Posted on 07/24/2006 11:17:17 PM PDT by seacapn
FREEPORT, Maine --Armed game wardens seized 10 exotic fish from the tank of a popular Chinese restaurant, leaving its owner shaken and outraged.
"They treated me like a criminal," said Cuong Ly, who escaped from Vietnam 25 years ago. "I lived under communism and I felt like I'm back there again."
Ly, 45, said his pet koi were like family members and their confiscation in what he described as a heavy-handed raid made him "want to explode inside."
After obtaining a search warrant, two uniformed wardens and a biologist, accompanied by Freeport police, visited China Rose on Wednesday, taking away the 10 fish that ranged in size from 12 to 14 inches.
The koi had been on display since Ly opened the restaurant nearly 15 years ago and he credited them for bringing good luck to the business in a way akin to the arrangement of articles in the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui.
A few years ago, however, Maine outlawed the importation and possession of koi, and Ly was charged with importing freshwater fish without a permit.
"These fish can grow to be very large," said Sgt. Tim Spahr of the Maine Warden Service. "And when they grow out of their indoor habitat, they may be taken to a lake or a river or stream, and what you have is an invasive species that can compete with the native fisheries."
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The koi were transported to the Little Shop of Pets in Portsmouth, N.H., which agreed to let Ly buy them back.
Ly, which planned to place his koi with a relative in Boston while awaiting the final outcome, said he could not bear losing the fish.
Ah! So the state of Maine is so concerned about koi invading the "native fisheries" that they drop the fish off at a pet store in a neighboring state!
Way to go, Maine Warden Service! Sounds like those armed wardens kept the koi from getting out-of-hand during the dangerous raid.
something very fishy about this story....
Have the police in Maine ever hear of the concept of "Ex Post Facto"?
Doesn't sound very free to me.
Since when are Koi illegal? I like them in my local Japanese eatery. Do they bring good luck? My instincts say yes
Apparently, they are illegal in Maine. I wasn't aware of that, either. It seems silly, to say the least.
I wonder, who called the cods?
Apparently, they are illegal in Maine. I wasn't aware of that, either. It seems silly, to say the least.
___________
Right you are. I have doubts whether such koi can survive Maine winters
The cops may have been tipped off by a one of Ly's competitors.
Sorry, I was trying to inject a little fish humor. Cods... get it? ;-)
There seem to be at least a couple of game wardens in the state of Maine who have themselves confused with Jack Bauer; however, a handful of carp cannot be considered a threat to national security on a par with international terrorists.
Boy, I know we all feel a lot safer knowing U.S. agents are seizing "illegall Koi" from those evil threatening restaurants.
Let's see, robberies, murders, kidnappings, rapes, child abuse, and our wonderful agents are dicking around going after Koi?
Your tax dollars hard at work ping
This is incredibly stupid. I think Mr. Ly has a lawsuit against the State of Maine for illegal seizure if they did not grandfather the law against importing and whatever koi. Since he has had the fish for 15 years and the law was only recently passed, he should be talking to an ambulance chaser.
And what about expos-facto laws... The article says that the state passed a law against the importation of the fish, but it also said that he had the fish since he opened his restaurant 15 years ago...
Given this law, are they going to outlaw and confiscate Oscars and Piranahs too?
Mark
This had to have been the highlight of their year. How often do you think the Maine Game Wardens get to go on a jackboot thug raid of a legimate business under the guise of protecting the waterways?
I can only imagine that they're giddily wetting their pants in anticpation of future pet shop goldfish raids.
Several years ago the cops in Largo Florida ran surveilence on a group of retirees running a penny ante gin rummy game they'd play in the rec room at their mobile home game room.
Cops spent many hours and dollars only to have a judge with at least half a brain throw the charges out. He also reprimanded the cops to make better use of their time and his.
Meanwhile real crime was going on ignored while this important police work was happening.
Its a good thing that law enforcement has its priorities straight there in Maine.
This is part of the animal rights movement.
These kooks are trying to get "invasive species" laws passed in every state and federally.
Under the invasive species laws, the kooks consider dogs, cats, sheep, cattle, roses, japanese maples and a thousand other species "invasive."
This is the first shot in another war your friendly fascist government will be waging against property owners in the coming years.
And this quote by the property owner is spot on: "I lived under communism and I felt like I'm back there again."
It will be up to every property owner to learn how to push back or lose more of their freedoms.
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