Ethics in breeding?

[hawklover]

So here I am, a newcomer to sw breeding. I am a fully disabled veteran with nothing but time on my hands. I am attempting to put together a breeding system that will contain some of the easier and very popular demersal spawning and mouth brooding marine fish, and also two very hard to breed fish, the Coral Beauty Angel, and Hawkfish. I would like to sell these fish when I get a system working. I am well aware that it could take me a few years to do this, and am looking forward to the challenge. Here is the question; Once I figure this out, is it ok to keep the details that allow me to culture them to myself? In such a way, I would have time to establish myself as a supplier of these fish before the large aquaculture companies get the info and set up large scale systems. Is it hurtful to the hobby for me to keep vital pieces of the info to myself? Could I be ostracized for it? Is there an acceptable amount of time for me to hold the info before spreading it around? What do you all think?

[Luis A M]

A recurrent question
Scientists keep finding for themselves,so nobody could publish first and steal them the fame.
Commercial breeders the same,so the concurrence won´t steal them the money.
Hobbysts are happy to tell everything,so they help the hobby and the future of some fish species.And earn the recognition of their fellow hobbyists.

But there are hobbyists and scientists glared by the $$$ who want to turn into commercials.

But don´t break your head with this dilemma now,wait to make a great finding and only then start to think!

[Scottt]

I like Louis' answer.

as a side note...
I feel bad for the people who think they make things better for themselves by keeping their info secret. In truth, when you share knowledge, people will also share knowledge with you. On a larger scale, the more we know, the better we are as a species. Share as much as possible, publish complete details when you have it perfected.

[hawklover]

Sounds like a plan to me. I guess I might have gotten away from why I started this in the first place. I started because I love this this hobby and am very fascinated by hawkfish. I can't keep from smiling when I watch them. I do beleive that the future of the sw fish hobby is in the hands of hobbyist breeders, there for we need to work together. I will try to sell fish as I learn to grow them out, but I don't think I want to do it on a large commercial scale. It would take the fun out. Thanks for setting me straight guys!

[Maxie12]

I love the idea of breeding, but I'm not sure about the ethics when so many dogs are put down every year. I've read varying numbers for the US, but around 60% of dogs that end up in shelters are executed, or about 3-4 million per year. This means that around 5% of the dog population is executed annually. (If someone has more reliable numbers, I'm interested in hearing them; however, whatever the numbers are, my larger point remains.)

The core of the problem seems to be accidental breedings and not breeders (whether reputable, BYB, or even puppy mills). About 50% of litters are unplanned. Most of these dogs are given to friends or family members for little or no cost (65% of the entire dog population). And despite the growth of low cost spay/neuter clinics, Bob Barker's PSAs, and the pressure from vets to snip your pet's privates, only 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed/neutered and only 75% of owned pets are spayed/neutered (which means around 30% of dogs in the US aren't spayed/neutered).

The heart of the problem, then, is owners' failure to have their dogs spayed/neutered, resulting in accidental breedings. The solution, therefore, is to continue to push spay/neuter surgeries. While it's a pain when vets push this on us, DFC members being above average dog owners, I totally understand why vets do this in general.

So how do we clear out the 5% of dogs in shelters and rescues? Do we get all the dog owning households to accept one more? Do we push more people to adopt from shelters/rescues? Do we ask breeders to skip a few seasons?

But this, too, is simplistic. Not all breeds are equally represented in this problem. I can't find numbers on this, but experience tells me that the majority of dogs in need are either small companion breeds or, if medium or large breed, tend to be so-called fighting breeds, like Pits and Staffies, or the ever-popular breeds like labs and lab mixes. Does this make it ok for someone to become a breeder of a breed not commonly found in rescue/shelter situations? Or are these new breeders just as culpable?

[cannon77]

UM, not sure you are aware, but this is MOFIB and this forum is dedicated to things of a aquatic nature. Unless you have some number to show us how many fish and or inverts end up at the shelters and how many are not spayed or neutered and the issue with so many of us breeding them along with all the other fancy numbers you throw out.........I think you might be on the wrong forum??