Mailable Live Animals

Post by btilly » Tue, Aug 17, 2021, 8:08 PM UTC

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #94

btilly wrote: post #72

One important restriction on mailing is that you CANNOT mail fertile ants through USPS. Which means that all of those ant farms you see being sold to kids? You pay money, and get some sterile workers who are guaranteed to die pretty fast, leaving an unhappy kid. If you want a real ant farm, you need to either collect ants locally, or buy ants in person from someone who did themselves. And you'd better known the rules…

Actually there are two species that were made legal to ship in the US last year. More information (and for sale) here. [0] [0] https://tarheelants.com/pages/ant-queen-and-colony-adoption

Post by onemoresoop » Tue, Aug 17, 2021, 8:12 PM UTC

ryanianian wrote: post #128

wincy wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know, insects have been doing pretty well for a long time, and only one large group of insects that we know of has ever gone extinct, even during the absolutely horrific Permian-Triassic extinction event. I know as humans our impulse is to “do something about it”, but I think insects are gonna be fine.

Sure insects in general will be "fine", but ecosystems will have to be rebuilt over time with the different dynamics. Take bees/pollinators. Another species could evolve or otherwise step in to fill the gap, but it could well result in many other plant and animal species also going extinct in the process. Similar scenario with climate change. The earth will continue to exist and there will continue to be weather. But…

Post by lisper » Tue, Aug 17, 2021, 8:33 PM UTC

elliottkember wrote: post #59

lisper wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how anyone could possibly know what the subjective experience of being a day-old chick stuffed in a box would be like. But I can imagine what it would be like to be a human stuffed in a box, and that doesn't seem very pleasant. I don't see how the idea that it might be better for birds (who are pretty clearly sentient creatures) could be based on anything other than rationalization and wishful thinking.

This is called "anthropomorphism" and is a form of fallacious reasoning.

Post by kortilla » Tue, Aug 17, 2021, 8:41 PM UTC

xjlin0 wrote: post #65

ryanianian wrote: post #42

In general we tend to over-pack and over-engineer a lot of our shipping and handling processes. Turns out many things just aren't that big of a deal (like shipping bees). My friend was stationed in Hawaii. She mailed me a coconut. No box, just a stapled a first-class shipping label to it. Delivered without issue.

You are lucky -- not all fruit/seed can be mailed from Hawaii to lower 48. Coconuts & pineapple are among exceptions. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/plant_health/fs-ship...

Post by dexterdog » Tue, Aug 17, 2021, 8:49 PM UTC

btilly wrote: post #132

wincy wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know, insects have been doing pretty well for a long time, and only one large group of insects that we know of has ever gone extinct, even during the absolutely horrific Permian-Triassic extinction event. I know as humans our impulse is to “do something about it”, but I think insects are gonna be fine.

Insects may do fine, but individual species are another story. For example through most of Los Angeles, if you see an ant it is probably an Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). Over my son's life, the variety of native ants to be found near me has visibly declined.