Your opinions on collecting your own wild herps.

As long as you have proper housing and they species isn't threatened I am ok with collecting from the wild.

Something about it doesn't rub me the right way.

I guess I feel "bad" removing a wild animal from its habitat and placing it in captivity for my own enjoyment, when I could just return to the same area anytime I wanted to enjoy those animals in their own habitat anyway.

Is it hypocritical for me to then enjoy my captive bred herps? I don't think so, as captivity is all they and their parents and their parents' parents know. But I can't speak against it too much, because many of the animals I am working with now are only 2nd or 3rd generation captive bred animals to begin with.

Its tough to draw the line. I guess I see it as wrong when collecting animals from the wild will have a definite adverse impact on the wild population.

Others might have different thoughts, that's my .02.

ok for one i think as long as you are prepared and all that great stuff its no harm no foul...
when something comes crawling through my backyard that doesnt normally dwell in the area (like a box turtle or whatever) i am going to take it in and do the research and make a responsible decision on wheter i can provide for it or not...if not i will find someone who can...like my recent encounter with the gold margine box turtle...

and second i hate the argument of taking from wild native hab and captivity is all they know...so your saying cause they were born in terriums that they dont know what they are missing on the outside so its ok...i think that is a weird mentallity (no offense to anyone in here). cause one to get captive breds someone had to start with wild caughts...two take the random example of Kaspar Hauser who was locked in a confined enviorment by a sick indivdual till he was about 16...was it wrong for him to get out and was it right to not let him leave that room cause thats all he knew...

in my opinion yes its ok to take what you kno and are prepared for...and yes it is ok to realease a captive species if it is native or already thriving in the area (like jacksons and daygecko in hawaii)...i dont know if i made much sense with my comparison but im tired and rambling about to many topics...

My opinions against is most of the time. I saw something off tv where some professional (somethings - I can't remember lol) collecting wild species of tarantulas and most were new species.. then going on to study and learn about them. I guess this is ok to learn more about animals in our sorroundings but like elevatethis said...I would feel bad taking an animal from the wild who knows different. I mean why would anybody want to.. to save on money? You probably won't seeing as it's almost definately going to have parasites anyway. I do this alot..but I think how I would feel, having the space I do now.. then going to be stuffed in a 'box' will maybe not the most ideal conditions for the rest of my life. Like going to jail. Not for me thanks, so if I wouldn't like it why should I do that to other animals?
Just MY opinion before anyone bites my head off

vicedretard;1046785; said:

i hate the argument of taking from wild native hab and captivity is all they know...so your saying cause they were born in terriums that they dont know what they are missing on the outside so its ok...i think that is a weird mentallity (no offense to anyone in here). cause one to get captive breds someone had to start with wild caughts...two take the random example of Kaspar Hauser who was locked in a confined enviorment by a sick indivdual till he was about 16...was it wrong for him to get out and was it right to not let him leave that room cause thats all he knew...

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Understandable. But I have to say..if anybodys going to take on the responibility of keeping animals, then CAPTIVE BRED is ALOT kinder to animals than taking from the wild......

After all its a choice we have to make ... WC or CB
CB animals (most) get out to be handled and to roam rooms etc too.

About (I guess your talking about a lad here) well if his parents and their parents, and then their parents etc etc had be done the same too then we'll see ey
But they weren't. Humans are SO much different to animals, but its still a fair point. But it made me laugh LOL. You use this arguement and then are for taking animals from the wild........?????????? Well if its wrong to keep people in enclosed situations why isn't it for animals

I'm kind of a hypocrite on this issue. I'm generally against it; if it was born in the wild, it should stay in the wild. I'm aware that for every species that is commonly captive-bred nowadays, there had to been at least two specimens that were WC, but with few exceptions, it should end there.

IMO, the exceptions are:

1.) if the animal is injured and/or otherwise incapable of surviving on its own (certain morphs like leucisism and albinism can apply here)
2.) if the animal exhibits some weird type of morph that could be cultivated (like Okeetee cornsnakes and striped kingsnakes, etc)
3.) it is without question a species that is not native to said environment (like finding an iguana in your backyard in the U.S.)

This is where I'm kind of a hypocrite...the fourth exception could be..if you really, really want it! Last fall, I came across a baby black ratsnake on my campus. While I generally disagree with removing wild animals from the wild, I've always wanted a black ratsnake, and until then, never had the space or wanted to spend the money on one (since they are, after all, native to the Southeast U.S.).

And one of my friends has been desperately wanting a garter snake for sometime now, and I caught one in my yard for her...only because they're rarely available in petstores (again...because they're common as dirt...no one wants to pay for them).

It is very hard to draw the line, really. At the end of the day, I admit, that (i) if it bangs against my, or my boys legs, and (ii) I have the conditions to provide for a decent living...I collect. And it happens that I release, after some time.

My personal opinion? Only take wild stock for the purpose of breeding them, and selling the captives to other people to prevent wild stock being touched again. Taking animals from the wild led Hognosed Snakes, Wandering Garter Snakes and Painted Turtles to become endangered in Alberta.

Yes, I know all captive-bred come from wild specimen, but those are sacrifices to protect the wild population as a whole.

Jessica Dring;1046817; said:

Humans are SO much different to animals, but its still a fair point. But it made me laugh LOL. You use this arguement and then are for taking animals from the wild........?????????? Well if its wrong to keep people in enclosed situations why isn't it for animals

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you know it is in respect wrong to keep animals when you look at it from my point of view... like most others here you will find that we are all hypocrites (including myself) who shouldnt be saying anything about this whole situation cause their is no way to draw the line on what is wrong or right its all about opinion and each and every time an animal in all its beauty comes along each one of us here dedicated to provideing for them the best to our abilities would handle each cenario in different ways. its all about opinion and there is no definate answer when all we can give is opinion... thats why this matter is always answered in awkward shades of grey...