Absolutely. The technology - if proven safe and effective- can be a blessing for rescue groups and to the animals who will be spared the suffering. It can also be used to lower the price on high dollar morphs because the breeder will know that particular snake will not produce competition in a couple of years. BUT the buyer must be made aware he or she is purchasing a sterile snake. I think that is the substance of this issue. To sell a sterile snake without disclosing the sterilization is, as Brian has pointed out, immoral and it is illegal.

And not to take this topic out of focus but I must voice my disagreement with Bill's opinion that only "big breeders" are responsible enough to breed. There is a refreshing move in the U.S. right now that is taking us back to the basics. Small farms producing good food with an emphasis on health and nutrition (an emphasis long surrendered by corporate farms in exchange for pofit), small stores selling reliable wares with a personal touch (an emphasis long surrendered by giant discount chains in exchange for profit), and I have to add for this industry, small breeders who have a personal interest and a sincere devotion. Bigger is not synonomous with better- that is the focus of this back to the basics movement. In fact, bigger has shown it is definitely worse in many areas of our society. Let's face it- some big breeders today got to their position because they had the money available- nothing else. They had the money and made the connections because cash talks. It is a business, plain and simple. All else being equal, I don't think there is a difference in anything but money and numbers between a sincere big breeder and a sincere hobbyist. I will never agree to anything that will limit the participation of the hobbyist- we are the reason there is a market. We support the development of morphs and many times we have paid the price for the unscrupulous breeders and opportunists. We can police ourselves and must be able to do so. Back to the sterilization focus.
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Marcia Pimentel

Tango River Reptiles

GiantFeeders

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