Mike, you can't give an answer, yes or no, without the poster making some justifications on his/her point. It really is a complex question where yes or no could be justified depending on the species involved. Your explanation and definition of sustainable, endangered, and threatened are open to interpretation. For instance, perhaps the rarest turtle in Florida is the Spotted Turtle . They are NOT protected here at all and are not even classified as reptiles of concern. Would it be right under your explanation to harvest every wild adult you could find? Going under your definition, they are not endangered or threatened. No one even has a clue how many there are or even where they are. That is but one example and I'm reasonably sure every state has similar herps that are in limbo. Going strictly by your interpretations it would be o.k. to harvest wild ones when in fact it would be terrible to do so. That is why I don't think a simple yes or no will be enough for most folks...
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

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