Yukon collecting license

[Stanley A. Gorodenski]

>                                           The only reason the fisherman,
> duck, bear, and elk hunters are not poachers is that they have a license.

I think the reason they are not poachers is that hunting and fishing are
part of the fabric of American society, from childhood on up.  A *lot*
of citizens take part in these activities, including lawmakers, and so
there is a special interest for maintaining these as lawful activities. 
Lepidopterist's are so few in number, by comparison, that no one cares
about them, and because of their small numbers it is easy to run over
them with draconian regulations.

I had read in Holland's Butterfly Book about a trip to Japan he made. 
They had collected thousands in a few days (I am too lazy to get the
actual description from the book and so I may be fuzzy on the details). 
When I read it a few years ago, I thought to myself that if I was a
Japanese citizen at that time, I would have been very upset over what
could have been viewed as denuding the natural populations of
butterflies by some foreigners.  It is interesting how the table has now
been reversed by the Japanese collectors on Keno Hill. 

In my view, the only reasonable regulation of any kind would be against
collecting for commercial purposes.  However, it would be difficult to
disentangle that from some of the butterfly trading activities.

Stan

 
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