Received Shipment inspected by Fish & Wildlife??

Received a corn shipped from Texas yesterday with "Opened and Inspected" Florida Fish and Wildlife tape all over it. Been doing this since 1989 and have never had a package inspected. Nothing about the package warranted inspection, it was professionally done and marked well, shipped through FedEx.

And no, nothing about "me" would warrant a red flag either.

Is anyone else experiencing this? Is this something becoming more typical since FL is pretty much under the microscope now reptile wise??

It's happened to us a couple of times with ball python shipments. Inspected by either Fish and Wildlife or Fed-Ex themselves (although Fed-Ex only seems to ever open the little boxes....)

I don't like it much when I receive animals that have been opened and inspected, as it's natural to feel a little violated, but I also can't stand poachers, liars, and thieves shipping animals they have no legal right to ship.

yup, happened to me once. They also called me to confirm species as the box hadn't been properly marked (Lacy Act). Then I had to go pick up at the hub. Both myself and the person that shipped it received a warning letter as well. Luckily the lady that I was working with was familiar with the species I received and knew it was legal so there were no problems *whew*.

Package inspections are becoming more and more common. California and Florida are the most frequent cases. F&W are auditing packages in and out. They use dogs to sniff for live packages (animals and plants) and other contraband.

It is important to package your reptiles safely and appropriately, as well as label the package appropriately.

We cover package labeling at the ShipYourReptiles site:

ShipYourReptiles Get Help Section- Lacey Act and package labeling