>>I respect the fact you are considerate enough to ask for public comment on an unusual and potentially divisive issue.

>>

>>However:

>>

>>> the brb population is already mixed with prb genetics -- so

>>> I'm not sure there's much point in worrying about them

>>

>>> Yupyupyup. But isn't that what we ALREADY see with brb litters?

>>

>>I find the above justifications a bit troubling. Just because something unfortunate is already happening is no reason to actively contribute to it. Rather, if there is already "contamination" in the gene pool, shouldn't every responsible owner try and work to minimize the problem to the best of his or her ability? It's a bit like tossing trash on the ground because there's already litter there.



BUT -- big but -- there's no way to clean up that "contaminated" gene pool. There is no DNA test that will tell you which animals are pure Brazilian and which aren't. I'm not even absolutely convinced that it's a "problem" that needs to be "minimized" in the first place. The Brazilian rainbow market isn't like some sections of the milk snake market, in which locality snake lines are carefully preserved from one mile marker to another. It's a bit more like the Honduran milk market, where most people realize that "Hondurans" are actually already a mix of several subspecies with no way for them to be "purified".



Unless you know the specific patch of ground from which your Brazilians were collected, you don't know whether your own animals are "pure" or not. And you never will know. So why is it a problem?
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1.2 Peruvian rainbow boas (Amaru, Asiru, Kulipsa)

2.0 Brazilian rainbow boas (Arco, Olho)

1.3.1 Honduran milksnakes (Chicchan, Chanir, Chakar, Hari, Saksak)

1.0 Thayeri kingsnake (Coatl)

0.0.1 Mexican black kingsnake (Mora)

2.4.4 corns (Cetto, Tolosa, Uce, TBA)

1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

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