The owner of a pet store located in Butler is under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after he allegedly imported and sold several invasive fish from Thailand.
BizTimes is not naming the store or the owner at this time because he has not been formally charged yet.
A special agent with the USFWS was tipped off in March 2021 that the pet store owner had been importing giant snakeheads from Thailand and selling them online, according to an affidavit in the case.
Snakeheads are considered an invasive species. They are native to parts of Africa and Asia. The federal Lacey Act prohibits people from importing and transporting live Snakeheads.
"The larger, juvenile snakeheads eventually become incompatible with other fishes, outgrow their aquarium, and are often released," according to the affidavit. "The predatory nature of snakeheads means their introduction to a water body could negatively impact populations of native fishes through direct predation, competition for food resources, and alteration of food webs."
The pet store owner would allegedly refer to the snakeheads as “giant bettas” to avoid detection, according to the affidavit.
The special agent also allegedly found several Facebook messages in which the pet store owner discussed sourcing, selling and shipping young snakeheads. Through these messages, the store owner told customers that he was importing 1,000 snakeheads at a time. The store owner would often charge between $50 and $60 for one fish, according to the affidavit.
A search warrant was officially executed at both the pet store owner’s place of business and Milwaukee home earlier this month.
