wild

[marylyn101]

why do you go out and catch wild. it is so unfair to put animals into something they are not use to. you cause harm to the enviroment and if you can't afford a something that you have to go and steal one from nature you probably can;t afford to keep it healthy in the first place. unless you study and research the species and are license to do so as job it almost alright.

[ReptiZone]

I dont know why ppl go and catch and bring home wild I think it is the extra punch or chanlage I don't think it is a money issue we can all buy CB but to see how the animal realy tics you would need a WC and monitor it and study it.

You see you dont need a lincenc to learn you need the will power.
I would not bring home a WC garter snake just cause I dont like them but I would find it hard to leave a rattel snake behind but then again I would rather bring a hook and a camara would give me just as much plesure.

I am starting to get into hot's so slowly I am learning a few thing here and there and I read all of BWS's post like it was the bible.
(Verry knolageble man he is.)

And when the time comes I will get one will it be WC or CB who knows.

But never forget all of our animals were WC at one point in time a guy just did not wake up one morning and there was a corn snake in a aquarium for him he got off his but and wanted to learn so he went and caught a few snakes here and there and learned what to do to keep them alive and well and that person was nice enugh to pass that lovely info on to ppl in universitys and collages. and know we have a wonderfull hobby.

[LdyDrgn]

I have a WC pacific gopher snake. My previous b/f caught her when she was in the tracks of an airplane hangar and the other guys were trying to close the doors on her to kill her. They thought she was a rattle snake. After identifying her as harmless, he felt he would just bring her home to me since she was still pretty much a hatchling. He wasn't 'stealing it from nature' nor did I not know how to care for it. He brought her to me because he knew I would give her the best care possible. I also gave myself a time limit... if she didn't eat within a certain amount of time, she would get released somewhere in the grasslands close to where she was found (pretty ridiculous to set her loose on the tarmac!!) As of now she is eating like a pig and growing like a weed. In CA the gopher snakes are everywhere. They are rather prolific and therefore in no danger. Besides her, we also have a couple of LTC snakes: an ETB and a Moluccan python. They also get the best care possible.

Many animals are WC for study, to see their habits and to learn about them. We caught a couple of watersnakes on Easter, kept them a week for observation, then turned them loose where we found them. Catching and keeping ENDANGERED animals is a problem whereas catching those that are prolific is not. For many preteens and teens this is the way they learned to appreciate reptiles. I am sure there are quite a few here that got into keeping reptiles after catching their first (insert native colubrid here) as a youngster. WC isn't always a bad thing :)

Also, not every place requires licenses to capture. In GA .... get this.... you need a license for native non-venomous, but you can catch all the copperheads and rattlesnakes you want!! LMAO!!

[ReptiZone]

It was once said on these forums that if you capture and keep you can not even consider releasing back into the wild cause of the great risk of introducing a non native bacteria that could anailat a whole colony av native animals

EX: Garter keept in same snake room as boa or other snake's non native to your area. and some howbacteria is tansmited and the animal is relsed and contaminates every reptile for miles. it go's somthing like that anyway.

just thaught I would slip that in since ''it's the season to be herping....falalalal....lala..lala.'' hehe

[Dom]

I think there is two main reasons for a wc animal ..

ONE: New blood lines.. to diversify the gene poll

TWO: There is simply no CB out there.. we have to start somewhere right? I have 7 WC Savanah monitors - does that make it wrong to keep em?

If there were CB for sale in Canada.. I would be al over them!

[ReptiZone]

dont forget the scrubs man they are asome

[Nanashi04]

Just because an animal is wc, doesn't mean that it isn't properly cared for either. My snakes are well feed with a clean cage and ample room. I don't plan to catch anymore - even though I could pick up at least half a dozen just walking in my yard. I wouldn't take anything uncommon, or anything I couldn't handle.

I'd rather have CB, but, sometimes you have to make do.

[LdyDrgn]

Yes, chondro, I agree.... that is why quarantine is SO important. :)

[marylyn101]

you may know what your doing but most don't. i help animals taken from the wild and i see them in so much pain. i'm glad you people know what yopur doing. i may seem like i am a mager b1tch but i gopt home and there were these people on my front steps with there pet "garter". i was upset

[Vanan]

Don't let just one incident get ya down. No matter what, where and why, there'll be idiots out there. Just focus on the good stuff and know how to deal with the bad.

This whole "Is WC ethical" topic is an old one and I don't wish to get into it again. Just as people look different, opinions vary. As long as there one thing in focus, the welfare of the animal, then it's all good.

[Nanashi04]

remember man, there's always a silver lining, and just as many good people as bad. Without that balance, the would be a seriously odd and off-kilter place... o.o;

[Simon R. Sansom]

Vanan is correct; It's a personal ethical issue, and a sensitive one. We could discuss it 'till Doomsday, and there'd still be no resolution, for or against.

Cheers!

Simon