Essential oils come from exotic plants all over the world, but do the companies selling these oils have the proper permits to import and sell the products made from them? The company Young Living has been sentenced for importing rosewood oil and spikenard oil without permission, and must pay $760,000 for importing the products without permits. [More]
endangered species
U.S. Government Wants To Keep 300 Pairs Of Manolo Blahnik Shoes Made From Rare Species Of Snake
By 12.3.15
The federal government apparently has an eye for fashion: it wants to keep shipment of nearly 300 pairs of designer shoes made from an endangered species of snake that it got its hands on a few years ago. [More]
Man Arrested At German Airport Because You Can’t Travel With 94 Reptiles In A Suitcase
By 5.16.14
Traveling with a pet is one thing — but when you manage to pack 94 reptiles into a suitcase and fly with them from Mexico to Europe, officials are not going to be pleased. Authorities in Germany say a traveler recently tried to go through the airport with quite a stash of turtles, vipers and other lizards he definitely should not have had in his luggage. [More]
Congress Takes Animal Off Endangered Species List
By 4.14.11
Usually the way off the Endangered Species List does not head through legislators, but Congress let the Rocky Mountain wolf off the list, angering environmentalists who believe the reclassification was inappropriate. [More]
Buy Your Giant Snakes While They're Still Affordable
By 1.21.10
Wired reports that the government is considering a ban on the import of Burmese pythons and eight other “injurious species” of snake, because loser pet owners in Florida keep releasing them into the wild where they breed and take over. If enacted, the ban would only affect imports, not sales by breeders in the US, but prices will probably shoot up. [More]
Sushi "Tuna" Might Be Endangered, Dangerous, Or Fake
By 11.23.09
Biologists testing DNA code identification technology discovered that the tuna they ordered at sushi restaurants was actually hazardous or fake fish, or even an endangered species.
