KTown -
1. I completely prefer pure bred locales over any cross bred animal. While I will admit that a few crosses I've seen have been impressive animals, the vast majority in my opinion are not and even the impressive animals don't hold a candle to the impressiveness of pure locales. In my opinion the value of pure locales goes deeper than their outer looks as you can see more purely how nature has shaped the species across their range and I find that to be extremely interesting and rewarding.
2. They definitely have a lower value commercially and in my opinion their interest value is lower as well for the reasons stated above.
3. No, I would concentrate on how pure the lines appear to be before how impressive the sire is.
4. Once a bloodline is tainted with crossed blood, it can never be a pure locale again. It takes no time or effort to destroy the purity of a bloodline but it takes considerable time and effort to maintain a bloodline's purity. With how easy it is to get mislabeled females in shipments which will result in hybrid offspring until the mistake is realized by the breeder, there is no excuse, in my opinion, to purposefully produce hybrids. In my opinion, every effort should be made to breed pure locales and the accidental hybrids produced while trying to prove out bloodlines can fill the demand for less expensive pets.
Antithesis -
Comparing locales of F. pardalis to dog breeds is not a valid comparison. Locales of F. pardalis are naturally occurring, resulting from countless generations of natural selection. Dog breeds are artificial, resulting from artificial selection over countless generations. Long term multigenerational captive breeding of F. pardalis remains problematic without the introduction of fresh blood. Until we are able to reliably get into the double digits of captive bred generations (>F10), suggesting that artificial breeds of F. pardalis can be produced similar to those of dogs is completely unrealistic.
I personally see nothing short sighted about breeding chameleons by locale, as you have suggested. While there are complications resulting from reliability of obtaining pure locales, with care, experience and resources, it can be done and is being done. The fact that it takes real effort and resources to maintain pure breeding groups is one reason why pure locales demand higher prices, but there is nothing unrealistic or short sighted about breeding by locale.
Regarding a chameleon registry to trace the lineage of your chams, I helped create the Captive Chameleon Bloodline Tracking Database (CCBTD) in 2004 that did exactly that. Unfortunately it was viewed as "the chameleon police" rather than a resource to help locate and manage bloodlines. It ended up being poorly utilized and we finally shut it down.
Chris
. LOL. Im a pure local person. So I dont agree with this at all. There has been no valid answers to change my mind.
