by enigma » Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:54 am
Being a buyer from Seagrest at the time of this video, I can say this. Seagrest started out to be a major competitor of ORA and wanted to be mostly captive bred (at least that's the way they sold me way back when) then as they realized the reality of their situation and needed to keep the bills paid, moved more and more over to wild collection as partnerships waned and the economy hit them. The reality is no one can compete when importers are paying the prices the do to collectors. As pointed out above, the issue is very complex in that even captive breeders have to start with WC and the processes associated with CB are not at all "Eco Friendly". The reality is we all pay too little for the livestock. No animal captured from a delicate environment, transported thousands of miles via polluting aircraft and subjected to as high as 60% mortality to be placed in a box makes sense except for the purpose of education. The prices simply must come up. The higher prices will make captive breeding more feasible and discourage the throw away nature of the casual aquarist. Restrictions, no matter how much we hate them must be made on importation and education of collectors and purveyors should be a must.
Now don't get me wrong, I do not support the proposed "knee jerk" legislation we are all agonizing over, but companies that show a dedication and monetary investment in proper ethical collection, transport, care and effort to researching captive breeding should be the ONLY exporters/importers in the industry. At least that's my opinion. Currently, anyone with a $75 business license and $5,000 can become an importer, buying from a collector who presumably is working in a country where a corrupt government will sell their greatest national resource to line the aristocracies pockets.
Truly a complex issue and while it may seem easy to frown upon Seagrest here, it is not just them, but an entire industry who must work toward an answer which benefits the animals and not a morbid desire to own them or make a profit from them. A critical rethinking must be made and our industry redefined before we can point fingers or alleviate ourselves of responsibility.
With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost. --William Lloyd Garrison--