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RE: Mailing live animals (was Re: [Killietalk] (no subject))
Hi Folks:
Wright you are correct but overly optimistic. A few years back I was treated
to a meander through the mailing regs with my postmaster.
The long and that short of it is that your local postmaster may accept or
deny any livestock depending on *their* opinion of whether the animal is
likely to make the trip happy and alive.
I had to swear, right hand on the reg book, that I would not hold my
postmaster, the post office, the postmaster general or anyone associated
with the USPO either living or dead responsible for the shipment regardless
what they did to it and that the fish had *no* monetary value that the post
office could be held responsible for. The postmaster actually called over
two witnesses to observe my oath! (for real) Then I agreed to ship from NJ
to AZ via overnight mail. The package made it to its destination without
incident. Eventually my PO let me ship priority mail with some coaxing. Now
when I walk in someone behind the counter usually calls out "It's the fish
guy!"
I just want to add that my post office has done every reasonable thing to
handle my fish with extraordinary care. They keep my boxes warm until they
load them on the truck and until I pick them up. I could not think of anyone
I would rather entrust my fish to.
>From my experience, most postmasters don't know anything about killifish.
They really don't want to be responsible for killing them. So they would
rather turn your business away than risk the liability. Government employees
like to follow regs. If they follow regs exactly, they can't be held
accountable. When a reg requires that they make a judgment call, they prefer
to act conservatively or avoid it altogether. If a postmaster were to
accept a very expensive shipment of livestock, that dies, the postmaster may
be held responsible for accepting the shipment even though he or she knew
nothing about the proper methods of transporting said livestock and even
though someone else screwed up. Such a mistake only happens once to a given
individual, it might even turn into a career move. Once the story gets out,
other postmasters and postal employees will take notice and so much for
accepting killies at that or other local post offices.
Yes, I would like it if the post office would take responsibility for their
actions. But I do understand that they don't know the first thing about
shipping killifish. Eventually something is going to go tragically wrong
and someone is going to get a box of very dead fish. When that happens, the
last thing I am going to do is to blame it on the USPO, regardless if it was
their fault or not. The postmaster could have prevented the tragedy by
simply rejecting the package.
Please keep this little fable in mind when dealing with your post office.
Before toting in a box ask to speak to your postmaster. Go over the
regulations. Reassure him or her that you have correctly packed the fish.
Make sure that he or she understands that they will not be held accountable
if something goes wrong. Make sure that they know that killies can survive a
few days in a box without undue stress. And finally make sure that they
understand that your fish are without value other than sentimental. Be
willing to negotiate, ship overnight if need be for the first box or two and
build a relationship. If something goes wrong be true to your word and don't
make a fuss. Always be polite, listen to your postmaster's objections and
do whatever it takes to allay his or her concerns. If your postmaster still
won't ship your fish there is little or nothing you can do except ship from
your postal airport facility or another post office.
Wright is correct about what the regs say, but in reality, your postmaster
gets to make the call whether he or she thinks that the fish will get to
their destination alive and therefore whether to accept your fish.
Peace,
~RJ~
-----Original Message-----
From: killietalk-bounces+tranquilitybase=netzero_net at aka.org
[mailto:killietalk-bounces+tranquilitybase=netzero_net at aka.org]On Behalf
Of Wright Huntley
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 5:06 AM
To: killifish discussion list
Subject: Mailing live animals (was Re: [Killietalk] (no subject))
Markus,
Markus&Heather Brown wrote:
> I was wondering, I have seen folks chat about shipping before, do
> individual Posts offices decied whether or not to ship live animals?
> I have received several packages of fish from them, but today I
> tried to send a package and they said they don't ship live animals.
> Any Ideas?
They must take them, unless they feel that it is not safe and that live
arrival is questionable. Somewhere in the archives there should be a
sample text for a shipping label that was suggested by my postmaster
when I was living in Modesto. It gives the exact regulation that you are
in compliance with. IDK if I still have a copy (several computer crashes
later), but will look for it if you cannot find it in the killietalk
archives.
Sending small cold-blooded animals through the US mail is perfectly
legal. [You just have a busy-body bureaucrat who is making up rules.]
Wright
--
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net
760 872-3995
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