Re: Be a bit realistic

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Posted by Coralee on May 25, 2000 at 01:13:02:

In Reply to: Re: Be a bit realistic posted by Logic in Action on May 24, 2000 at 19:14:01:

I apologize for any rudeness.

I agree that importation has its benefits; witness the dealers who do their "hunting" in the Chinese food markets. I absolutely agree that importation may be the salvation of some species in the future.

However, I'm not sure how much of a help it is to the survival of Russian tortoises as a species to be taken out of the wild in such massive numbers. I wonder how many of these will end up in the hands of people who will breed them.. or even keep them alive for very long. These torts suffer the curse of being inexpensive. It makes me pretty sick at heart to see the large numbers of them now at local petstores, particularly since quite a few of them look well-worn and elderly, as if they had survived perfectly well for many years in the wild. I don't think that their chance for survival is much better in the giant petstore chain than it was in the farmer's field.

I'm afraid that not even a small percentage of these imports will be bred.

I'm by no means a PETA-type animal rights nut that believes all torts belong in the wild. Responsible enlightened ownership and captive breeding is certainly a great benefit to many species. I just don't like seeing animals become disposable because they are plentiful and cheap.

Coralee

: Thanks for your response. I was expecting some truly rude words. Thanks for the shock.

: No, the Tortoises don't swoop. They creep in, en mass and devour the sweet young crops.

: I don't believe they shoud be slaughtered because there are millions of them. In the future, there won't be millions of them. I have no sympathy for the farmers but was trying to show the correlation between price and availability.

: They could be raised for much less than they sell for in the US, but, their is not enough profit in it for people to do so. So, the question then becomes...at what point is it profitable enough to raise them, instead of importing them?

: In Europe, it is highly profitable and so the animals are raised in numbers. Importation stopped and prices jumped. The animals that were no longer exported are now mink food.

: Is it better to have them here, in the US, where they can be raised...or ground up for protein for someones nice new mink coat?

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: I apologize for any rudeness. : I agree that importation has its benefits; witness the dealers who do their "hunting" in the Chinese food markets. I absolutely agree that importation may be the salvation of some species in the future. : However, I'm not sure how much of a help it is to the survival of Russian tortoises as a species to be taken out of the wild in such massive numbers. I wonder how many of these will end up in the hands of people who will breed them.. or even keep them alive for very long. These torts suffer the curse of being inexpensive. It makes me pretty sick at heart to see the large numbers of them now at local petstores, particularly since quite a few of them look well-worn and elderly, as if they had survived perfectly well for many years in the wild. I don't think that their chance for survival is much better in the giant petstore chain than it was in the farmer's field. : I'm afraid that not even a small percentage of these imports will be bred. : I'm by no means a PETA-type animal rights nut that believes all torts belong in the wild. Responsible enlightened ownership and captive breeding is certainly a great benefit to many species. I just don't like seeing animals become disposable because they are plentiful and cheap. : Coralee : : : Thanks for your response. I was expecting some truly rude words. Thanks for the shock. : : No, the Tortoises don't swoop. They creep in, en mass and devour the sweet young crops. : : I don't believe they shoud be slaughtered because there are millions of them. In the future, there won't be millions of them. I have no sympathy for the farmers but was trying to show the correlation between price and availability. : : They could be raised for much less than they sell for in the US, but, their is not enough profit in it for people to do so. So, the question then becomes...at what point is it profitable enough to raise them, instead of importing them? : : In Europe, it is highly profitable and so the animals are raised in numbers. Importation stopped and prices jumped. The animals that were no longer exported are now mink food. : : Is it better to have them here, in the US, where they can be raised...or ground up for protein for someones nice new mink coat?

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