Tarantula import / Risk Assessment

[Jakob]

Hello T forum!

I live in a country that has rather conservative laws concerning the import of live animals. There are a couple of reasons for that, some rather logical, others not so much. The most logical and valid reason is to protect our ecosystem (island country) for foreign invaders and diseases. For example, there has been a reptile/turtle ban in the country since there was a salmonella outbreak in the 80's. There are also very few animals native to the country, only one mammal, and there have previously been issues with the import of foreign species (mink for example). There are also no insects or spiders here larger than 5cm/2", and none that can cause any harm in any way, so generally natives here aren't very fond of larger insects or arachnids.

Tarantulas are not under any sort of ban, but you do have to get an import licence from the authorities (department of food and import), which have never been granted, though a couple have tried, but they were unsuccessful.

Long story short, I am going to try to get an import licence.

Tarantulas normally do not carry salmonella, so I can rule out that factor.
I have given it quite some thought and I think B. smithi would be a good choice to go with, nw species, docile and slow with a mild bite, considering.

There is one part of getting the licence, which I don't really know how to continue with. That is the risk assessment the department asks for. Assessing the (general) risk of the species being imported. Biting and escaping being the primal risks, I would presume.

How are such risk assessments normally done? Does anybody here have experience with making such assessments, or knows somebody that has?

I have rather short answers for the biggest risks. Bites are quite harmless and the tarantula would die very soon if it would escape, since even the summer months would be quite cold for the arachnid. Autumn would kill it overnight. I don't feel like I have thorough enough answers for the risks involved. If anybody could point out some proper researches that have been done on B. smithi, that would be fantastic.

Any help at all, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Enn49]

It may help people to know which country you are in

 

[Jakob]

Iceland

 

[RonC]

I would check with the local authorities that issue the permit to see what they require for their risk assessment.

 

[WolfSpider]

I don't have any research on these issues, but the biggest concern in importing animals is colonization of local fauna or the importation of disease.
As far as tarantulas go. In Iceland, as you pointed out, escape and colonization is impossible. In my 24 years of medical service, I have never heard of any arachnid carrying a disease harmful to humans or other local fauna. B. hamorii would be a great starter species, since its venom is quite weak for humans.

 

[Jakob]

I would check with the local authorities that issue the permit to see what they require for their risk assessment.

I absolutely will, just want to get as much info as I can before I do. I really want this to go well.

I don't have any research on these issues, but the biggest concern in importing animals is colonization of local fauna or the importation of disease.
As far as tarantulas go. In Iceland, as you pointed out, escape and colonization is impossible. In my 24 years of medical service, I have never heard of any arachnid carrying a disease harmful to humans or other local fauna. B. hamorii would be a great starter species, since its venom is quite weak for humans.

Thanks for the reply, I have been doing some online research on arachnids carrying diseases and have come to the same conclusion.
Also thank you for mentioning Hamorii. Is there any significant potency difference between smithi and hamorii?

 

[RonC]

No difference in toxicity between Smithi and Hamorii. Good luck and keep us informed how it goes. Might make it easier in the future for someone else.

 

[Dave Jay]

The risk assessment usually is most about whether a feral population has established in other countries. When banning cichlids (fish) in South Australia it had to be proved that pet trade escapees or releases had established a feral population elsewhere in the world, for us, basically if an animal has a feral population in Florida USA we can forget about ever owning one. I know Iceland is different in climate to Australia but the situation is similar in some ways both being Island countries. I would research which species have established feral populations elsewhere and disregard those species. Try to find a species that hasn't got a history of establishing feral populations and is totally unsuited to the climate in your country.
I wish you the best of luck, keep us updated!