Chameleon crisis: extinction threatens 36% of world's chameleons

Thanks for posting Chris! That is why I have stated stay away from species that are listed as Endangered and especially species that are listed as Critically Endangered. Allow conservationists to take care of their job and restore populations/habitat. Collecting species that are Endangered while active conservation programs are going on could be said as undermining the restoration program. As well I have got concerns about exporting populations that are listed as Vulnerable. They are a bubble species to me.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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It is not impossible for Endangered or Vulnerable species to be harvested sustainably, it just needs to be done carefully and in a controlled fashion. Many of the species that we now know are threatened have not been being collected in a very controlled manner, however, and it is likely that it has not been being done sustainably. Ultimately the habitat needs to be better protected and managed for these species if there is going to be any long term hope for them.

Chris
 
It is not impossible for Endangered or Vulnerable species to be harvested sustainably, it just needs to be done carefully and in a controlled fashion. Many of the species that we now know are threatened have not been being collected in a very controlled manner, however, and it is likely that it has not been being done sustainably. Ultimately the habitat needs to be better protected and managed for these species if there is going to be any long term hope for them.

Chris

Species that are labeled as Vulnerable being exported concerns me. However in conservative numbers I think it can be done. Calumma o'shaughnessy is a spectacular species. No threat however if you make exporting Endangered species just for the hobby that one is on you Chris. Even though we may want them in the hobby they are not ready or justifiable for the trade yet. They are species that we cherish struggling for their own existence. Go observe them in the wild, or in books, video or zoological societies until they are delisted.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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It is not impossible for Endangered or Vulnerable species to be harvested sustainably, it just needs to be done carefully and in a controlled fashion. Many of the species that we now know are threatened have not been being collected in a very controlled manner, however, and it is likely that it has not been being done sustainably. Ultimately the habitat needs to be better protected and managed for these species if there is going to be any long term hope for them.

Chris
Species that are labeled as Vulnerable being exported concerns me. However in conservative numbers I think it can be done. Calumma o'shaughnessy is a spectacular species. No threat however if you make exporting Endangered species just for the hobby that one is on you Chris. Even though we may want them in the hobby they are not ready or justifiable for the trade yet. They are species that we cherish struggling and for their existence. Go observe them in the wild, or in books, video or zoological societies until they are delisted.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

I'm not an exporter or importer, so no, its not on me. Its nice to be able to sit on your couch and lecture people about how it should be done having no practical experience with chameleon conservation, Jeremy, but actually working with CITES, the IUCN and chameleon conservation issues in real life, I've grown to learn that things are not that simple. Like it or not, there are limitations to what we are able to legally control, and there are considerations that must be made for local communities and other shareholders. Those interests must be balanced with those of the animals, their populations and habitat. Failure to do so means that any conservation action put into place will fail because it lacks the cooperation of those parties. As a result, focusing on solutions rather than ideology is important, and emphasizing sustainable harvesting is one way to accomplish that. I never said it was easy, nor did I say that it is the perfect scenario, but it is often the necessary one to effect a net positive outcome.

Chris
 
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I'm not an exporter or importer, so no, its not on me. Its nice to be able to sit on your couch and lecture people about how it should be done having no practical experience with chameleon conservation, Jeremy, but actually working with CITES, the IUCN and chameleon conservation issues in real life, I've grown to learn that things are not that simple. Like it or not, there are limitations to what we are able to legally control, and there are considerations that must be made for local communities and other shareholders. Those interests must be balanced with those of the animals, their populations and habitat. Failure to do so means that any conservation action put into place will fail because it lacks the cooperation of those parties. As a result, focusing on solutions rather than ideology is important, and emphasizing sustainable harvesting is one way to accomplish that. I never said it was easy, nor did I say that it is the perfect scenario, but it is often the necessary one to effect a net positive outcome.

Chris

If that is what is going through your mind when you are sitting on your couch?

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
Hoping that last one was just a mistype Jeremy. I think that captive breeding can be part of the conservations solution. The real difficulty is accurately measuring sustainable harvest and then making sure the animals get into capable hands. All species have the capability to produce more offspring than the environment can support (carrying capacity), so if healthy and managed correctly harvest can actually increase the number of surviving offspring. However, if a species has been dramatically reduced (usually due to human environmental impact) and the original impacting factors have been corrected then population expansion might be possible and either a non-harvest policy or a harvest and relocate policy might provide for optimal numbers.
 
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