Exotics in australia

[Retic]

I can't believe this sort of thing goes on

 

[peterescue]

Sitting down with some of the oldtimers you dont know whether to believe them or not then they add a detail that you know is true and a name so you mention it to the name and they say, Oh yeah, I remember that.
Its like 50% truth and 50% BS but the BS starts turning out to be true.
Still its fun.

 

[Guest]

Well you summed it up well Bwana,HA HA the boa had 7 young and the other 2 walk out with the keeper after work,papershufflers. :lol: No snake has ever escaped from stalaag 13 Hix,cracks me up mate

 

[bwana]

Yeh,
Just like how Bob buckley's greens supposedly all died.
what a load of rubbish.
You could buy red eared sliders, corn snakes, tarantulas, chameleons ect., with ease.
it's the old story it's not what you know but who .........
it's not restricted to any one zoo or wildlife park .
even up in nth qld there are people who keep red-tailed boa's, Sanzinia's from madagascar and some awesome venomous species as well!

 

[Hickson]

Well you summed it up well Bwana,HA HA the boa had 7 young and the other 2 walk out with the keeper after work,papershufflers. :lol: No snake has ever escaped from stalaag 13 Hix,cracks me up mate

Yeah, it's interesting how everyone says 'they heard stories', or 'a good mate told me this is how it was done'.

Now, I can't speak for any other zoo or fauna park, but seeing as we're talking about Sydney, I might as well have my 2cents worth.

I worked at Taronga, and before I was a paid employee, I was a volunteer. I've been affiliated with Taronga (in one capacity or another)since the late 70's. I've never heard any of these stories from zoo staff, but I have heard absolute bullshit from people who don't know what they're talking about.

They state - with all the authority of someone with first-hand knowledge - absolute crap about people and events, often that I'd been involved with.
The reptile dept have always copped more than their fair share of the criticism, and I've never worked out why. But everyone was so concerned with slandering the reptile dept/keepers with things that didn't happen, they missed all the real stories that happened elsewhere in the zoo. Probably just as well.

If you're gonna knock my friends - go right ahead. But be prepared to name names - in a PM if you want. Otherwise, keep it to yourself.

thats how most of the illegal exotics in circulation and some of the legal ones came about.You could write a book on the subject Raymond Hoser wrote two.

You've got to be kidding! Personally, I wouldn't line the bottom of my snake boxes with anything he wrote. That's filling up the box with a different sort of crap.

:evil:

Hix

 

[bwana]

Exotic's in Australia.

Hix
you say you have been affiliated with TZ since the 70's and have never heard such a thing. Do you have a hearing impairment! (joke)
I personally (not told, or heard) know of 3 or 4 past keepers who did these things. No bullshit! Most of them still work in the industry. One in a ranger in QLD. (ring any bells).
I won't name names as I don't have anything against them.
It is a lot easier to take banded iguana eggs home from work than smuggle them from fiji.
I hope things have changed since peter took over the show.

 

[Greebo]

RE: Exotic

I think I'm going to add this thread to my favourite short cuts.
The next time I have trouble sleeping, I can just re-read these 9 pages and I should be out like a light in no time.

 

[instar]

RE: Exotic

A few of your own responses ought to work just as well Dave!

 

[Hickson]

Re: Exotic's in Australia.

Hix
you say you have been affiliated with TZ since the 70's and have never heard such a thing. Do you have a hearing impairment! (joke)

Yeah, I've heard those things, but never from zoo staff.

The ranger in Qld? Yeah, I know him. I actually know his ex-wife much better.

My last post was made last night when I was a little pissed off at some of the crap floating around. And I've been listening to similar crap for years.

Truth is, there were some people that have behaved .... ummm..... improperly is probably the best word .... in the past, but in their private lives, not necessarily through the zoo. If I was busted tomorrow with a breeding group of Corn Snakes or Boas, or Naultinus geckos, the rumours would be along the lines "he got them when he worked at the zoo", and then they would just get more far-fetched - "I hear he used to keep Eyelash Vipers, which he took home as eggs, but they escaped and are occassionally seen around Balmoral Beach ...." etc.

I hope things have changed since Peter took over the show.

Peter is a good friend and tolerates zoo management better than many. I for one, think that Serpentaria is better run since his arrival.



Hix

 

[PilbaraPythons]

RE: Re: Exotic

Hey Hix
Bwana speaks the truth about this matter whether or not you chose to beleive it. I have seen first hand a very small sample of some of the stolen Taronga creatures my self and know one of the persons that Bwana knows. To choose not to name the culprits by Bwana is not cowardly it is probably common sense. But to add fuel to the fire and because I think one of these guys is an absolute jerk heres a hint MM.

 

[Guest]

You go on Hix :arrow: Fanaticly,you must be right ,your so sure of your self. :lol:

 

[PilbaraPythons]

I remember when GTP was offered on the black-market for $1000 a piece at the same time Buckley?s were illegally dying in mass numbers at Taronga. I asked a Taronga reptile section employee on the stand in Wollongong court in 1991 about the GTPs held at Taronga. He testified that 27 GTPs out of 33 had died. Well done Taronga what a great job you did, accept I don't believe it for one minute regardless of who signed them off as dead. I was told at the time that the GTPs for sale were indeed stolen from Buckley?s Greens held at Taronga.Who am I to say for sure if it was really true or not ?.Even though I was told this, I did not personally witness this happening but you can?t really blame people for believing what looks likes the obvious?

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Gee I love that brown coloured stick of mine :lol:

 

[indicus]

:lol: Can see nothing's changed around here while i've been away.........
One comment - 'legalized criminals'......

 

[NoOne]

MM hey Pilbara, i might have to agree with you there, if it's the MM i'm thinking of he had his hand in a bit of eveything there.

 

[peterescue]

I can only think of one MM. Well I can think of lots more but ones a rapper then there is the mouse and another is a dead sex symbol fim star. Was it her.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Actually now that I think about it there were two people working there that had those initials so I was probably a bit reckless saying it. So just to clarify things I shall say this, I have know knowledge that Mathew Milgate was involved in anything ilegal.

 

[basketcase]

someone should delete this, right now

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Why?

 

[bwana]

There were two mm's there at the same time.
Hix just wondering as to what section you are in.
I have a feeling it's not the reptile section.
just curious how close to the action you really were!