NABA Field Trips in South Florida

Eric or Pat Metzler spruance at infinet.com
Wed May 24 09:13:20 EDT 2000


"anne kilmer" <viceroy at anu.ie> wrote in message
news:3928CA63.CCB26D11 at anu.ie...
> Dear Leroy,
> As a founding member of the Atala chapter, I would like to apologize to
> you personally for the ignorant and sentimental action of the butterfly
> lovers.
> It was not as grand an act of vandalism as the one that set loose
> hundreds of mink from a mink farm in Britain, but it expressed a similar
> ignorance.

> And, if there is a next time, may I suggest that either you keep an eye
> on your traps, or remove them before you invite the public in ... unless
> the field trip leader undertakes specifically to protect them.

I've always enjoyed the comments from Anne for their objectivity in the face
of ignorance, yet, to me, the apology above is full of caveats.   The
reference to mink is irrelevant without making a comparison to animal rights
organizations, and the apology includes classic cases of "blame the victim."
Leroy is not responsible for the actions of others, disliking Leroy's traps
does not justify hurting him, and hurting Leroy less than possible does not
lessen his losses.

Several of my good friends from Ohio went to the NABA event in Florida.  I'm
sure they had a good time.  I hope the planners of future NABA events take
close note of the Florida experience lest Anne's unintended comparison
between NABA and Animals Rights groups turns these events into stages for
protests instead of an appreciation for butterflies.

The Ohio Lepidopterists society, a very active organization, has fully
embraced the formation of a NABA chapter in Ohio, and we help advertise the
NABA activities in our newsletter.  I hope we stay in this mutual
relationship for our common enjoyment of the study of all Lepidoptera.

Please check out the Butterfly Monitoring Website:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/odnr/wildlife/diversity/lepid/default.htm
The Ohio Lepidopterists now have 30 active monitoring sites in all parts of
the state.  It's a great program and well designed to actively engage all
persons in learning more about butterflies.

Cheers to all from sunny Ohio where Jim Hanlon had a great time in spite of
no Luna Moths.  Tar Hollow is a great place!

Eric Metzler
Columbus Ohio
spruance at infinet.com

PS:  If you want to know more about The Ohio Lepidopterists, please let me
know.




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