Classifieds and Scandal

[Ron Gatrelle]

Derrick,
    I appreciate your very honest and sincere post about the "trade" in
lepidoptera. I am sure many others feel the same way and have the same
views and questions. It will take a lot of space to fully address this and
its associated issues. I'm not even sure where the best place is to begin.
It will be interesting to see what comes over the wire. I will say this for
starters - the greatest consumers of lepidopteran corpses are museums. They
are bottomless pits that welcome hundreds of thousands of specimens each
year. Twenty, thirty, or forty drawers filled to overflowing with the exact
same thing. They have no intention to ever stop taking or receiving
specimens lest they loose their global rank as the museum with the biggest
collection of X. In fact, if they get more and more they will even move up
in rank. The museums are all well aware of their rankings  and proudly post
it on their web sites and published materials.
    The vast majority of these specimens were not collected by
"professional" museum staff. They were collected and donated by amateur
collectors all over the world. Further, the professionals  who do get into
the field get just as big a charge (self gratification) out of collecting
their Ornithoptera under permit as the casual collector does in trying to
obtain his one pair. As Dr. R.B. Dominick once told me. "Ron, if I ever get
tired to collecting lunas just because they are no longer beautiful [to
me], kick me in the ass."
    History also demonstrates that the world's few Museum professionals
have not been the primary taxonomic researchers - it has been the amateur
(unpaid)collectors. The only way many of these "collectors" ( like myself )
have been able to acquire specimens from other areas for their taxonomic
research is by specimen exchanges - or purchase. People like Edwardo
Welling who devoted much of his life to collecting in Mexico and central
America, are the valued source of specimens to both Museum and amateur
workers. Welling sold his specimens to simply support his ability to remain
in remote inhospitable areas to be able to continue to supply specimens to
researchers. No one has ever gotten rich off of butterflies - and museums
are "customers" and "consumers"  too.
    Yes, there are poachers and unscrupulous people who collect everything
they see without regard for populatonal health. These are serious problems.
But the exchange of specimens (information) or sale of the same is not in
and of itself a problem. It might surprise you to know that Museum
"professionals" have occasionally been some of the worst offenders in
"over" collecting. The problem here, as in all of life, is not a specific
activity but irresponsible selfish people.
    Lastly, the collection and/or sale of specimens is no problem at all
when compared to habitat destruction. THAT is THE problem.
Ron

----- Original Message -----
From: "D Marven" <marven at home.com>
To: <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 5:56 PM
Subject: Classifieds and Scandal


> Hi Guys
>         One thing with this site is the acceptance of people buying and
> selling insects.
>
> I can accept the collecting for museums and for professional purposes,
> but what i can't accept is the buying and selling for profit.
>
> Who keeps track of what can and can't be collected in the world, what
> governing bodies are there. Please do not say governments
>
> Who decides when a species is so low that all collecting should cease.
> Who takes any notice anyway.
>
> What happens to all the species reared to sell that don't sell is it
> like the puppy and kitten trade, if they don't sell drown them.
>
> Will the insect trade end up like the slave or ivory trade.
>
> Lets put an end to this senseless trade for self gratification.
>
> Derrick
> Trolling in Duncan
>
>
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