I can't stand it when people intentionally mix species, no matter what the animal. Aside from being illegal, it's morally wrong and totally anti-conservative. Take turtles for example... if you put a male and a female of a different species from the same complex together like Emydura, say, a Painted (Jardine River turtle) and a Krefft's turtle, one single mating will produce hybrid mongrel turtles for the next 4 years. Instead of the hatchlings being a brilliant vibrant red like a pure-bred subglobosa would be, they'll be a sh***y washed out yellow or orange thanks to the tainting/mixing of genetics. The introduction of non endemic Murray River turtles into the QLD pet trade and NSW, east of the Great Dividing Range has resulted in many of these turtles being dumped into river systems far outside their natural range and cross breeding with the local native species... Murray River turtles are now running rampant in the Bellinger river - threatening the Bellinger River turtle (critically endangered), Manning River - threatening the Manning River turtle (critically endangered), Macleay and Hastings Rivers - destroying the genetic integrity of Macleay River turtles (vulnerable), the Hunter River - crossbreeding with the Hunter river turtles (vulnerable), The Brisbane River - ruining the genetic integrity of the Brisbane river turtle and Krefft's turtles... and so forth... Once the damage is done, it's irreversible... Soon, the only turtles left with any genetic integrity will be the ones bred in captivity by conservationists.
