Check out this jerk

mrbonzai211

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
534
Yeah so I was posting about my collections on a different site and check out what this ignorant D.A. sent me:

I do not recommend having any kind of amphibian as a pet, we just cannot reproduce their natural diet or habitats properly. Ditto with tarantulas, they are magnificent animals that should not be handled by humans and it's a huge disservice to them to keep them confined. If you really love animals, stick to small fish, cats and dogs. They are the only ones that actually benefit from living in a human environment.

I hate people who think they know so much about a subject they have ABSOLUTELY no experience with. I feel like finding him and releasing a hoard of OBTs in his bedroom!;P :evil: ;P
 

Pink_tarantula

Arachnosquire
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Apr 1, 2007
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133
i hate them too ^_^ , they are probably benefiting not being food to other animals
 

P. Novak

ArachnoGod
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Wow talk about Rude. There is a reason for captive breeding, we don't personally go out take the Ts out of their habitats(unless it's a first of their species, or habitat destruction is happening), us(hobbyists and breeders) are actually trying to help the T population in the wild, or atleast trying to. We are captive breeding tarantulas so one day the need fo WC ones would no longer be needed. I would just ignore him and don't sink down to his level of ignorance. He obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

Oh and I'm pretty sure cats, dogs, and fish would love to be in the wild as well. It's the same thing as keeping a T. We provide the food, water, and housing. I'm pretty sure they benefit from us since we eliminate the predators that eat the Ts.
 
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speedreader

Arachnobaron
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May 14, 2005
Messages
330
actually dogs are pretty domesticated, I am not sure if they would like it more alone.

Ts however lead sedentary lives, so i can't see why keeping them is detrimental.

As for ignorant people,

"If you argue with an idiot, he will bring you down to his own level and then win by experience."
 

P. Novak

ArachnoGod
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Ya your right speedracer, but I was just referring to my dog I guess in a way. It would pick to be outside in the wild over being in the house anyday.
 

phil jones

Arachnoprince
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Dec 17, 2006
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yes he is talking out of his backside just ignore him and stay with people who know and love this hobby £££ phil
 

Hedorah99

Arachnoprince
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May 2, 2005
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Yeah so I was posting about my collections on a different site and check out what this ignorant D.A. sent me:

I do not recommend having any kind of amphibian as a pet, we just cannot reproduce their natural diet or habitats properly. Ditto with tarantulas, they are magnificent animals that should not be handled by humans and it's a huge disservice to them to keep them confined. If you really love animals, stick to small fish, cats and dogs. They are the only ones that actually benefit from living in a human environment.

I hate people who think they know so much about a subject they have ABSOLUTELY no experience with. I feel like finding him and releasing a hoard of OBTs in his bedroom!;P :evil: ;P
I just wanna know how he lumped fish into the group as well. :?
 

Bigboy

Arachnoprince
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Nov 18, 2004
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1,234
Wow talk about Rude. There is a reason for captive breeding, we don't personally go out take the Ts out of their habitats(unless it's a first of their species, or habitat destruction is happening), us(hobbyists and breeders) are actually helong the T population in the wild, or atleast trying to.
Unfortunately, our hobby does have a huge impact on wild species. The main threat to them is us. Lots of people collect wild spiders for the pet trade to keep up with demand. We captive breed, but we still don't do enough of it to maintain a stable supply for the demand the market has.
 

speedreader

Arachnobaron
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May 14, 2005
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330
ho-ho-ho.
How about deforestation of India and South America?!:evil:
That's the most immediate threat to thousands of species of wonderful animals, Ts included.
Sure, lots of stores sell WCs, unfortunately, but we, the relatively enlightened keepers, tend to buy CB from online breeders.
 

ShadowBlade

Planeswalker
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No, I'd have to say experienced keepers like us are the BEST thing for Theraphosids. With all the de-forestation of South America, Sri Lanka, India, etc.. Importing whatever we can to get stable breeding going is the only thing going to keep species alive.

All the WC T's like rosea are mostly bought up by novice keepers, and people just wanting a 'tarantula'.

-Sean
 
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Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
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Jan 23, 2006
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3,509
Unfortunately, our hobby does have a huge impact on wild species. The main threat to them is us. Lots of people collect wild spiders for the pet trade to keep up with demand. We captive breed, but we still don't do enough of it to maintain a stable supply for the demand the market has.
this is true, and its sort of a catch 22 in that if breeders ask too much for the CB spiders (especially the likes of g. rosea that grows at glacial speed) PEople will buy WC at a lower price and larger specimins, and as long as the WC are so cheaply available the less CB sold the higher in price they need to be to be worth breedig at all. Of course, WC is not always a bad thnig for the specie. It may be the only thing saving some from extinction. If hobbist have them then the destruction of habitat and being consumed are not a problem for them .... CB is far better option for the wild populations but remember wiht limited gene pool you get all the genetic imperfections stacking up on you and well you get problems... SO even with a very strong CB program its good for the specie to get an infusion of new genes from WC specimines on occasion...
I also think we know very little about the natural activities and diets of a lot of species. but It surely does appear that the captive Ts do alright for themselves and i guess that goes for amphibians too. What he said isnt really too off technically but keeping any animal is the same if you ask me..If its ok for man to take wolves and turn them in to yorkies and keep them as lap yappers then why not keep a bug that is incapable of whining when you are gone all day at work and feeling lonely.
 

David Burns

Arachnoprince
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Yeah the guy has it wrong. Fish shouldn't be kept as pets either. ;)
 

limz_777

Arachnosquire
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the internet is full of ignorant people..:confused: and of course occasionally a debater comes along ...:}
 

fscorpion

Arachnobaron
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Aug 28, 2005
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It looks to me as the man was just expressing his opinion, and it also look like all of you are expressing your opinions. Its not nice to call him ignorant as we are talking about opinions, not scientific facts. I don't think no one can claim that tarantulas enjoy or not staying in a glass box, or even if there is something they prefer. We keep them not because we are so noble that we want to save the wild population, but because we love to keep them, watch them, play with them or just have them. Saying that reproducing tarantulas in captivity will save the ones in the wild is an absurd, as they don't need our help to survive, they just need their habitat. Animal habitats are not destroyed only in Asia and South America, but also in the USA and Europe, and I would like to remind you that the US is the biggest importer of wood in the world...
So, please, spare me those stories and try to be real about this-we keep tarantulas because we like them and because we can, not because we think about their future or their welfare...
Filip
 

Scorpendra

Arachnoprince
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i could imagine 100 different situations that would have been worse than that, but it's still pretty rude.
 

Aurelia

Arachnoprince
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Jan 4, 2007
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oh maaan I know the feeling. I've been lectured at about how captive breeding tropical fish and buying them at pet stores is unethical because breeders abuse them and that there is an overpopulation problem. I think she had them confused with cats and dogs....
 

jr47

Arachnobaron
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Aug 4, 2005
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i really would not consider him a jerk. if you think about how many t's die while being shipped. how many are kept in poor conditions till death. and how many are bought by people that dont have a clue what they are doing. compared to the number that are kept by people that do keep them properly. it would more than likely shock you.
i dont agree with him but i do think that as with any pet people should be screened to some extent before they are allowed to keep any exotic pet.
as far as keeping the population alive in the event that they are destroyed. i dont keep them for that reason. i just keep them cause i like them. i really dont think people should be limited to dogs and cats. and fish :? . i think the cat population because of people being irresponsible is a bigger problem than us importing t's. and i also think that exporting t's is probably the least of things threatening the t population. maybe they need to ban the natives eating them too.
that arguement could go on forever but calling him a jerk for his oppinion surely doesnt help matters. facts are that exporting in the past has threatened animals in the wild. we dont have a clue how many they are exporting so its really hard to say if i would think its a threat or not.
 

ShadowBlade

Planeswalker
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We keep them not because we are so noble that we want to save the wild population, but because we love to keep them, watch them, play with them or just have them.
Speak for yourself.

Saying that reproducing tarantulas in captivity will save the ones in the wild is an absurd, as they don't need our help to survive, they just need their habitat.
Yeah, tell that to the undescribed species of Poecilotheria already gone, and those that will never be found before they're already extinct.

-Sean
 

Mc225

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Messages
36
The only real ignorance I see is in some of the responses in this thread. The message that the OP received seems pretty reasonable to me except, as some have mentioned, the small fish part. (it's ok to eat fish cause they don't have any feelings?)

Basically you're delusional if you think that keeping T's makes you some kind of conservationist working towards saving a species. Unless you're involved in some serious research or actual conservation efforts then you are just a person with spiders and that means you've done more harm than good.

Also, what is it with this notion that everything must be saved? Are the dinosaurs still roaming around? Isn't the extinction and emergence of new species inevitable over time? This isn't to say I'm happy about everything I see happening around me, but humanities effect on the planet is also part of the natural order. Some day, probably quite far in the distant future, this planet will cease to exist and only those life forms that have managed to find another place to extend their time in this universe will live on. All life, in fact all things, are temporary.

That being said, I do believe we should strive toward a more harmonious relationship with our planet. But this notion of the static preservation of all life as it exists today, even human life, is just the individual projecting their own subjective valuation on the given species or life itself.
 
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