 | mobile - desktop |
|
| mobile - desktop |
|
 |
 Available Now at RodentPro.com! |
News & Events:
|
Posted by Stuart McArthur on January 07, 2002 at 14:05:27:
In Reply to: Re: reply....... posted by Justin on January 07, 2002 at 11:42:25:
: How dare you make claims without evidence to back them up. What supports your mixing species claims Stu? You have not produced any reasonable answers to my questions, you simply talked around the subject, maybe your name should be brought into question.
Please dont call me Stu.
As Graham said.. he is honest ....our replies were both blocked ... I dont know why? No Swaer words. This was the reply I tried to send to all those questions you blurted out.. I have a lot of evidence please ask for it off the list.
>>>>
Happy New Year Justin - and good luck with your tortoises for 2002.
What on earth is this “true and false game” palaver all about?
Most of the offbeat diagnostic tests I undertake on sick chelonians are funded by specific Chelonian or Animal Welfare organisations. [e.g. Jersey Wildlife Preservation trust, British Chelonian Group, Sussex Chelonian Group, Tortoise Trust, Myself and motivated keepers.] Generally these organisations are acknowledged when a publication is achieved. I also get favourable rates from The Central Veterinary Laboratory Virology Unit, Mycoplasma Isolation labs and I am currently working in conjunction with other infectious disease research veterinarians in Europe as they have the diagnostics and we don’t.
If I do work up an exciting group of chelonians that are experiencing a die off, it is for the overall benefit of all who keep chelonians and in order to help further our understanding of how, when and why infectious diseases strike down valued and/or sentimentally important collections.
Most of the screening tests available to me and undertaken by me to date do not incur a charge with the keeper. I have spent a lot of my own dosh here. However overall funds are unfortunately very limited and therefore need to be targeted to where they can produce the most useful data.
For example I'm currently working with a group of very well cared for European Afghans where mycoplasma has been isolated from multiple individuals in association with chronic nasal discharge… sound similar to anything in USA? I think that’s quite interesting for Yorkshire UK. I meet infectious diseases wherever chelonians mix!
Infectious diseases of chelonians are one of my areas of special interest. Keepers mix tortoises! Are we made for each other? This doesn’t mean that I have great time persuading people to undertake diagnostic tests that have no relevance to their collection for the sake of furthering the income of labs and universities worldwide. I have to manage charitable funding wisely. We need to learn and improve our disease management if these beautiful creatures want to carry on with us on this Earth.
Most animals I see with serious infections are not infected by wild caught animals. Keepers and retailers who do not understand the implications of mixing immunologically naïve animals with those carrying latent infections infect them.
We cannot define good quarantine procedures without first understanding the diseases which affect our collections. I hope that disseminating what I have unfortunately observed with respect to thousands of ill chelonians with infectious diseases, over the past 16 years, can be of help to others who also keep chelonians. It is my hope for 2002 that we can reduce the suffering of chelonians caused by dissemination of infectious diseases- through education.
I am always keen to open dialogue as to how keeper practices can be safer and can benefit their animals. I am used to being given a hard time by people/keepers on chelonian internet lists - not everyone likes the things I say – sometimes people misconstrue constructive advice and information for personal criticism. Either I say nothing and nothing happens - or I speak and I’m damned – it’s a tough life!
I think most chelonians would benefit greatly from habitat protection and a natural climate. As a UK clinician I’m sure the keepers as well as the animals would benefit from better climate.
The problem is that we can’t return captive animals to the wild as we possibly/probably/might have infected them with all sorts of things during a transient period of kidnap. Therefore most captive chelonians are doomed to remain as misunderstood pets with limited future influence on their species gene pool. As such - we should still respect and care for them as best as we can – whichever mad country they have ended up in for whatever reason.
Hereth endeth todays preaching… happy tortoising for 2002. Let me know if I missed out on any of your analysis data! I found it confusing but I am confident it wasn’t intentionally insulting.
All the best
Stuart
