Are some exotic keepers in Australia that stupid?

[Inkage]

I think Toads and such had a bit of a head start,releasing mass amounts...Not very smart..

 

[Laghairt]

I think Cat's probably do more damage than Toads anyway, their range is not as restricted by climate and they are encouraged to exist in both rural and urban areas. Although it is true toads have had a devastating impact, I wonder what the cumulative effect of every domestic and wild cat in Australia is? Not to mention livestock...

 

[Rhomany]

You have to keep in mind though that toads were never pets. Some idiot "scientist" thought it'd be a great idea to introduce them. Rabbits, camels, wild horses, wild pigs, buffalo, deer, etc are the same. But I do agree so much with Rondo. If you owned one ball python and it somehow escaped.. THEY'RE SNAKES. They eat once every few months if that in the wild. They're not like cats that kill things for entertainment.

Also I must admit with a stupid grin that I wanted to own an American Alligator before I even got my first snake or lizard. I went to the Australian Reptile Park and went on one of those herp crazy missions to find one. (Something I bet all of us know about) Then I was so upset when I found out I couldn't keep one as a pet. So.. to Victoria and hello crocs... one day...

 

[Snowman]

Cats are absolutly a bigger threat. But it depends on what the exotic reptile is and what habitiat it can exploit. Red eared slider turtles for instance could be a real problem if the were released into our water ways. I doubt a ball python would pose as much of a threat as a cat though.

 

[danieloflat]

Just think about how many wild dogs there are around, dingoes have been breeding with dogs, now IMO there are more dingo x's than pure bred dingoes. It's not all about killing wildlife etc it's about cross breeding and ruining the pure species.

 

[Snowman]

Just think about how many wild dogs there are around, dingoes have been breeding with dogs, now IMO there are more dingo x's than pure bred dingoes. It's not all about killing wildlife etc it's about cross breeding and ruining the pure species.

Dingoe's were introduced and are thought to have wiped out the main land thylacine. I've never heard of escaped reptiles hybridising with native wildlife. Though a chameleon x bearded dragon population would be intereseting

 

[D3pro]

Introducing an animal in the wild requires more then the odd release here and there... it requires a large amount of the animals with the right natural requirements. The odd ball python being released wont do much, it would probably be eaten first.

If there was exotics in Australia, the species list would have to be controlled. I would personally not agree with some of the large snake species being kept here. Just like in the states, everyone will buy one when the're little and then release them when they get bigger because they didn't realize how big they would get. That's their multitude, now they have an established population of potential man eaters. Not a situation most people would want here.

Lucky for me, I am happy with just my plain old genetically mutated Morelia.

 

[SperO]

Doesn't florida have huge issues with released exotic reptiles? I personally like the laws that stop exotic reptiles from being kept in Australia but maybe with some strict guidelines they could slowly allow people to handle, breed and sell some exotic reptiles.

 

[K3nny]

I think Cat's probably do more damage than Toads anyway, their range is not as restricted by climate and they are encouraged to exist in both rural and urban areas. Although it is true toads have had a devastating impact, I wonder what the cumulative effect of every domestic and wild cat in Australia is? Not to mention livestock...

true, but cats don't produce thousands of offspring each season... just saying
the problem with cats though is possibly the issue of differentiating a "wild" cat vs a free roaming pet that someone owns, unless its obvious that they are wild descendants (think big nasty and just downright mean)

 

[D3pro]

true, but cats don't produce thousands of offspring each season... just saying
the problem with cats though is possibly the issue of differentiating a "wild" cat vs a free roaming pet that someone owns, unless its obvious that they are wild descendants (think big nasty and just downright mean)

Really? How many times can cats breed a year? How many times can most reptiles breed?

 

[viciousred]

Cats can theoretically have a litter of 2 -8 every 60, to 70 days.....cats have been known to come on heat 3 days after giving birth..... BUT thats generally unusual so maybe 4 litters a year?
Yet blacktown pound still sells un-sterilized animals. pfft...
Oh and at least 50% of the people I serve at my work don't have a licence or keep many exotics... it kinda sucks. I hate having to serve them...

 

[Snowman]

true, but cats don't produce thousands of offspring each season... just saying
the problem with cats though is possibly the issue of differentiating a "wild" cat vs a free roaming pet that someone owns, unless its obvious that they are wild descendants (think big nasty and just downright mean)

Yeah but one cat will kill thousands of frogs and reptiles. One toad will kill one reptile. Free roaming pet cats have caused frogs to become extinct out of my garden. Trespassing cats are delt with swiftly on my property.

 

[Bushman]

Introducing an animal in the wild requires more then the odd release here and there... it requires a large amount of the animals with the right natural requirements. The odd ball python being released wont do much, it would probably be eaten first...

I disagree that the establishment of feral populations of exotic species requires large amounts of introduced animals. There are plenty of examples of pest species being established upon the introduction of moderate or even small numbers of exotic animals. Boiga irregularis on Guam and Hemidactylus frenatus here in Australia immediately come to mind. The former has caused irreparable damage with many local extinctions. The latter are notoriously displacing native geckos at an increasing number of locations and are known to become established on only a few specimens.
Not to mention the associated introduction of exotic pests and diseases that come with smuggled exotic animals.

The message that you're sending here that only large amounts of exotic animals released or escaping into the environment pose a threat is a dangerous, false and irresponsible notion.

 

[D3pro]

The message that you're sending here that only large amounts of exotic animals released or escaping into the environment pose a threat is a dangerous, false and irresponsible notion.

I'm not going to argue with that..... I'm a dangerous and irresponsible person
Tho for the sake of not caring much about arguing, I stand corrected, and I give you the win.