Posted by:
Carmichael
at Sat Feb 5 07:57:20 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Carmichael ]
To be a responsible reptile keeper, WE (that is, those of us representing the herpetological community who are RESPONSIBLE KEEPERS) must portray ourselves as responsible and ethical people who take the necessary steps in ensuring that our animals are healthy, that the keepers are responsible, and, that prey items being used are either humanely dispatched, or, if fed live, closely supervised. The practice of "stunning" is a brutal one and something that I feel gives our hobby a big black eye. Plus, it is completely unnecessary. I have worked with 1000's of reptiles over the years and I have never once ever had to do such a horrific thing; its just wrong and there's no arguing about it. Because of my role as a professional herpetologist, and, in working closely with MANY groups and agencies, you are DEAD WRONG if you think they don't use these forums to help their cause...they do! It may not be public, but the "right" people are seeing them and it only hurts our cause. The real reason why our hobby is going right down the drain is that we have too many IRRESPONSIBLE, uneducated and just dead beat hobbyists who are killing it for the responsible folks who do portray us in the right light. If my state puts an all out ban on reptiles, I will continue to enjoy my "hobby" because I have the permits to keep any reptile at my wildlife center; but that would be a real, crying shame. I become vocal and quite "preachy" at times but its only because I want to protect the rights of individuals (responsible ones!) while also ensuring that the animals being kept by unqualified people at least have a chance to live a decent life (most don't).
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
>>Well said...i personally am not bothered by stunning.
>>If you say stun people freak out and if you say you feed live people freak out...so either way you are screwed.
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL
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I completely disagree with these comments - Carmichael, Sat Feb 5 07:57:20 2005