Amazonas Magazine Newsletter says Winnipeg might ban most aquarium fish

[Jungle Fan]

Not sure but I hope this doesn't violate forum rules however since it might directly impact some of our Canadian forum members I thought I might post the link Amazonas magazine had sent out in its newsletter:

https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2021/08/25/winnipeg-considers-banning-many-aquarium-fish-and-many-other-pets-too/

[Jungle Fan]

This is the actual newsletter page:

https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=b821af357ffaac0ba435b3fec&id=ac10ba1cfc&e=9383f542ed

 

Sure hope this doesn't become a trend!

Edited September 1, 2021 by Jungle Fan

[FrozenFins]

Yep, unooratntley this is true 😞. As someone who lives in winnipeg this scares me. My local fish club facebook group is OUTRAGED and has sent many angry emails to our ridings repersentitive. 

I'm mostly scared for my LFS who is mainly saltwater fish. With banning all wildcaught fish, most saltwater species will be eliminated. Hopefully with covid and now this they can make it through it.

Its not just fish they are placing new rules on too. Parrots, Turtles, any salamander (including axolotls), most shrimp, maybe snails, etc. Will all be banned. To learn more about this law visit here:

https://ehq-production-canada.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/6458f0d88f986f45321d674fa91f4fc605207bed/original/1629389549/0b76b90dc3adc95cb5421db689f3540c_WEB-PR-AS-RPO_Bylaw_Review-Presentation-20210716-v2.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBJCUKKD4ZO4WUUA%2F20210901%2Fca-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20210901T234924Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=8276e9f390405c21cf6f33020cb2fabae24c1b932eed0e230df047e10c5bbf9e

We should know soon if this law will come into place. The law is suppose to either pass or get declined within the next few weeks.

I have already emailed the city, my ridings rep, etc.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2021 by James Black

[Jungle Fan]

Legislation like this makes no sense, without aquarists species like the White Cloud Mountain Minnow would now be extinct because their natural habitat was destroyed.

[FrozenFins]

I should say that a councilmen said that they dont beleive this law will not effect us.

Edited September 1, 2021 by James Black

[Patrick_G]

This is problematic and a bit surprising  but there’s certainty a conversation to be had over sustainable gathering of ornamental fish just like there is for food fish. 

[FrozenFins]

@Jungle Fan its clear whoever wrote up this law did 0 research.

[Jungle Fan]

Without the aquarium fish trade in wild caught fish the fishermen like those in Project Piaba in Brazil will work on palm oil plantations, which means more rainforest going bye-bye. Another thing those legislators don't realize is that at least in the Rio Negro region many of the Cardinal Tetras that go into the trade would otherwise not survive the drought season when the flooded areas where they spawned dry out. They should do some research by reading a children's book:

Amazon Adventure: How Tiny Fish Are Saving The World"s Largest Rainforest by Sy Montgomery and Keith Ellenbogen.

 

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

Those are clearly non pet owners and definitely those without any concept of aquatic life  guessing on what is best. 5 fish or less per home, it can't be wild caught, and can't have an adult size over 14 inches .....but goldfish and koi are exempt? 

They have "interesting" proposed carve outs for everything I hope it never passes for you all. https://engage.winnipeg.ca/responsible-pet-ownership-bylaw-review

I hope they walk back the proposal for you and your Winnipeg crew @James Black

[Tihshho]

Ehhh, I might be skirting the line of political with this post and I apologize. If you look at laws in general, you will see that lots of laws impact things that people consider hobbies and do exactly like what is written in what you posted by regulating what you can and can't have, and the volume of what you can have. Rules are chosen by people who have no expertise, let alone experience in what they are regulating. Politician's are one track minded, they write these laws for one purpose and disregard the other things they impact with this steam rolling. Keep this in mind when any law is passed, it might seem silly to outsiders, but to people who are passionate about something that is impacted by the new legislature it hurts and is saddening. I'll leave it at that. Mods, feel free to delete this if I went too far.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Tihshho

[sudofish]

The limit of 5 per type of animal is concerning when it comes to fish. Do they mean I can have 2 corydoras and 3 neon tetras or does it mean I could have 5 corydoras and 5 neon tetras since they are both different species. Then of course many fish feel more comfortable in schools larger than 5. Speaking of corydoras are they going to be banned because they could be classified with the venomous fish? And what source are they using for the 14 inch max length. You can find various max lengths for the same type of fish when searching online. Hopefully this law doesn't come to pass.

[FrozenFins]

@sudofish I think and hope by the 5 pets per household rule they mean more like dogs, cats, birds, etc. Not so much fish. 

[NanoNano]

Easy to speak extemporaneously about this,  but hard to get thoughts into cohesive writing.  It's situations like this where, the people seeking legislation might have some valid points...This hobby is hundreds of years old now,  but still lack's any cohesive document or accepted set of guidance/ethics/responsible behavior that can be pointed to.  Not effectively policing one's self leaves one wide open to being policed by others....and that's exactly what we've done and continue to do.  We've go some really great experience, skills, and minds on this forum and within the co-op.  Maybe the thing to do is to start to take a stab at drafting some sort of mission statement or manifesto that starts to capture and document the values and behaviors that should be guiding us all as hobbyists?

[Jungle Fan]

This legislation is very concerning, even for us here in the U.S.

[gardenman]

New Jersey has some crazy statutes already on the book. If you go to  NJ - Pet Sales - Pet Purchase Protection Act | Animal Legal & Historical Center (animallaw.info) and read section 56:8-95 you'll discover why there are now so few pet shops in NJ. The ones that still exist largely ignore the rules and hope to avoid getting killed by officials. 

Essentially, "any animal" sold in a pet shop has to have had a vet inspection and report filed within five days of being acquired by the pet shop and before being offered for sale. Read the whole statute and you'll understand why so few small pet shops still exist in NJ. 

 

[GardenStateGoldfish]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:43 AM, gardenman said:

New Jersey has some crazy statutes already on the book. If you go to  NJ - Pet Sales - Pet Purchase Protection Act | Animal Legal & Historical Center (animallaw.info)

Thanks so much for sharing this, oh my I had no idea this was in place in NJ, pets are members of the family and are great for mental health and education, sad to see restrictions coming their way 😞 

[Dwayne Brown]

Wow this law is truly shocking. I understand a law to stop the harvest of endangered fish species or ones that are critical for the health of an ecosystem but to ban nearly all types of ornamental fish makes almost no sense. Now not to get political but I am very pro environmentalism and to me it seems that this law will have almost no positive effect on fish populations besides maybe reducing poaching. But a lot of fish like cherry barbs are almost extinct in the wild and would be almost gone if it wasnt for the aquarium hobby. Banning the harvest of certain native species that would be hard to keep in an aquarium like rockfish, sixgill sharks, and limiting the harvest of other fish like salmon, would help the environment but this law will not.