Posted by:
tspuckler
at Sun Feb 29 08:04:22 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by tspuckler ]
BB and Kevin,
You both make good, valid points. I'm not the one taking the ODNR to court (as I said earlier, I did't get "busted" . But I can assure you that the people filing class action suits about the PIT tag issue are very angry, determined and experienced in fighting these issues. They have good reason - Avid doesn't recommend that their chips be used on reptiles and no other state has a PIT tag mandate.
The fact that most DNR's have limited budgets and resources just makes it all the more important that they form positive alliances with whoever wants to help. This would have been especially useful at a wild caught show like Columbus, where legitimate breeders would probably be more than willing to point out law breakers (either as a moral issue or to eliminate some unfair competetion!).
The point I was making is that some people ARE willing to help, and most legitimate breeders support reasonable conservation efforts. We just need a little governmental cooperation. I also wanted other breeders to know just how out-of-hand things have gotten here in Ohio - some people think things like this "just won't happen to them." Believe me, it can happen.
The entire incident makes everybody look bad. Yes, there were some "bad guy" herpers selling Blanding's turtles and other wild caught herps and it makes reptile enthusiasts look like criminals. But the DNR came out looking just as bad (perhaps worse, articles in "Reptiles" magazine have been bashing the "bust" and I'm sure if these court battles are won by herpers, it will generate even more negativity for the government). It's a shame.
Although I cannot speak on the behalf of NOAH (I'm not the president), I think that it is a safe bet that the organization is still willing to discuss the issues stated in the July 2000 letter to the ODNR in order to reach some resolutions that both parties can live with AND would be good for the conservation of native Ohio herps.
The sad thing is that it could have been accomplished without all the mudslinging.
Tim Spuckler
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RE: Tim and BB - tspuckler, Sun Feb 29 08:04:22 2004