10-15-2012, 01:23 PM
This is an attempt at making a 'sticky' / being the go-to place for Smuggling information.
Please bear in mind these are my views and opinions alone. We are all entitled to our own opinions. I do not recognize a SINGLE member of any forum as an 'expert' on any matters of smuggling dart frogs. There ain't no such thing, or at least I haven't met him/her yet.
I will not claim to have the answer to smuggling tiny coloured frogs, nor will I even claim that my way is the best way. All I can offer is my opinions, viewpoints and try to engender enough thought, that someday will precipitate and result in forward motion and advancement of what I feel is VASTLY important to the direct welfare of distant animal populations and conservation....Our little HOBBY. Yes, I feel it's just THAT important. Important enough for me to post close to 10,000 posts on various forums, using countless hours of my free time with no reimbursement. Important enough for me to go back to school to pursue more education and a career change to wildlife conservation.
Allow me to begin...
First, there is NO such thing as 'black and white'. Only a child and an truly ignorant person thinks in terms of 'Black and White'. Our whole existence and daily routine as a race of humans is be-speckled with compromise. It's what makes us human and not 100% insane. We invented both politics and religion as methods to cope with....compromise. I know what you will say next...but Phil, isn't a set of laws - Federal Laws, black and white ? Either you break the law or you don't, right ? No. That may seem like 'right thinking' but it's both naive and wrong. ALL Law enforcement and Judicial entities practice selective enforcement of various laws. It may not seem fair, especially if you are on the 'wrong' side of things, but it's the truth. Law enforcement is selective. You may not see it now, or it may take some time to acknowledge it, but trust me....it is.
"Selective Law enforcement", now brings us to our Hobby. There are many species of Dart Frogs that are FULLY ensconced in thousands of homes that have never been legally exported from their native countries. All Brazilian frogs - Adelphobates Genus have not been legally released by their native country's governments , yet the Hobby has them all except Adelphobates captivus. Phyllobates ? Yep, many can/should be considered ill-gotten if one traces their history. Anyone ever hear of a search warrant obtained for those species ? An arrest ? Not me.
Thirdly...our "Moral" dilemma, which is probably the hardest issue for us to face. IMO, up to half of all U.S hobbyist would buy ANY frog from ANY person. It's just that glaring in my opinion. How do we change ? How do we put a dent in something as 'silly' as small coloured frogs when efforts to combat the illicit traffic of billions of dollars of narcotics and other contraband cannot be stopped ?
End, part I. I'll try to pick it up where I left off later, in the meantime, feel free to post onto this thread and we will just roll on with the discussion, like any other.
Please bear in mind these are my views and opinions alone. We are all entitled to our own opinions. I do not recognize a SINGLE member of any forum as an 'expert' on any matters of smuggling dart frogs. There ain't no such thing, or at least I haven't met him/her yet.
I will not claim to have the answer to smuggling tiny coloured frogs, nor will I even claim that my way is the best way. All I can offer is my opinions, viewpoints and try to engender enough thought, that someday will precipitate and result in forward motion and advancement of what I feel is VASTLY important to the direct welfare of distant animal populations and conservation....Our little HOBBY. Yes, I feel it's just THAT important. Important enough for me to post close to 10,000 posts on various forums, using countless hours of my free time with no reimbursement. Important enough for me to go back to school to pursue more education and a career change to wildlife conservation.
Allow me to begin...
First, there is NO such thing as 'black and white'. Only a child and an truly ignorant person thinks in terms of 'Black and White'. Our whole existence and daily routine as a race of humans is be-speckled with compromise. It's what makes us human and not 100% insane. We invented both politics and religion as methods to cope with....compromise. I know what you will say next...but Phil, isn't a set of laws - Federal Laws, black and white ? Either you break the law or you don't, right ? No. That may seem like 'right thinking' but it's both naive and wrong. ALL Law enforcement and Judicial entities practice selective enforcement of various laws. It may not seem fair, especially if you are on the 'wrong' side of things, but it's the truth. Law enforcement is selective. You may not see it now, or it may take some time to acknowledge it, but trust me....it is.
"Selective Law enforcement", now brings us to our Hobby. There are many species of Dart Frogs that are FULLY ensconced in thousands of homes that have never been legally exported from their native countries. All Brazilian frogs - Adelphobates Genus have not been legally released by their native country's governments , yet the Hobby has them all except Adelphobates captivus. Phyllobates ? Yep, many can/should be considered ill-gotten if one traces their history. Anyone ever hear of a search warrant obtained for those species ? An arrest ? Not me.
Thirdly...our "Moral" dilemma, which is probably the hardest issue for us to face. IMO, up to half of all U.S hobbyist would buy ANY frog from ANY person. It's just that glaring in my opinion. How do we change ? How do we put a dent in something as 'silly' as small coloured frogs when efforts to combat the illicit traffic of billions of dollars of narcotics and other contraband cannot be stopped ?
End, part I. I'll try to pick it up where I left off later, in the meantime, feel free to post onto this thread and we will just roll on with the discussion, like any other.
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https://twitter.com/DartDen
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".