Re: A VIEW OF THE IHS SYMPOSIUM - slight rant

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Posted by Gaylon Holmes on November 24, 1998 at 13:09:59:

In Reply to: A VIEW OF THE IHS SYMPOSIUM - slight rant posted by Russ Gurley on November 17, 1998 at 20:35:44:

This is very disheartening to hear. I was at the 1995 IHS in Denver and I did not experience this at all. I spent some time with Dr. Ross and found him personable if not a bit harried dealing with the programs. The IHS has generally been primarily aimed at the herpetological sector as opposed to the herpetocultural arena. I know a lot of the "big names" are frustrated with amateurish herpetoculturists, i.g., those who do not pay attention to genetics, locality data, etc. I share that frustration. I have seen some poorly bred reptiles and amphibians from those who jump on the bandwagon to make a buck or two. If the "professionals" are going to group all of us serious breeders in with that mentality then that is truly sad. The majority of breakthroughs in herpetoculture have come from the private sector for a variety of reasons; the ability to specialise, do not have to house for exhibition, etc. What you and I and others do, Russ, is a GOOD thing. We are motivated by a sense of biophilia --- not profit. And if we really wanted a healthy bottom line we could certainly achieve this with something more revenue generating than breeding reptiles! Hang in there and remember this....the mechanical device capable of measuring our indifference to their opinions toward us has yet to be invented!!!

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: This is very disheartening to hear. I was at the 1995 IHS in Denver and I did not experience this at all. I spent some time with Dr. Ross and found him personable if not a bit harried dealing with the programs. The IHS has generally been primarily aimed at the herpetological sector as opposed to the herpetocultural arena. I know a lot of the "big names" are frustrated with amateurish herpetoculturists, i.g., those who do not pay attention to genetics, locality data, etc. I share that frustration. I have seen some poorly bred reptiles and amphibians from those who jump on the bandwagon to make a buck or two. If the "professionals" are going to group all of us serious breeders in with that mentality then that is truly sad. The majority of breakthroughs in herpetoculture have come from the private sector for a variety of reasons; the ability to specialise, do not have to house for exhibition, etc. What you and I and others do, Russ, is a GOOD thing. We are motivated by a sense of biophilia --- not profit. And if we really wanted a healthy bottom line we could certainly achieve this with something more revenue generating than breeding reptiles! Hang in there and remember this....the mechanical device capable of measuring our indifference to their opinions toward us has yet to be invented!!!

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