rearing for commercial gain

[Liz Day]

> It would be interesting to know what percentage of members:-
> 
> (a) Have a "no kill" policy.
> (b) Kill specimens for a "collection" (hunting instinct)
> (c) Kill / Breed for scientific study
> (d) Breed for conservation purposes
> (e) Breed for commercial gain

There is another category, hobby breeders.  These breed in order to trade
their livestock for different new species for their collection, and who
sell the rest of what they rear to make money to support their habit.
They're selling livestock, but not really making a profit, because they
spend it all on buying more livestock! or on collection materials, Cornell
drawers, gas for collecting trips, etc etc - in other words their hobby is
an addiction.  I would bet this category is huge. 

I do have a friend who raised cecropia purely to make money, and it's not
easy.  It's an inordinate amount of work, and one year he lost the entire
stock to disease.  He was making about 5-10K each year and using it to put
himself through school (except the last year).  When he got out of school
he got out of commercial rearing!  

There are also a lot of people like me who rear/ed things for the
fascination of seeing new big cool moths in the flesh.  I sold my excess
for a little over the cost of postage - not trying to make money, just
dispose of stock to other people who would appreciate them too without
LOSING money. I also gave some to the local schools and zoos, and released
a lot of local stock back into the wild.

Anyway, I pity anyone who is actually trying to make a profit from lep
rearing.  A lot of work and uncertainty.


Liz Day   
LDAY at iquest.net 
Indianapolis, Indiana, central USA - 40 N latitude, zone 5b.
www.iquest.net/~lday