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Posted by WaxWormFan on January 30, 2003 at 22:54:05:
In Reply to: Re: Why hybrids? posted by markg on January 30, 2003 at 18:12:01:
See, I'm very torn on the issue. I breed the very consumer friendly leopard gecko, so obviously I an sympathize with the make it pretty so it'll sell mindset ;p
But I also don't think that is an ethical reason (when looking at the world as a whole, not just human society) to do something.
If leopard geckos go extinct in nature, perhaps because of weapons of mass destruction being used in afghanistan for instance ;p I still think that it is important that we do have specimens in captivity, even if they no longer can be released into the wild to repopulate their previous habitat, they still exist to be observed and appreciated.
On the other hand it could also be argued that hybrids might be the only way to save certain species that are bordering on extinction for whatever reason. But that is not to make pretty animals to sell. Some, of course, would argue that this scenario is still unnatural and so on...
I think some of the hybrids are gorgeous, but why breed something that goes against natural boundries when you there are still opportunities to breed gorgeous examples of naturally occuring animals.
I don't know, I've been thinking about it and my mind is still not made up on how I feel. I don't know if money and perhaps a bit of noteworthiness is enough to make it worthwhile. I guess it really depends on what you're working with. I couldn't see "wasting" a $30,000 animal on attempting to make a hybrid if it could be used to produce similarly prices offspring in a much more predictable manner.
Steven Beckerman
