Koi confiscation part of Maine’s effort to avoid potentially harmful species

[barryian]

Life is too short! Some people have nothing else to do .... At least in my opinion. Karp are domesticated, more like pets and not being able to have them in an isolated pond or tank in your home is ludicrous.

http://outthere.bangordailynews.com...-effort-to-avoid-potentially-harmful-species/

Another article in Maine !!!
Maine game warden seizes koi from Harpswell woman
http://www.pressherald.com/2014/03/25/maine-game-warden-seizes-koi-from-harpswell-woman/

 

[mrtrumpet]

Wow! Who knew?

 

[barryian]

Wow! Who knew?

Never heard of such a thing! After Googling, seems it's the only place worldwide.
Lions & Tigers & Bears, Yeah ... but Koi? Lol ....

 

[Meyer Jordan]

The State of Maine has had this statute in force for many, many years, so this confiscation is no great surprise. What is surprising is the number of fish (40) that this individual had in, no less, a basement holding facility. they were certainly not truly concerned with the welfare of the fish. Add to this the lack of knowledge (real or affected) in making this statement-
“Maine has common carp laws and they’re lumping them in. They’re a subspecies. They wouldn’t take over our native waters ‘cause they wouldn’t survive.” Koi, being Carp, have proven to adapt with the same ease as their wild cousins.

 

[Tula]

40 was the limit she was to abide by, she actually had 47 live koi and 5 that had died and she froze them. She still has 27 dogs.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

40 was the limit she was to abide by, she actually had 47 live koi and 5 that had died and she froze them. She still has 27 dogs.

Fits the description of a 'Hoarder',

 

[sissy]

I heard also that parts of Cali. do not allow you to have goldfish because people flush live ones down the toilet or release them into lakes,streams and park ponds .I can understand it because of hearing how people give up on ponds and just dump the fish any place .

 

[Smaug]

I always get a kick out of these stories. They are always billed as victims but in reality they chose to break whatever law then choose to be upset when they are busted. I had a friend's growing up who kept a coon outside unfenced on a leash with a doghouse. When the warden showed up to take it then the warden was the bad guy for taking their pet. They never talked about how they knew it was illegal in the first place.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I always get a kick out of these stories. They are always billed as victims but in reality they chose to break whatever law then choose to be upset when they are busted. I had a friend's growing up who kept a coon outside unfenced on a leash with a doghouse. When the warden showed up to take it then the warden was the bad guy for taking their pet. They never talked about how they knew it was illegal in the first place.

Ever heard the expression: "Laws were made for those other people".

 

[Timothy]

I hesitate to respond to this thread, but I think there are a couple of narrow, judgmental views voiced here. When a guy I know built his pond several years ago he wanted a few fish in there just to have something to look for and enjoy watching. He knew of a pond where heron liked to hang out so knew something was in there. Taking his cast-net one afternoon he caught a dozen or so fish several of them being comets.
Fast forward to the third year of his pond. Talking with a guy at the local nursery he casually mentioned he was filling in the plants around his pond and mentioned that there were frog eggs all over the place, but suspected the fish would probably take care of the tads. The nursery guy asked what kind of fish and my friend told him just common gold fish. He told my friend they were illegal in an outdoor pond in this state. Really? He had no idea! He did some research and discovered this was correct. So, here he is, in the morning a happy pond owner with a few goldfish and in the afternoon a criminal pond owner with a few goldfish. Once he knew the law he was in a quandary - does he destroy the fish? Catch them and return them to the original "illegal" pond? Try to sell them, or give them away? He elected to keep them for the time being. This was two years ago. If he gets busted with them he'll own up that he knew they were illegal. There may be a fine, and the "fish and feathers" may poison the pond, but they are just as likely to look the other way since his pond is so isolated from any other fresh water in this area. The argument is that goldfish eggs are sticky and may stick to the legs of a heron, duck, or any critter that may come in contact with them then transfer them to another body of water.
Now, before anyone suggests he should have checked it out before he put them in there, who in the world would have thought a few goldfish would be illegal in a small rural pond, especially since they were caught in a rural pond? As someone earlier said, we must be the only state in the union where they're illegal.

 

[barryian]

I hesitate to respond to this thread, but I think there are a couple of narrow, judgmental views voiced here. When a guy I know built his pond several years ago he wanted a few fish in there just to have something to look for and enjoy watching. He knew of a pond where heron liked to hang out so knew something was in there. Taking his cast-net one afternoon he caught a dozen or so fish several of them being comets.
Fast forward to the third year of his pond. Talking with a guy at the local nursery he casually mentioned he was filling in the plants around his pond and mentioned that there were frog eggs all over the place, but suspected the fish would probably take care of the tads. The nursery guy asked what kind of fish and my friend told him just common gold fish. He told my friend they were illegal in an outdoor pond in this state. Really? He had no idea! He did some research and discovered this was correct. So, here he is, in the morning a happy pond owner with a few goldfish and in the afternoon a criminal pond owner with a few goldfish. Once he knew the law he was in a quandary - does he destroy the fish? Catch them and return them to the original "illegal" pond? Try to sell them, or give them away? He elected to keep them for the time being. This was two years ago. If he gets busted with them he'll own up that he knew they were illegal. There may be a fine, and the "fish and feathers" may poison the pond, but they are just as likely to look the other way since his pond is so isolated from any other fresh water in this area. The argument is that goldfish eggs are sticky and may stick to the legs of a heron, duck, or any critter that may come in contact with them then transfer them to another body of water.
Now, before anyone suggests he should have checked it out before he put them in there, who in the world would have thought a few goldfish would be illegal in a small rural pond, especially since they were caught in a rural pond? As someone earlier said, we must be the only state in the union where they're illegal.

Hi Timothy - I started the thread. There was a cat walking on an ice covered home owners pond. It was originally on FB and I also saw it on the forum, here. I commented on FB to a friend in Maine saying, I think that was in Maine. She said, it's not Maine as it's illegal. I Googled it and read about why, etc. I was shocked to find that Maine and only Maine has this law. I couldn't find anywhere else in the world, that it was illegal to have koi, goldfish or carp as they all are in a private isolated pond. I found that quite bizarre. I still do! It's a law but I'll bet 1/2 the state is unaware. Who'd think? They should be lenient on folks who are innocently found with a pond containing carp type fish.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I believe the difference between the two cases mentioned here. In the case originally posted of the woman with Koi, she was well aware of the state statutes. She had been fighting them for years. The state of Maine gave her every opportunity to re-home her fish yet she opted not to. Government agencies will be accommodating only to point and for a limited period of time.

Not saying that I agree with the law, but until it is changed, it is the law. Ignorance of a law only has limited standing.

 

[MitchM]

Trying to limit wildlife (including fish eggs that may attach to a heron's or duck's legs...) to man-made borders is folly.

A Charles Dickens quote:
"the law is a ass — a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience — by experience.”

.

 

[pecan]

We are all criminals without knowing it, until they come for us.

"“Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.”"

- Lavrentiy Beria, head of Joseph Stalin’s secret police

 

[Timothy]

Hi Timothy - I started the thread. There was a cat walking on an ice covered home owners pond. It was originally on FB and I also saw it on the forum, here. I commented on FB to a friend in Maine saying, I think that was in Maine. She said, it's not Maine as it's illegal. I Googled it and read about why, etc. I was shocked to find that Maine and only Maine has this law. I couldn't find anywhere else in the world, that it was illegal to have koi, goldfish or carp as they all are in a private isolated pond. I found that quite bizarre. I still do! It's a law but I'll bet 1/2 the state is unaware. Who'd think? They should be lenient on folks who are innocently found with a pond containing carp type fish.

Hi Barryian, you are absolutely correct about the archaic law in Maine. I also totally agree with MitchM's assessment that unless the heron, ducks, and coons can be controlled, it's only a stop-gap law. My only issue was with the off-handed remarks that seem to be an indictment of every pond owner who had inadvertently introduced some "outlaw" basically innocuous fish in a relatively isolated environment.
To carry the absurd to an almost humorous level, there is an Oriental restaurant on Main St. in Freeport Maine which had a large aquarium in the dining room with two or three Koi. The state took issue with even these fish! Public opinion and common sense prevailed and the restaurant was permitted to keep their center-piece.
To paraphrase an old adage; Some old laws and diapers should be changed for the same reasons.