23 June 2001
RECENTLY my wife visited the local vet to have some diagnostics done on our youngest cat. While she was in there, she learnt of a very sad case involving a green iguana that had just died. The iguana had been found wandering on a local building site, malnourished and obviously very sick. The builders had handed it in, but despite their best efforts the vets - who were not reptile specialists in any event - were unable to save it.
Roughly a month or so ago, yet another herpetological show was cancelled at the last minute after a number of intimidatory phone calls were received at the venue, including threats to break people's legs and firebomb the building. What is the link between these two rather disgusting stories? Both represent two extremes of the debate on animal rights and animal welfare. The people who knowingly and callously dumped a sick iguana outside in a climate naturally hostile to it displayed the sort of unthinking mentality which marks those fanatics who are quite prepared to hurt or even kill people to achieve some sort of utopian goal.
Those people who genuinely care about animals and their welfare, as opposed to viewing them as cool display items or some sort of amorphous mass that needs liberating, are striving to do the best for non-humans. We are not opposed to legislation - indeed, as shown by the case of the green iguana, some may be necessary to prevent abuse of a particular species - but we are opposed to ignorant, ideologically-led or just idiotic laws. We are also opposed to the way in which some notorious proponents of animal rights will willingly and knowingly exaggerate an argument or even deceive and lie to achieve their aims. Something the more unthinking of these people seem to have forgotten is that humans have certain rights too, particularly in the poorer parts of the world, including the right to supplant their diet with protein. Again, it's a question of balance: many of us are concerned and distressed by the near-holocaust engulfing south-east Asian turtles in particular to feed the Chinese market, but we understand that farming iguanas in Central America is a way of exploiting a local resource for local people.
On a more uplifting note, we were recently able to add a large chunk of our new Lacertidae pages. These pages will cover not only the European species but also the African and Asian, of whom some representatives do appear regularly on dealers' price lists but about whom little is commonly known. To be honest this work has taken up most of the month, but it has been worth it. Another recent addition has been an Anolis page. Green and Brown Anoles have been a staple of the reptile pet trade for some years, but other than these and the Knight Anole, little is known about the distribution and habits of the many other anole species. We hope this page will point people in the right direction. Work continues, albeit slowly, on the remaining gecko species and on the monitors.
Thanks again to everyone who has sent us E-mails recently. If for any reason I haven't replied to you, please let us know and I will try to do so again.
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