Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have often heard the saying "I would rather live a year in freedom than a hundred in a cage" But I have also know that snakes who are brought to captivity live longer less stressful lives. My question is, how do you feel about taking these snakes away from their natural habitat? Are herping trips ethical? Am I robbing these creatures of their potential and freedom? I just want to do the right thing but I dont know what the right thing is.

i dont really like the idea of taking snakes from the wild and putting them in captivity UNLESS it is a rare or not commonly kept species that needs to be reproduced in captivity more. for example i think it is wrong to take something like a gabby or a copper from the wild because there are so many captive bred animals available. but if it is something thats rare in captivity such as dwarf bitis species, i understand why they may be taken from the wild.
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1.1 BCI, 1.0 Bearded Dragon

The idea to take rare species from the wild to reproduce them for protection or prevention reasons is surely a right one,but honestly, who does keep rare species for that reason?I have not met a private keeper who let go of his precious offspring into the wild but to other keepers for high money.I guess a snake does live a less stressful live in captivity if kept the right way though.
In my opinion its up to you if you get captive breds or wild caughts.I prefer captives because they are used to being held in cages and ususally dont cause problems regarding to parasites etc.
If you are looking for locality specifics,you may have to go the wc way.

Regarding local species, if you limit your collecting to areas you know will be developed in the relatively near future, you will eliminate the ethical problems you are having with keeping wild caught snakes.

~~Greg~~

n/p
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Tim Cole
www.Designeratrox.com/
www.AustinReptileService.net
www.AustinReptileExpo.com/
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Conservation through Education

Greg hit the nail on the head. I see so many road killed snakes that taking some out of the wild it better than feeding the Turkey Vultures.

Al
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Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Youre absolutely right,as long as you go that way.The problem I see here in Europe is that wc snakes are taken out of perfect environments,and I often hear the excuse that "this species is endangered,I only want to help it from extinction"Few weeks later I see those animals on reptile shows.

OK, I'm just going to say how I feel on this one...Wild caught snakes from the US...total nonsense. There is not a snake in this country that needs keeping in captivity that cannot be obtained through non-invasive captive breeding.Period. Especially if you are collecting to sell, that's outright wrong. Do the extra work of breeding your animals and you will receive a higher price when selling them anyway. Catching to sell is not only lazy, but irresponsible of any reptile enthusiast, not to mention a grave disservice to the animals we love. There are too many reputable dealers out there selling quality, captive bred venomous for this sort of thing to be going on. Personally and I know this may be a little "militant" to W. collectors out there(again, I am not attacking anyone,just stating personal opinions): There should be a permit to collect native venomous w/ proof that any wild collected, native specimen is correctly sexed and part of a breeding/research project. I guarantee you that wild populations in many areas of the Southeastern U.S.(adamenteus,horridus) would rebound and profit from an act such as this.Rattlesnake roundups? Totally out of the question, as I'm sure many here already agree. Wouldn't it be great to walk in the woods 20 years from now and show your children in person, in their natural habitat these magnificient reptiles? Something to think about the next time someone collects a Southern Copperhead to earn 5 bucks.