HI Terry,



Yes, you are right that I do not keep any wild caught and will not ever consider getting wild caught. I always try to "champion" those animals in the wild... that they are supposed to be left by themselves in the wild. So many parks and national reserves have signs out there for the public to see and adhere to that, whatever you see here, you leave it here. Don't capture any wild animals and if you have to shoot one, shoot one with a camera. I always thought that the captive bred snakes are the ambassadors to their own kind so that we humans leave nature alone and not disturb its supposed balanced ecosystems.



Sure, one would ask that somehow, all these captive bred snakes started from wild caught ones. So, by logic, if I am breeding these captive bred ones, then I indirectly support capturing wild ones so that I can get to start my hobby. But going back to your idea of introducing genes to the gene pool of captive breeding, I see the good points.... but I also say that if you capture one, why not breed to some captive bred female hondurans, and then, after it successfully mated with the captive bred females, then release the wild caught male honduran back to the wild. For any caught females, I'd say do not even attempt to keep it for breeding and just let it go. It is a known fact with other species, even species other than snakes, that the way to deplete a species faster is to capture more females.



That is my position basically. If you must capture one to introduce a gene pool into your breeding project, capture a male and use it to mate with your other captive bred females....and then let the wild caught male go back to the wild where it belongs. Some of the ads that sell wild caught advertise it as a "novelty" of having the privilege of owning a wild caught honduran...which does not make any sense at all. If one starts capturing a wild honduran, and then another, and then another...soon before you know it, the honduran milksnake will be placed in the endagered list. It's not endangered yet but it will be if people start capturing them just for the sake of novelty. I mean, look at the annual roundup in Texas of rattlesnakes. The animal activists are now all over it every year because you see all these beheaded diamond backs and other rattesnakes caught in the wild so that they can market them as snakes skin, snake handbag or boots, or just plain novelty of having a rattler (tail) sold to the public as toys. And now the diamond back rattelsnakes are fast diminishing in the wild. Think of the negative impact on nature !



Sorry for rambling here, but I am just an advocate of nature conservation and I do my part here where I live by volunteering at the local zoo, donating to organizations, giving out excess normal looking hatchlings to kids who are truly interested in honduran milksnakes and snakes in general. And I thought that this forum would be a real good discussion on conservation.



Thanks,
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RAY

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