Wild Caught ethics

[samir]

ah and I wouldn't mind the jaguar cub if I had the space

[Squid]

I've eaten a few. A bit 'fishie' but not too bad. No wonder the locals consider them a delicacy. $50 a fillet in Australia!!

If I were you guys - I would be more worried about their habitat destruction then their numbers in the wild. Like Taksan, I keep huge numbers of wild discus. I am also a degree qualified ecologist/zoolologist and specialise in aquatic animals "stuff". I'm willing to take anyone on in this subject of fish collecting. The Zon is a huge joint. Fish collecting is a way of life in the Amazonia area. No fish - no income. Bit like the mining boom in Aus right now. Should we stop digging holes - oh no, we couldn't do that. Same for those guys in the Zon. We just gotta get smart and preserve whats left. That wont happen either.

Developed countries need to stop buying the timber stuff from down in the Zon. Wont happen I reckon, so lets preserve the species elsewhere.

I think a lot of people have entered posts on this thread without ever having ever been to a third world country. Go over and see what its like to starve. If your back yard had the only food fish in the area, you would catch and sell them to feed your kids.

Enough of me on my high horse. Go'in down to my shed to feed my wilds

Squid

[gypsy3]

i couldn't agree more with squid's comments - just find that the description attached to the locals was pretty offensive.Sure, there are always going to be some lowlifes who mistreat and abuse animals, but you don't generalise to the extent that was stated here...and people have got to eat - i guess circumstances dictate what they have to do to survive.

[GreenDiscus]

Great Feedback thankyou folks...

Clearly a pretty imotive subject with a wide divergence of views !!

My initial view that it may be wrong to purchase Wild Caught Discus in order to preserve them in large numbers in their natural habitat is clearly not the full picture since:

1) The habitat is fast disappearing which is the biggest problem anyway.
2) The Discus will be caught for food if not caught for a greater income.

So, the concensus seems to be that it is best to pay the locals (not just all the profiteering middlemen) a fair price to feed their families rather than eat them, and so they will benefit, and so do all Discus Fanciers who also preserve the species...

Just need to know where to get some from in Brisbane now then since I like to look into the tank for an hour before picking out the ones I want !!!

[gypsy3]

good luck with that mate...they all seem to go from the wholesaler like wildfire.Bayfish at hervey bay are pretty reliable tho - all the wilds i've gotten from them have acclimatised really well and the last lot of greens they just sold were really, really nice fish. .Your lfs should be able to put in an order for you.