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[Sdaji]

Obee, in case it wasn't obvious, I wasn't implying that anyone who wanted to get some Chondros should just rock up to Iron Range and take as many as they wanted. It should be done responsibly and legally. I wouldn't dream of taking wild Chondros illegally, it would be an absurd thing to do with the current situation. My wishes for a captive colony to be established have nothing to do with wanting to keep them personally. There are heaps of species I'd never want to keep but want to see established in captivity, including mammals and birds. The reason I think it would be particularly good with Australian Chondros is that there are many people who would willingly take supremely good care of them at their own expense.

What do I take to eat? Many species of fish, rabbits, insects (laugh all you want), the occasional 'roo and many others. I wouldn't take anything illegally or anything that was from a vulnerable population. Eating farmed meat is bad for the environment, it must be farmed on land which would otherwise be habitat for wild animals. Responsibly taking wild animals is good for the environment as it lessens the need for land to be used by agriculture. Incidentally, I also legally eat wild animals from vulnerable populations (as do most people), usually without realising it at the time. Most of the seafood you buy from the local supermarket or fishmonger is wild caught, and often from over exploited populations (there are also other examples). It's often (usually?) impossible to tell the stuff which has been collected responsibly from that which has been collected irresponsibly. You can get all high and mighty saying you respect the world by not taking a tiny number of green pythons or such but you have your head in the clouds. It is absurd to say on one hand that it's fine to eat wild animals (regularly and in high numbers) but on the other hand say that taking a miniscule number of wild animals for the establishment of a captive population which will bring joy and knowledge to people is bad! We must ackowledge that living on this planet means using its resources. We need to learn to use these resources properly, not avoid using them wherever possible. Anyone who drives a car, wears manufactured clothes, uses a computer etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc and says we should never make use of wild animals is an absolute hypocrite and has their head way up above the clouds.

Michael, I have never said there wasn't a healthy population in Australia and even in this thread I've already said there are probably more than most people think.