Dear Tori – Q&A

I’m still taking questions, but right now I have a few that I can answer.  Others are going to take me a while to answer, but as soon as I find out the correct information, I’ll answer them in other posts.  I’m looking at you, Andy Hall.

Dear Tori,

Do you have any pets on base?

and

Do firefighters count?  If so, I have six of them this season. 

In all honesty though, no, we don’t have pets.  Nor do we have chia pets either.  Plants are also banned* (There are some special provisions for the greenhouse, but we won’t have the greenhouse this winter season)

From Wikipedia – Some U.S. laws directly apply to Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, Public Law 95-541, 16 U.S.C. § 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized by regulation or statute:

• the taking of native Antarctic mammals or birds
• the introduction into Antarctica of non-indigenous plants and animals
• entry into specially protected or scientific areas
• the discharge or disposal of pollutants into Antarctica or Antarctic waters
• the importation into the U.S. of certain items from Antarctica

Violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to US$10,000 in fines and one year in prison.

Frankly, I can’t think of a single pet I would own that I’d risk paying $10,000 in fines for keeping and spending time in prison for.  Plus feeding it could be a problem and I don’t want to think about what it would be like to have to walk a dog outside here.  Not to mention cleaning up after it. 

Goblin, you wouldn’t want to spend all day locked in a building now, would you?

Thanks for the questions y’all!  I’ll get in touch with you about getting your addresses.

Stay warm!