Ignoring inflammatory rhetoric I can also see both sides of the argument.



While the CH may be a few generations closer to natural selection I'm thinking we can do better with unnatural selection over time if we try. Since we don't and probably shouldn't completely reproduce the wild environment we should select for the best captive breeders without sacrificing basic health like the ability to hatch unassisted.



Feral dogs around the world are about 30 lbs and untrusting of humans. This is what serves them best in the semi-wild (small enough to get by on scraps but big enough to defend themselves). We selectively breed for temperament and size as we see fit for captivity and produce a wide variety of dogs for a wide variety of purposes. Through inbreeding and inattention to defects we have introduced genetic problems in many pure bred dogs but we live with some of those defects because the captive bred dogs are better suited for our purposes than the 30 lb skittish feral type. Sure a little new blood could help some dog breeds but it would be hard to avoid loosing the qualities we have selected over many many generations to make the pure bred what it is now.



I've culled about half of the adult females that I've tried to breed because they didn't breed for me as quick or easily as I hoped. If I where a better captive breeder or had more patience I probably would have gotten more of them to reproduce. I mainly got rid of them for space reasons but as a side product I think I have kept the ones that because of temperament or flexibility on breeding triggers or whatever are best suited to breed in perhaps less than optimal captive conditions. Over time I see lines emerging that produce significantly more babies quicker than average. You get what you select for. Since our captive bred animals don't have to run the gauntlets of predation, parasites, diseases, and famine we can concentrate on selecting for traits that might be more important in captivity such as a exceptional apatite and a disposition to breed under captive conditions. Maybe these super eaters would waste too much energy and starve in short times in the wild. Maybe wild conditions select for animals that breed only under the very specific season triggers so as not to breed out of season.



I'm sure there will be plenty of new blood coming in for some time to maintain the diversity the captive population needs. I agree that this diversity is very important. As imports grow up and show themselves suitable to captive reproduction the best suited will rise to the top and help keep the best existing captive bred lines strong and diverse. Hopefully we can avoid some of the problems that plague captive bred dogs while we strive to select the genes that best serve captives.



We are only at the beginning with captive bred ball pythons so I don’t see much difference yet but over time I would expect the captive and wild lines to diverge, we just need to make sure it’s for the best.

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