German man admits smuggling live tarantulas into US

[EnglishLady]

BBC Jan 19

A German man has admitted to smuggling live tarantulas into the US.

Prosecutors said Sven Koppler of Wachtberg posted hundreds of spiders to buyers in the US and across the world, earning more than $295,000 (£184,548).

Among the spiders he sold were Mexican red-kneed tarantulas, a protected species whose export is tightly restricted.

US wildlife investigators arrested him after posing as a buyer. Koppler, 37, faces up to 20 years in US prison.

'Mislabelled parcels'

In court documents obtained by the BBC, a federal fish and wildlife officer said he had learned Koppler was importing tarantulas into the US from Germany and selling them, without declaring them to customs.

Investigators posing as buyers arranged to purchase the spiders from him, and he sent live tarantulas in the post, in parcels declared as gifts or as plastic canisters.

Prosecutors said Koppler was aware the tarantulas were protected and had obtained at least some of them from suppliers in South Africa.

He was arrested in Los Angeles in December after travelling there to meet an associate.

 

[Turtle]

This guy in Germany is buying tarantulas from a South African supplier who gets them from Mexico, and then exports them from Germany into the US. Why doesn't he just go to the Flying J parking lot in Laredo and scoop up all the tarantulas he wants? They're all over the place down there, all along the Rio Grand. You can't drive on a backroad in the Rio Grand Valley without squishing several.

 

[EnglishLady]

This guy in Germany is buying tarantulas from a South African supplier who gets them from Mexico, and then exports them from Germany into the US. Why doesn't he just go to the Flying J parking lot in Laredo and scoop up all the tarantulas he wants? They're all over the place down there, all along the Rio Grand. You can't drive on a backroad in the Rio Grand Valley without squishing several.

There are? I may never get out of the van again in Texas!

 

[Turtle]

Tarantulas, scorpions and rattlesnakes. Yes, they're down there, all over.

Scorpions can easily be found under logs or other debris, under rocks, but also in basements and houses. Texas has like 18 species of scorpions, but only one is statewide. The farther south and west you go, the more different species there are.

Rattlesnakes are all over down there, too, with the Diamonback being the most widespread. The timber rattler hangs out in dense vegetation in East Texas, and the Prairie Rattler in the Panhandle. All three are poisonous and are often aggressive.

Tarantulas hunt at night and spend the day under rocks, in abandoned mouse burrows or in other sheltered areas. They also sometimes dig their own burrows. They are not aggressive, but will raise up on their hind legs and stretch out their front legs in a threatening posture. It's hilarious. gggrrrrr.... STOMP. Just kidding.

They will bite if mishandled, but are generally mild mannered. You'll often see them running around the parking lot in the evening or at night. For a few weeks each year in mid-to-late summer (in the fall in other areas line New Mexico and Arizona), hoards of herds of males wander about en mass, apparently looking for females. It's kinda like Spring Break. But it's a sight to see. It's like something out of a bad horror movie. They're everywhere!

 

[EnglishLady]

Tarantulas, scorpions and rattlesnakes. Yes, they're down there, all over.

Scorpions can easily be found under logs or other debris, under rocks, but also in basements and houses. Texas has like 18 species of scorpions, but only one is statewide. The farther south and west you go, the more different species there are.

Rattlesnakes are all over down there, too, with the Diamonback being the most widespread. The timber rattler hangs out in dense vegetation in East Texas, and the Prairie Rattler in the Panhandle. All three are poisonous and are often aggressive.

Tarantulas hunt at night and spend the day under rocks, in abandoned mouse burrows or in other sheltered areas. They also sometimes dig their own burrows. They are not aggressive, but will raise up on their hind legs and stretch out their front legs in a threatening posture. It's hilarious. gggrrrrr.... STOMP. Just kidding.

They will bite if mishandled, but are generally mild mannered. You'll often see them running around the parking lot in the evening or at night. For a few weeks each year in mid-to-late summer (in the fall in other areas line New Mexico and Arizona), hoards of herds of males wander about en mass, apparently looking for females. It's kinda like Spring Break. But it's a sight to see. It's like something out of a bad horror movie. They're everywhere!

You are not helping

I never once thought of all those creepy crawlies when in Texas before!
Now I will be on Tony's shoulders to carry me to the truck stop

 

[Turtle]

hehe They're not likely to bother you in a parking lot. In the morning after a cool night you might see a rattler or two sunning themselves trying to get warm. Don't bother them and they won't bother you. You can often find rattlesnakes in the grassy areas surrounding the truckstops, though, so be careful if walking pets (or Tony) out there. You aren't likely to see a scorpion in the parking lot, tho one might be lost or something. For the most part, you'll have to be where you're not supposed to be in order to see a scorpion - out in the scrub brush, maybe around the dumpster out back. You've very likely to see a tarantula or three down there in the evening or overnight. Definitely in the summer when the males are on the prowl. But unless you look like a female tarantula, they won't bother you either.

 

[EnglishLady]

hehe They're not likely to bother you in a parking lot. In the morning after a cool night you might see a rattler or two sunning themselves trying to get warm. Don't bother them and they won't bother you. You can often find rattlesnakes in the grassy areas surrounding the truckstops, though, so be careful if walking pets (or Tony) out there. You aren't likely to see a scorpion in the parking lot, tho one might be lost or something. For the most part, you'll have to be where you're not supposed to be in order to see a scorpion - out in the scrub brush, maybe around the dumpster out back. You've very likely to see a tarantula or three down there in the evening or overnight. Definitely in the summer when the males are on the prowl. But unless you look like a female tarantula, they won't bother you either.

btw ... Tony says thanks

 

[BillChaffey]

Here in the Ozarks the Tarantulas migrate back and forth across the roads. North in the Spring and head South in the fall. I have no idea how far they travel. But there not unusual to see twice during the year. Black widows are fairly common along with pygmy Rattle snakes.

 

[layoutshooter]

Lots of scorpions in parts of South Carolina as well. Not to mention ALL the snakes. Rattlers, cottonmouths, copperheads, coral snakes. Great place to be bit!!

 

[EnglishLady]

Lots of scorpions in parts of South Carolina as well. Not to mention ALL the snakes. Rattlers, cottonmouths, copperheads, coral snakes. Great place to be bit!!

Thank Goodness I live in the North then eh

 

[layoutshooter]

Thank Goodness I live in the North then eh

There are LOTS of snakes in North Carolina, as many as in South Carolina. Lots of "black widow" spiders and "brown recluse" spiders there too!! ENJOY!! LOL!!!

 

[EnglishLady]

There are LOTS of snakes in North Carolina, as many as in South Carolina. Lots of "black widow" spiders and "brown recluse" spiders there too!! ENJOY!! LOL!!!

You remember on the other thread I was mention suits of armour ...... it gets hot in there doing the gardening

 

[layoutshooter]

You remember on the other thread I was mention suits of armour ...... it gets hot in there doing the gardening

LOL!! Speaking of metal armor. Back in 1973 I spent 6 weeks fighting forest fires in Everglades National Park. I was still in the army then, my last six weeks in the service.

Any who. We often had to were "metal leggings" when fighting those fires due to the high number of snakes. They did not have the nice, light weight ones, that they make today. It was not uncommon to here several loud "PINGS" every day as snakes "struck"!! I swear, had I tripped and fallen I bet I could have "flown' to not land on one of those snakes!!

I ran over one diamond back with my park pick up truck. That snake was HUGE!! The head extended PAST the outside of the right front tire of the truck and the tail extended PAST the outside of the left front tire!!