Importing

Hi all, I want to import some snakes from Africa (Uganda to be exact). Some species include Tanzania kenyans, Madagascar tree boas, Madagascar ground boas, and Angolan pythons. I have never done an overseas transaction before and came here for help. I went to www.cities.org for info, but all that just confuses me more. The guy I want to do the transaction with defenately is an exporter. He explained the Cities export permit that he has to get from the Management Authority of Wildlife ministry, health
certificate from the ministry of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries, and the inspection fees to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and the fees for customs at the airport before the reptiles are released for export. Now my question is, what do I have to do? Do I need some sort of permit? Is there a law in Pa that requires me to do anything special? Please help me. Any other info would be greatly appreciated too. Thank you, Lee

ok first off this guy has been trying to sucker people in for a while. He is not legitimate and is offering some animals that are not legally allowed export. (i.e. sungazers, Mad. Tree Boas, Mad. Ground Boas, etc etc.). He is someone that you should avoid to keep yourself from being ripped off. Of course he will sound professional, nice, and legitimate as he is trying to get you to send your money up front. Uganda has the highest number of "exporters" that are not legitimate than anywhere where else in Africa. Also if you have never imported before you really should do alot of research. Even though exporters have great prices there are more bad ones than good ones and once you have sent money to another country you are screwed. There is nothing you can do to get your money back. So you are aware the price of the animals is not the largest portion of importing. Freight is usually a majority of the cost. Most carriers have a minimum charge which is usually about $400. You will have freight to pay, your license cost ($50), you have to pay for USFW inspections ($55-$115 per shipment), you will have to have a broker ($150-$500 depending on the shipment), plus depending on where you are located and where the shipment lands you will have to have the freight forwarded to you. This will all depend on where it has to go, which carrier is being used. It is not cost effective to import small shipments because of the expenses involved. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.