Posted by:
Carmichael
at Wed Aug 20 20:49:52 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Carmichael ]
You are absolutely right. In the world of herpetoculture, it is, for the most part, all about being the "first" to breed a certain morph and making the almighty dollar. The "Lab" burm is a beautiful morph and one of my favorites because it maintains the "natural" color variants of the types of burms we typically see in the wild. Personally, though, I still find a nicely patterned and colored "normal" burm to be the creme de la creme of beauty in this species. But, you can't make money breeding normal burms so we set our sights on the newest morphs. Labs don't make money any more so it's on to the next "project". So where does it all stop? It doesn't! The cycle will continue as long as breeders are making money completely ignorant (perhaps deliberately so) of the fact that most of the burms, regardless of how much they cost, will eventually become abandoned. My stats at the wildlife center will prove this point. I realize this is far from what you originally answered as I know that this is far beyond the scope of your question, however, I just wanted to vent a bit (please accept my apologies for using your question to stage a bit of a rant). It isn't the folks buying burms that are teh problem. It really isn't the pet stores either (even though they don't help the situation with their utterly bogus advice that many give). Heck, I wouldn't even say it is the filthy reptile swaps (one that is close to me) that are the major source of concern. It is the breeders plain and simple. Now, guys, before you take your shot guns out and point them at my name on the screen, lets face reality. We pump out burms as if they are corn snakes. I breed snakes too (but stick with herps that the "average" person can handle). Irregardless of our intentions and how well we "educate" our customers, a burm is a burm....meaning, a burm is going to get big and ALL of the education in the world isn't going to help the 99% of the people wishing to get a burm but shouldn't. That leaves a lot of homeless burms to deal with! Don't get me wrong. I LOVE burms and absolutely LOVE working with them. They are a major attraction at our wildlife center because people love to see big snakes BUT, they simply don't make good pets because MOST people just don't put in the time, energy, resources, commitment, eye for detail and safety that is needed to keep them responsibly. So, should people not keep burms? Absolutely NOT...if someone truly wants to keep a burm I think that is great and their right to do so. Does this mean that breeders shouldn't continue to pump out tens of thousands of baby burms each year? NO. But what I am saying is that we need to be willing to admit where the problem lies. But, then again, maybe spending 6 hours in blazing 100 degree heat as part of my field research (long term herp survey) has taken its toll on my good judgement.
Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center - City of Lake Forest (IL)
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my rant.... - Carmichael, Wed Aug 20 20:49:52 2003