Mike this united under one banner is something I disagree with. It fosters an all or nothing attitude and most of the people against us would rather ban everything if they only have those choices. A hobbyist/sportsman type organization is badly needed, if only to show the opposition that commercial collecting is only a small part of the hobby.



Commercial collecting is the hardest sell there is to these wildlife managment agencies. Economically speaking the majority of the benifits goes to a very small number of people, which are the commercial collecters themselves. Most species that actually do well in captivity and make good pets are also easily bred. The demand for such species can be easily supplied by breeders who are willing to spend the money and take the time to field collect their own stock. It is much better for local economies to have 100 people spending $1,000 apeice to collect a small number of herps than it is to have one guy spend $1,000 on a trip and sell and keep the profits for himself.



I am not saying commercial collecting is always a bad thing but I am saying it has very little appeal to local economies and hence, to local politicians. Hobbyist/sport take is also a less risky proposition for wildlife managment to accept. More licenses = more fees = more money for studies. One or two dozen commercial collecters spending $60 each on a license = not much, as far as these game agencies are concerned.



I really wish the wildlife agencies would do all the studies and such to determine maximum harvest but I don't think it's going to happen because it's such a hard sell. If you can get a group going I would join as a dues paying member at the hobbyist level but until then I will continue to support the hobbyist group that best represents my primary stake in these issues.

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