Posted by:
zach_whitman
at Fri Jun 18 00:13:39 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by zach_whitman ]
OK this is a continuation of the thread below (off topic/my zoo) about "wild type" corns being illegal in NJ. I think the topic deserves its own thread...
The entire concept of species being endangered at a state level is somewhat arbitrary and bogus.
OK on the one hand I get that we want to preserve species across as much of their natural range as possible and that different populations have unique characteristics ect. I get it. I am a locality specific collector. But there are some major problems with the whole mentality as well.
For example... a project I worked on... The eastern black racer is a COMMON snake over most of its range. Southern Vermont is the historic northern most extent of its range. I won't specify where, but the known range is tiny and when I say southern vermont I want to be clear that I actually mean a parcel of land that is no more than 7 miles from the Massachusetts border at any point. For many years they were presumed to be extinct in the state. Then someone found one right smack on the Mass border and...presto!... Vermont has its most endangered reptile!
Now we estimate that there are a whopping total of 7 adult eastern black racers that use habitat in Vermont and may spend some of the year in Mass too. VT has paid for numerous radio telemetry studies, habitat restoration, road construction, ect all in the name of protecting this "endangered" species.
Lets be clear. VT does have some seriously threatened species (herptile and others) that could use a lot more money than they get. And they are spending absurd amounts to protect a species that is abundant starting 50 miles south of VT and covering half the country!
Really what does a state line mean to a reptile? No one would care if the range of a species decreased by a measly 50 miles WITHIN a state!
So corns in NJ... do they even belong in NJ or were they introduced? I have heard that rumor but I think it is exactly that, a rumor. There is nothing stopping corns from populating up to the northern limit of the pine barrens. There is also no reason why people shouldn't be allowed to keep captive bred animals from a species that is dirt common everywhere, and there is little incentive to collect from the wild (which already has its own law making it illegal!)
I once got into an argument with an inspector who came into my pet store and started giving us crap about having an adult pair of abbot okeetees for sale. She said that they are wild type corns and they are illegal. I said no they are not they are a captive mutation, you show me a wild corn in NJ that looks anything like that! We went back and forth, I argued, what if a kid has two different morph corns and breeds them together and gets double hets? Is that illegal?... Yep! Needless to say, I lost that arguement. Complete BS if you ask me.
...stepping off soap box...
Thoughts?
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 Endangered by state??? - zach_whitman, Fri Jun 18 00:13:39 2010
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