Green Iguana?

[fleshmetal88]

haha, ye olde faithful can of paint.

 

[MrSpike]

What i was trying to get across was the point that if exotics are legalised within Australia, there will be a major increase in their numbers compared to the ones that are allready here. Their legalisation would mean the increase in their numbers and the possibility of wild populations of exotics within Australia.

Good point, but can you be 100% sure this will happen, I only think that all the currently bred stock number will be known.. there are more and more exotics going on the market every summer, the only difference I think there will be is that it will be known how many there are.

I'm sure most people will be surprised when they realize how many exotics there actually are.

Kane

 

[fleshmetal88]

Can you be 100% sure it wont happen Mrspike. i understand what u are saying about the current stock numbers being known but the thing is, unknown stock can be bred from those known stocks and those unknown stocks is what poses the greatest threat.

 

[MrSpike]

Can you be 100% sure it wont happen Mrspike. i understand what u are saying about the current stock numbers being known but the thing is, unknown stock can be bred from those known stocks and those unknown stocks is what poses the greatest threat.

The fact of th matter is, this argument will never end. Thats why I'm over it The same thing is happening with native animals to mate, but people just don't care as much...

Kane

 

[cement]

The fact of the matter is , if you are keeping exotics illegally you are a target for the law, if you breed them then maybe youll sell one to the wrong person one day, and get picked up that way.
If you get tagged by a lethal one youll be in even more of a pickle. Will you ride it out? Is it worth your life? Do you have access to anti- venom for your species?
Do you just like showing off to your mates, FAMOUS for keeping something not only dangerous but illegal????
Or is it really compensation for something that your lacking????
If you can't live by Aussie law then move out.

 

[Timotei]

The fact of th matter is, this argument will never end. Thats why I'm over it The same thing is happening with native animals to mate, but people just don't care as much...

Kane

Hey, if ur allowed to hav a quick last word and run, then so am i!

Ppl do actually care about the natives, hence the breeding programs mate.

I find that in this argument plenty of ppl hav been feeling safe to throw blanket arguments out there - unresearched and guessing pretty much, just huge generalisations.

The simple argument is this:

There is no ecological gain to legalising exotics - in fact there are plenty of risks associated - so don't do it!! Why on earth wld u even think about jeopardising our fragile ecology!!

And please Kane, stop saying that exotics are already here, because everyone realises that they are - just not in the devastating numbers that wld be present if they were legalised. Here are a few things to think about:

1) At the moment, only incredibly desperate (and arguably immoral) people are keeping exotics as pets. The legalisation of exotics wld open this to the common keeper, making them think that it's ok. At the moment the main deterrant for many is the legality aspect, as many cannot see the ecological aspect, and so the removal of this deterrant will WITHOUT DOUBT cause a huge scale influx of exotics into the country.

2) Other countries have experienced the destruction of exotics introduced - and yes, i realise that there are feral animals in the wild, so please do not say that australia's ecology is already screwed, cos ur nuts if u think so. The fact of the matter is, that Australia's ecology is so much more fragile than that of other countries, meaning our flora and fauna are far more specialised, hence making them far more vulnerable to introduced pests. Just look at the cane toad.

3) Escapees cannot be denied. The fact is that a) some herps will not be contained, and b) some keepers are useless.

4) Flashmetal88 made a REALLY important point. The keeping of venomous exotics here in Australia will directly endanger us PERSONALLY. The situation can be seen in South Africa, where exotic vens are being kept, and plenty of ppl are dying on a regular basis as a result that hospitals simply cannot stock anti-venom for every ven species in the world, and the average aussie will not be able to identify an exotic, whereas will quite possibly be able to identify a native.

If u feel i'm missing something, let me no, i fail to see ANY reason (apart from sheer selfish desire) why exotics shld be legalised.

 

[cement]

Ditto Timo

 

[MrSpike]

Tim, I don't think you understand my last message. What I meant to say was... That people are keeping and selling natives off license, no one seems to care just as much as say this disagreement. I'm not going to bother reply to you last post either because A) I'm to lazy to try and type that much and B) I'm to lazy to type that much.

I understand what you guys are saying and I do realize the impacts that it would have because I do know who fragile AUS is. Like I said though I am wayyyy to lazy and tired at the moment and wayyy over the subject for at least another few days.

Kane

 

[junglepython2]

Good post Timotei, people who think making exotics legal will solve any of those problems are in a dream world.

 

[phantomcat]

this debate will keep going (as it has on many other forums elsewhere) forever and a day and each side will flatly refuse to give in (and everyone is entitled to their own opinion) i for one will agree to disagree. we have some beautiful animals in australia, and we're very lucky to have (thanks to our slightly restrictive laws) managed to largely evade most of the horrible diseases and parisites that the rest of the less regulated world has had to put up with in the last few years.

.....i for one want one of those emerald monitors!!!! they're gorgeous, plus as a bonus they're AUSTRALIAN!!! : ) hows that for some pride in our birth-place! lol.