Reptile/Amphibian Conservation Update: US, Global, Pesticide Bans, etc.

[findi]

Hi All,

The global extinction crisis faced by amphibians has been much in the news in recent years, as have threats to sea turtles, Madagascar’s tortoises, Asia’s freshwater turtles and other long-suffering groups. In the USA, a number of reptile and amphibian species are also in dire straits despite, in some cases, federal protection. I hope this article inspires both hope and action in my many conservation-minded readers. Read article here: http://bitly.com/NWwNws

Comments and questions appreciated. As I do not place notices here each time I post a new article on That Reptile Blog, you may wish to check in periodically or subscribe; you can do so here http://bitly.com/JJNk9h. Please also check out my posts on Twitter http://bitly.com/JP27Nj.

Thanks, Frank
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[The Snark]

I appreciate the updates and info. Excuse my cynicism here, but mankind has reached an apex of sorts at present. As aptly illustrated and demonstrated by Fox news, Rupertmedia et al, stultus doing the Pavlov's dog thing, electing the one who pushes their buttons correctly, now has the ari$tocratic oligarchy firmly entrenched at the top of nearly all governments today. Pandering to the mindless electorate while amassing greater wealth offers very little room for preservation of animals or their habitat, unless, of course, those animals manage to get a few minutes in the spotlight of said news agencies.

George Carlin did a wonderful spiel about conservation. Save the whales? Save the snails! Bullsh*t. It's mankind that's going away. The earth is doing just fine and will be here long after we are gone. Maybe it just wanted plastic and we can be fazed out now.

Saw a Russell's viper road kill yesterday. That chunky body doesn't look particularly appealing (photogenic) when flattened to 1/2mm though.

 

[findi]

Hi,

Thanks very much for your input and the Russel's Viper observation...young small mammals dispersing now, near NYC, so woodchucks, racoons, opossums evident as roadkill.

I've worked on a variety of conservation programs in several countries, and practicality is the key. Developement destroys habitat, etc, but wealthy folks fund conservation. Countries struggling with poverty, over-pop etc will not support conservation unless it makes financial sense, In my exper, well-meaning people who feel they are "saving animals" by, for example, not eating meat just cloud the issue (no endangered species on soybean farms, etc) and give a false sense of accomplishment. No matter how noble our efforts, we displace animals by our very existence, as do all creatures (we are just better at it!), We need to be realistic and practical...very hard, next to impossible in some places, unfortuantely. Keep the observations comming, thanks, Frank