The hobby & conservation

[stockhorse]

Janico, It can be but first you have to raise the man power and then the funds,backed by research.

 

[Waterrat]

Janico, It can be but first you have to raise the man power and then the funds,backed by research.

Exactly. And you also have to identify the problem (if there is any) to form some strategies to fix the problem. For example, there would be no point in restocking an area that has been devastated by cane toads if the toads are still there.
When you look around, realistically, which species would warrant captive breeding efforts in order to prevent extinction?

 

[waruikazi]

Janico, It can be but first you have to raise the man power and then the funds,backed by research.

But these things can start on an incredibly small scale.

Jannico if you went out and started herping a local area, recorded everything you found along with weather conditions etc(just in a diary) and did that for several years you would be suprised how seriously that data would be taken. And the longer you do it the more valuable that data will be.

 

[Snakeluvver2]

No joke?

Jannico if you went out and started herping a local area, recorded everything you found along with weather conditions etc(just in a diary) and did that for several years you would be suprised how seriously that data would be taken. And the longer you do it the more valuable that data will be.

I may just do that.
Just for personal reasons

 

[Owzi]

Micheal
Is there away around this?
Could a small group of private breeders band together to breed certain species that are currently in captivity but rarer in the wild with government licensing?

I think this question has been asked a few times, sorry if it has.

Jannico

P.S I love this "hooby"

I don't know exact specifics, but a well known Melbourne breeder was asked to be part of a breeding program with Diamond Pythons. I believe DSE were going to remove several founder animals & they wanted this particular individual to breed them for DSE. At first he was excited at the opportunity to help wild populations, then DSE pointed out he would not be able to own any other Diamonds or any other pythons for the integrity of the breeding program.
Would you give up several decades worth of a hobby to help the species in this instance?
Needless to say, he refused to give up his collection so was not given the opportunity.

 

[Waterrat]

A hard decision to make, that's for sure. If I was in such situation I would vigorously question the intend, methodology and conservation strategy proposed by the DSE. I wonder if they know what they're doing sometimes.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Damn... I've had a few drinks and this is my favourite topic! I'll say this now before getting into it tomorrow - national parks are NOT safe havens any more, in any part of the country - feral pests, invasive plants, cannot be kept from these 'preserves' - the notion that anywhere in the Northern Territory is a safe haven now is a nonsense. Camels, horses, donkeys, cats, dogs, introduced grasses (maybe the single most destructive influence on broadacre preserves in this country because they change fire regimes), not to mention Cane Toads and pathogens like Chytrid Fungus, all combine to make 'wilderness' areas anything but wilderness, and anything but safe.

This country is beset with antiquated thinking about the nature of the threats facing our fauna and flora - we all believe, because we are told it is so, that 'national parks' are the saviour features of our landscape. It's a propaganda that's readily accepted by most people, and seems to be well entrenched in the reptile keeper community, which accepts that it is doing something at the edge of what is permissable with regard to conservation.

Thanks Michael - this is a big subject, and one which has a long way to go before we have any broad understanding of the true facts surrounding the commonly held (and often mistaken) beliefs of those who keep native animals in this country.

Jamie

 

[hornet]

National parks may protect the land scape and the vegetation from being cleared so they do protect some species in the way of stopping habitat destruction but as jamie said the biggest threats to many species and ecosystems cannot be kept out by signs and fences

 

[Troy K.]

Conservation is something that not just myself but the rest of the S&T Aust. team care deeply about. As our readers would be able to see, we try to pack as much conservation stuff in the mag. as we can while still keeping it a reptile mag. Right from Issue one we got started with a great article from Gabrielle Latta on the Mary River and we've never stopped.

That's my plug for the mag. but now for a more personal thought. I used to shot and kill a heap of animals, chain saw trees down and done my fair share to help destroy this planet with out a second thought. Then I started keeping reptiles and started to care about the effect that my actions where having. These days I love the idea of conservation and try and get behind as many good causes as I can to not just fix the damage that I've done to the environment in my past but to try and help with some of the other mess as well. I wouldn't go calling myself a tree hugging hippy but keeping reptiles changed my whole out look on life and I hope that they have had the same affect on others.

 

[Fuscus]

There was a woman in Adelaide who was using her own breeding program to re-introduce Murray Darlings into the area. She had all the necessary permissions.

 

[Dannyboi]

, now if only there was a disease like myxomatosis to kill off cane toads

Check this out then Cane toad holy grail | Townsville Bulletin News

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Dude that article was about 3 years ago.
I'm think the government has declared defeat one the cane toad war.

 

[hornet]

Dude that article was about 3 years ago.
I'm think the government has declared defeat one the cane toad war.

i doubt it, i'm sure there is still plenty of research being done even if the chances of ever winning this war are minute its worth trying so i dont believe that everyone would have just given up like that

 

[waruikazi]

i doubt it, i'm sure there is still plenty of research being done even if the chances of ever winning this war are minute its worth trying so i dont believe that everyone would have just given up like that

Nope, the csiro quit on this one.

 

[Dannyboi]

Well true but these things take time.

---------- Post added 30-Dec-10 at 10:35 PM ----------

You kidding well I think we are just gonna have to kill them the old fashioned way get out the domestos and some gloves!

 

[hornet]

Nope, the csiro quit on this one.

there has to be someone doing research on this, universities or other institutions? Being such a widespread and devistating problem you would think someone would be persisting

 

[Dannyboi]

Sadly people quit on things once its not in the spotlight anymore. Funny how fast they came up with a vaccine for swine flu isn't it.

 

[moosenoose]

I think the biggest role in conservation our reptiles play is awareness
the more people that keep reptiles and spread awareness the better the out come will be for our environment
I feel a child that was brought up with a pet snake,lizard, possum or wombat will always carry a deeper understanding for our animals than a child that had a pet goldfish or cat
keeping our native animals as pets is encouraging people to learn more about them

Spot on! And this often has a contagious effect on other friends/relatives who surround such a person who is passionate about the animals they keep! Society as a whole, IMHO, lacks awareness, education and a general appreciation of many of our native animals, and I think that's a real shame.

Then there is the flip-side, animals within the hobby kept in sub-standard conditions by keepers! Poorly kept animals in pet shops! Smugglers Etc etc, all because a trade in these animals exists, hence a profitable market.

It'd be interesting to see who'd actually be bothered with it all if there was no money to be made in it (the hobby in general).

 

[Waterrat]

It'd be interesting to see who'd actually be bothered with it all if there was no money to be made in it (the hobby in general).

Mate, some of us "bothered" with it for decades without any money changing hands. The downside of it was - we couldn't buy a professionally make reptile cage, heating systems, frozen or fresh food, no reptile magazines to buy and still had to pay vet and electricity bills. I am astounded when someone says the HOBBY could do without the INDUSTRY. The hobby will never die but without the industry, and money made from sale of reptiles that supports the industry, the hobby would shrink to a tiny proportion. Good or bad?

 

[CarpetPythons.com.au]

Mate, some of us "bothered" with it for decades without any money changing hands. The downside of it was - we couldn't buy a professionally make reptile cage, heating systems, frozen or fresh food, no reptile magazines to buy and still had to pay vet and electricity bills. I am astounded when someone says the HOBBY could do without the INDUSTRY. The hobby will never die but without the industry, and money made from sale of reptiles that supports the industry, the hobby would shrink to a tiny proportion. Good or bad?

I disagree with you on this one Michael. The industry definitely does not need the sales of reptiles to survive!