Mike,



I'd like to address your concerns point by point (please bear in mind that the following is only my own personal "take" and is not in any way meant to speak for the entirety of HCU and its membership):





1. The president of HCU and several other members have voiced their support for the turtle regulations and the White and Black List on many forums but most notably The Field Herp Forum. Look back over Gerald Merker’s end of the year Lampropeltis post. I am not implying anything. I am stating the fact that HCU supports these regulations after the fact. If what you say is true then what is HCU doing to get them rescinded?



HCU does support SOME turtle regulations-including the exception for hobby breeding now in the works. The situation that formerly obtained of literally untold thousands of native Texas chelonians being trapped and shipped to asian food markets was just flatly unacceptable. That said, the present regs were arrived at before HCU existed. We will be working on revisions to improve them in future-if you were a member you could keep abreast of these things more readily



2. The mixing of ambiguous words and positions. So you admit you SUPPORT collecting by non-commercial folks but at the same time you do not OPPOSE reasonable take by commercial folks? Your Constitution states that you do not support the sale of wild caught herps for the purposes of sale. That, basically says you do not support the right to sell wild caught. What you are trying to do is walk a thin line and be ambiguous.



No ambiguity whatsoever. Our position is crystal clear-HCU "DOES NOT SUPPORT" the collection of wild herps for commercial sale. That means that it is not our purpose to be a lobbying organization for commercial collectors. Our job is to work to protect the interests of private herp hobbyists. We also do not actively oppose (in principle) the commercial collection of herps-but reserve the right to do so if such collection is shown to be unsustainable-in other words, would harm herp populations. HCU will always put the well-being of the wild populations first and foremost. But we also think that too often regulations are poorly conceived and reflect institutional biases more than any concern for the resource. That's why we insist that all regulations be science-based.



Now my own personal opinion-from talking with govmnt. officials and state wildlife people over the last several years: Commercial collecting is on it's way out in this country. Many states already ban it, and more will follow. The best we can do is eke out a place for the hobby to continue with captive born animals and a limited influx of wc animals from individual "hobby" collectors. If we insist on keeping commercial mass collection of wild animals, we could well lose everything. But this is just my opinion.



Also who polices your organization? How do you know if members are not buying and selling wild caught?



We make no attempt to "police" our members. Members are free to follow their own conscience. But I would venture that anyone who wished to make substantial money on commercial collection would PROBABLY not choose to join an organization such as HCU...



Please show me how using drift fences and funnel traps over-harvests herps?



I did not say that-I said it has that POTENTIAL. And it clearly does.



3. What you continually fail to realize is I am not a commercial collector in the historical use of the words. I collect for breeding stock just like you guys. I just try to offset costs by catching additional herps, in a sustainable manner, to help other hobbyists, researchers and etc., acquire animals.



By my own count, at one random point last Summer, you were running more than two dozen ads on the KS classifieds listing wild caught animals for sale to the public. To me, that is a commercial collector in the classic sense. But as far as I'm concerned, more power to you! As long as you do so legally. The problem with you, Mike, is that you interpret anyone who fails to support your activities as a form of attack-thus your almost mindless opposition to HCU, which under its own Costitution CANNOT support your activities as a commercial collector. This is sad, since you are a very persistent and energetic personality, and could be a big asset in what is becoming a very tough and long-term fight here in Texas.



Best regards,




-----
Brad Chambers

WWW.HCU-TX.ORG



The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

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