Banned Sri Lankan Poecilotheria - Simply Spiders Responds

The Exotic Pet Collective

Today I am spilling the tea! There has been a lot of drama this past week in the tarantula hobby. Lines have been drawn in the sand, people are taking sides, mob mentality and cancel culture is taking over, and ALL of this could be avoided with a simple conversation. For those that don't know whats happened, a US Tarantula Dealer briefly listed some species of Poecilotheria that are protected by the ESA (Endangered Species Act) for sale on his website with the caveat that they are "hobby form" or "hybrids" thinking it may be a loop hole to avoid federal regulation that prohibits them to be sold across state lines. I won't mince words, that was reckless, stupid and illegal. There have been some very brutal posts on social media and a podcast that, in my opinion, crossed the line between holding someone accountable and character assassination. Personally I wanted the entire story, I wanted to hear both sides and get to the truth of the issue and I figured if I wanted to hear that, you all may want to hear about that as well! So today I am talking to Dustin from Simply Spiders on why in the world he would have done something so irresponsible, what he is going to do to rectify it, and how he will conduct himself moving forward.
USFWS Endangered Species Status for Five Poecilotheria Tarantula Species From Sri Lanka:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/07/31/2018-16359/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-endangered-species-status-for-five-poecilotheria
Tom's Big Spiders Blog The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ruling on Sri Lankan Poecilotheria Species:
https://tomsbigspiders.com/2018/08/10/the-u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-ruling-on-sri-lankan-poecilotheria-species/
Tom's Big Spiders Podcast - What the Heck Are These Poecilotheria "Hobby Forms"?:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/148967/8355752-what-the-heck-are-these-poecilotheria-hobby-forms

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