Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
HiramAbiff exciting and educated??? Where on earth did you get that idea BF;)? I really am just kidding HA... I was led into that by BF... I couldn't resist. Probably didn't have enough red wine in the weekend. Luckily I've developed a very thick skin after years of dealing with the dregs of the reptile world...

Jamie
 
Maybe he should add BC to the front of pythoninfinite


Relax Jamie, we all know that you're the Christ of the hobby, you were around before all us and know everything in your omniscientness and if we sin against you we shall burn in hell ;)

Sorry Jamie I just had to copy your insult and use it against you :lol:

- - - Updated - - -

Actually I'm going to get some popcorn, HiramAbiff and pythoninfinite are my favourite rivals, like Batman and Superman, except more exciting and educated
 
Can't understand why anyone would want to smuggle the animals in the pictures - they are readily available for interstate or for export from WA and have a street value less than the reported black market value.
 
Can't understand why anyone would want to smuggle the animals in the pictures - they are readily available for interstate or for export from WA and have a street value less than the reported black market value.
Whoever poached them most likely was on a herp trip anyway, I suppose they might have thought it would be a good idea to plunder some herps to make a buck on the side...
 
Yaaawn...................

I remember the days when someone would post a news article like I did and the thread would go in the direction of subtle innuendo as to who the perpetrators of the crime were. Then mates of the ones fingered would step in to promote what a good chaps they are and say its the law that's to blame.

If all the rumours floating around the hobby of late are true, the authorities have been kicking some goals lately and more headlines will follow for sure.
 
Yaaawn...................

I remember the days when someone would post a news article like I did and the thread would go in the direction of subtle innuendo as to who the perpetrators of the crime were. Then mates of the ones fingered would step in to promote what a good chaps they are and say its the law that's to blame.

If all the rumours floating around the hobby of late are true, the authorities have been kicking some goals lately and more headlines will follow for sure.

Yeah, this thread got off topic sooooo quickly. It's good that the authorities are finally getting off their butts and acting, hopefully this hobby will be regulated in a fairer way in the future.

Please TRY to stay on topic :rolleyes:because before long we will end up with another *****fight, and I know I won't stay out of it and I'll end up with some infractions :twisted:
 
Gentlemen, lets avoid the need to close another good thread please. Subtle jabs and jokes at each others expense can be tolerated as we all wear big boy pants (I hope) but ruining a thread because a point needs to be made is not necessary.

Stu
 
Definitely agree with BrownHash that it is Varanus storri. Interestingly, this species is not found exclusively in WA. So why use that reptile in the photo... I don’t know.

What I do know is that there is certainly nothing new about WA reptiles being poached. Just look at the number of WA endemics, or locality forms, legally in the hobby over east... and the length of time they have been available. There are those who have been making regular visits to WA for many years, others who plan a one-off trip for the purpose of collecting and yet others who decide while holidaying here, to do a bit of collecting to defray costs.

The effect of poaching of reptiles in WA is not significant in terms of numbers taken. Road-kills account for heaps more and most populations are resilient enough that this has no lasting effects. However, destruction of vulnerable habitat, most particularly that which takes tens or hundreds or more years to recover, such exfoliated slabs on a rock outcrop, can have a devastating effect on local populations. The destruction of whatever percentage of the habitat means at least an equivalent reduction in population size. The actual reduction is, in fact, a lot worse. When a habitat is fragmented, the places to take safe refuge are fragmented. Hence, the ability to safely forage for and locate food, the capacity to locate a mate, the safe dispersal of young, and the like are severely impacted. This result in a very much greater reduction in the local population and may even see the remaining animals of that population crash completely.

I have seen a number of photos of destroyed rock outcrops in WA’s wheatbelt that were attributed to poachers. Those with basically all moveable rocks flipped over, many of which were broken, were clearly the results of unethical collectors. Others, with rocks thrown and smashed into smaller pieces (requiring considerable effort on behalf of the perpetrator) or larger slabs that had been hit with something like a sledge hammer to fracture them, are more likely the result of pure vandalism. Neither is acceptable. But when you know what lives there and what it needs to survive, and you still destroy it make a quick buck, that to me is a much more heinous crime than someone mindlessly taking out misdirected emotions or frustrations on what they consider to be ‘lifeless objects’.



 
The effect of poaching of reptiles in WA is not significant in terms of numbers taken. Road-kills account for heaps more and most populations are resilient enough that this has no lasting effects. However, destruction of vulnerable habitat, most particularly that which takes tens or hundreds or more years to recover, such exfoliated slabs on a rock outcrop, can have a devastating effect on local populations. The destruction of whatever percentage of the habitat means at least an equivalent reduction in population size. The actual reduction is, in fact, a lot worse. When a habitat is fragmented, the places to take safe refuge are fragmented. Hence, the ability to safely forage for and locate food, the capacity to locate a mate, the safe dispersal of young, and the like are severely impacted. This result in a very much greater reduction in the local population and may even see the remaining animals of that population crash completely.

I have seen a number of photos of destroyed rock outcrops in WA’s wheatbelt that were attributed to poachers. Those with basically all moveable rocks flipped over, many of which were broken, were clearly the results of unethical collectors. Others, with rocks thrown and smashed into smaller pieces (requiring considerable effort on behalf of the perpetrator) or larger slabs that had been hit with something like a sledge hammer to fracture them, are more likely the result of pure vandalism. Neither is acceptable. But when you know what lives there and what it needs to survive, and you still destroy it make a quick buck, that to me is a much more heinous crime than someone mindlessly taking out misdirected emotions or frustrations on what they consider to be ‘lifeless objects’.
I've been in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions and was appalled by the cowboy mentality of the miners and rural landowners (mostly cattle there) , I agree , poaching of native fauna (reptiles in particular) has a very small impact on the indigenous populations of these animals compared with the effects of feral animals (pigs, cats, dogs and soon cane toads), roadkill, and clearing and mine ops.
As does the destruction of sensitive habitat for a quick buck (mostly development of mines and mine-camps).
 
Whether it's a snake on a plane from Europe or America or one of our own nicked from it's home the hobby will continue to provide a market for the unscrupulous. Sadly......
 
[MENTION=42083]Sam123[/MENTION], it does look like an Ackie, which what I assume is what you are saying here. Both V. acanthurus and V. storri are 'ridge-tailed monitors' and look quite similar. However, the animal pictured in the article lacks the well defined pale-edged dark eye-stripe from nostril to forelimb and stripes on the neck found in Ackies but not in Storr's. It also has a pale band down the middle of the back, which can occur in Storr’s but not Ackies.
 
@Sam123, it does look like an Ackie, which what I assume is what you are saying here. Both V. acanthurus and V. storri are 'ridge-tailed monitors' and look quite similar. However, the animal pictured in the article lacks the well defined pale-edged dark eye-stripe from nostril to forelimb and stripes on the neck found in Ackies but not in Storr's. It also has a pale band down the middle of the back, which can occur in Storr’s but not Ackies.
Yeah im aware :/ mind wasnt thinking when I typed, however thanks for correcting me
 
I wasn't meaning to correct you. It was just that I used the term ridge-tailed monitors when constructing my reply and then realised you had actually used that as the common name for ackies - which is what they called for a long, long time. I should have changed what I wrote and not just added the first line and put the inverted commas into the second. Sorry about that.
 
I wasn't meaning to correct you. It was just that I used the term ridge-tailed monitors when constructing my reply and then realised you had actually used that as the common name for ackies - which is what they called for a long, long time. I should have changed what I wrote and not just added the first line and put the inverted commas into the second. Sorry about that.
Nah its all fine, we all make mistakes :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top