although I vaguely remember a loop hole with Brachionopus iirc and if you live in the Western Cape then you were not allowed to keep any tarantulas.
Click to expand...

ah, I see. so I am restricted to only species that do not originate from SA locally? It's a strange limitation... If these local spiders are so endangered, keeping them will actually help their numbers, or am I missing something?

I guess I just want a reason for why they are illegal to keep without a permit, lol!

Why did the west cape ban all tarantulas?

Thank you so much for the reply :)

Edit: before I forget, where can I see if there are any law-changes regarding tarantula keeping? I am finding it stupidly hard to find any help at all when looking for the laws.
 
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plessey

plessey

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
325
Location
The Black Lodge
Umbra said:
ah, I see. so I am restricted to only species that do not originate from SA locally? It's a strange limitation... If these local spiders are so endangered, keeping them will actually help their numbers, or am I missing something?

I guess I just want a reason for why they are illegal to keep without a permit, lol!

Why did the west cape ban all tarantulas?

Thank you so much for the reply :)

Edit: before I forget, where can I see if there are any law-changes regarding tarantula keeping? I am finding it stupidly hard to find any help at all when looking for the laws.
Click to expand...

I'm just going off what I remember from being admin on the tarantulas.co.za so things may have changed since then. Your best bet for more information would probably be to contact the South African spider club here http://www.spiderclub.co.za/ . As for permits, I don't think Natcon will issue any unless you have a really good reason for it such as scientific research but even then it is probably iffy.
 
Last edited:
U

Umbra

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
9
Thanks guys for the help, I really appreciate it :)


plessey said:
I'm just going off what I remember from being admin on the tarantulas.co.za so things may have changed since then. Your best bet for more information would probably be to contact the South African spider club here http://www.spiderclub.co.za/ . As for permits, I don't think Natcon will issue any unless you have a really good reason for it such as scientific research but even then it is probably iffy.
Click to expand...

I contacted the spiderclub and they confirmed that it is illegal to own local species without a permit, nor is it legal to own tarantulas in the west cape.
Thanks for letting me know of that cool site :)
 
C

Casperroux

Active Member
3 Year Member
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146
Thanks @kormath for copying me with this..i have contacted Natcon and yea its such a drag since i do not want to keep them for scientific purposes...I eventually tried the conservation my true intention..and still awaiting feedback...i luckily do not live in the western cape so my non local species are safe for now...The reason why i think they dont allow Non local species in the western cape is because i might be mistaken but i do think so.e of the local species is found there and they might be afraid of cross contamination


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