Change in the law regarding plants?

I was in a city centre pet shop the other day with a friend who is thinking of getting some WCMMs for a small garden pond. We were discussing getting some plants for it, but when we asked the guy at the counter he said that the law regarding cold water plants had been changed and they couldn't be sold because of people discarding them in waterways. This kind of sounds like nonsense to me, as I've bought cabomba, anubias and hornwort in the last 6 months. Has there been a change in the law?

I haven't heard anything new regarding the base of your post and while Cobomba and Hornworth can survive outdoors Anubias wouldn't.

Kev.

From the Irish Independant
By Claire O’Sullivan
Monday, July 06, 2009
A RAFT of plants are to be banned from sale in garden centres later this year as the Department of the Environment moves to curb the damage inflicted on Irish wildlife by the importation of non-native species.
It is understood it will be an offence to possess the listed species for "the purpose of sale or dispersal or to transfer the species from one place to another within the country".

Householders who have such species will be advised how to dispose of them.

Water plants pose a particular threat to biodiversity with species such as the African or curly-leaved pondweed wiping out native weed in Lough Corrib. The weed, and the insects who feed on it, attract the lake’s renowned brown trout.

According to the Department, the ban is being introduced to meet Ireland’s obligations under the EU Habitats Directive and will form part of the Birds and Habitats Regulations that are to be made law later this year.

Among other species likely to appear on the list are Water fern (Azolla filiculoides), New Zealand pygmyweed (Crassula helmsii), Nuttall’s pondweed (Elodea nuttallii), Parrot’s feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) and Fringed water lily (Nymphoides peltata),

A public consultation process will also be in place.

Senior research officer with the Central Fisheries Board, Dr Joe Caffrey, said: "Without the appropriate regulations a great number of our habitats and species will be under threat."

There is new legislation being brought in in the new year regarding several species of plants widely kept in aquariums. We attended a meeting with the Department of Parks and Wildlife last month regarding the list of plants and animals included.

I don't have the list but it should be on the departments website.

Found this list.
Ailanthus altissima (Tree of heaven)[1]
Amorpha fruticosa (Desert false indigo)[2]
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Amrosia artemisifolia)[3]
Carpobrotus edulis (Hottentot fig)[4]
Caulerpa racemosa (Grape caulerpa)[5]
Caulerpa taxifolia, Mediterranean clone[6]
Clematis vitalba (Old man's beard)[7]
Crassula helmsii (Australian swamp stonecrop)[8]
Elodea canadensis (Canadian pondweed)[9]
Fallopia japonica (Japanese knotweed)[10]
Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey locust)
Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant hogweed)[11]
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides (Floating pennywort)[12]
Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan balsam)[13]
Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot feather)[14]
Rhododendron ponticum[15]
Robinia pseudoacacia (Black locust)[16]

Thanks for the info. Guess I'll break a bit off of mine and give it to her. Neither of us are the type to let it get anywhere near a body of water.

Really interesting but a total load of Baloney! Seriously, because it comes under the framework of something official everyone starts quaking in their Boots! At this very moment in Time, all around the Country, Hedges remain un-cut, Road margins and Kerb-sides remain full of Weeds and Heraclium montagazzianum is damn well nearly everywhere as is Himalayan balsam. They bring this crap to the Public's attention every time they run out of something to do, either that or because they need to use up the remainder of an un-spent budget. They are contracting out so much these days to private companies that no one has a clue what is actually going on or who is responsible for what so even starting to believe that all of these plants on that list will be the serious focus of the most meager attention will be a fantasy.

Currently, in the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, there are several mature, freely seeding Plants named on that list, these will not be cut down but they produce copious amounts of Seed annually that are born both by water and air. Both of which occur naturally in the Gardens.

Another point is that White Cloud Mountain Minnows, if they survive outdoors in a Garden Pond ( I have had many do so )should also be banned as they would, I imagine, survive and indeed spread throughout the water courses in Ireland, particularly in the warmer parts of the west.

Kev.

As posted in other sections here a short while ago, I was at the legislative meeting with the appropriate government authorities on this, and also attended the public forum on it the day afterwards.

Things are not necessarily as is often stated, especially if looking at media quotations from 2009.

Whilst plants such as Lagarosiphon major will be banned here in Ireland, there is a provision to allow a similar species to be sold (that is under the Birds and Habitats regulations).

Now, there may be future legislation (and that was something which recently had a public consultation on)....but that is the future without any specific detail yet but still plenty of scaremongering.

ian