For those that don't know, Dick Perrin and an employee recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport, sell, receive, acquire, and purchase fish and wildlife in the state of Florida. Mr. Perrin is the owner or executive officer for one of our sponsors, Tropicorium.
Illegal harvesting of livestock is a serious offense from a hobbyist standpoint as it undermines our ability to keep reefs. It not only directly impacts wild reefs, but it casts a shadow on our hobby as a whole. Illegal activity like this arms those individuals and groups that aim to heavily regulate or even ban the aquarium trade with more ammunition to advance their cause.
The primary mission of CaptiveReefs is to promote responsible reefkeeping. I feel that accepting sponsorship from entities that jeopardize our hobby/industry is not in keeping with our mission. As such, CaptiveReefs has removed the Tropicorium from its sponsor list.
I want to share with you the exchange I recently had with Dick and Ray Perrin informing them of the decision to discontinue sponsorship so that you are aware of any legal ramifications for posts you make on forums. (Note that forums are protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and are not liable for comments made by its members. As clearly stated in our Terms of Service which everyone agrees to upon becoming a member, posts made on this forum are the sole property of their creator.)
In the message from Dick and Ray, they want to make sure you know that "Tropicorium stands blameless" as a corporation. And despite, Dick Perrin and an employee having been convicted of illegal trafficking of livestock, "Tropicorium is not in any legal disputes of any kind"
Originally Posted by jimsflies
Dick and Ray-
I'm disappointed with the news regarding the illegal collection of livestock in Florida. One of the main missions for CaptiveReefs is to promote responsible reefkeeping to our members and vendors. I don't feel that keeping the Trop on as a sponsor is in keeping with our mission. Regrettably, I have to remove Trop from our sponsor list.
I truly hate to lose you guys as a sponsor as we have built a very good relationship over the past few years.
I'm sure you guys will get through the legal issues and hopefully at some point down the road we can reestablish our business relationship. I still consider us friends, however its important to protect the integrity of my own business and its mission.
Sincerely,
Jim
Originally Posted by Tropicorium
Hey, Jim: Things have been so hectic that I haven't tried to put things right. I think I have actionable cause against you for defamation of a corporation. As you know, corporations are 'stand alone' entities. Tropicorium has been accused of nothing except in your site and mi. reefers. Since your moderators have been so careless as to not correct this with hundreds of chances to do so, my attorney thinks I can recover damages from you, and with my situation, I have one of the best. I concede you can ban me from your site, but Tropicorium stands blameless, and the loss of business can be attributable to your site and mi. reefers. This is your chance to reconsider before legal action is taken against you and the Captive Reef website. We will accept nothing less than a disclaimer posted prominently on your site saying Tropicorium is not in any legal disputes of any kind. Thanks Ray, and Dick