How did retics get so popular?

[bcr229]

In 2015 US FWS put retics on the Lacey injurious list which made it illegal for interstate transport. During the time period (60 days?) between when US FWS announced it's intention to put them on the list and when it went into effect people purchased whatever retics they could, figuring they'd better get the genes/morphs they wanted before interstate transport was banned. As a result of that high demand/interest period the popularity exploded and has remained high ever since.

Of course, USARK sued, won, and while retics can no longer be imported, all critters on the Lacey injurious list can now be shipped interstate unless state law prohibits them (e.g. Florida, Hawaii). The judge essentially ruled (IMO correctly based on the language of the Lacey Act) that US FWS overstepped its authority.

Now there's a bill before Congress to prevent interstate shipping of Lacey list species, and even though the bill seems to have stalled it appears that the mere threat of a ban is keeping demand high. Since political discussions are more or less frowned upon on this site, I will withhold a long discussion about how government bans of various things inevitably backfire.