Wild Caught Pet Herps. Is it bad or good?

There are lots of herps that cannot be "bought" from anywhere but private breeders. So where do the private breeders get them? I'm against profiting off of WC herps but whose to say someone can't start their own breeding colony with a few WC animals? Or what about supplementing the gene flow of a CB colony by breeding with a WC here and there?

I also don't understand why some states allow capturing herps but don't allow them to be kept as pets. Why is eating/feeding an amphibian ok when keeping it as a pet is not? Lets say I liked to eat frog legs ( which I don't, they taste vile ) and I captured/cooked the legal monthly limit every month. Isn't this much worse than a guy who keeps a single pet bullfrog? Why is eating 6 frogs a month ok when keeping 1 frog for 5+ years is not?

If more people had herps as pets, wouldn't they care more about wild herps? The popular cats/dogs seem to gain a lot of sympathy for wild mammals. If every family had a pet WC garter snake I doubt we would have so many problems with people killing them without cause.

I haven't discussed this with anyone before so I know my opinion is extremely bias. I find lots of sites against WC pets but I think this is because encouraging WC might unintentionally encourage their sale as well ( which would be really bad ). I'd like to know what you guys think because I feel my opinions on this matter are very weak and in need of a makeover or reinforcement.

my two cents:

- mass capture of wild amphibians for commercial pet trade = bad bad bad, needs to go away

- limited careful capture of wild animals to go to experienced people who know what they are doing in order to study them and/or establish breeding colonies = probably okay

- kids pollywoggin' at the local pond and taking home a few newts to keep = nothin' wrong with that; may be necessary to grow future herpetologists and keep the interest alive. Heck, we all did it, didn't we?

of course, everybody must observe local laws.

Mass capture for the pet trade has a pretty big impact on local populations. As responsible herpers I think we all accept that there are some species that we won't be able to keep, this isn't necessarily the case for many people if they can constantly get hold of WC animals and there's the issue of animal welfare as animals are exported in awful conditions. The fish trade has been doing this for years.
I'm all for turning people onto herping but in a more controlled and regulated manner than at present, it's all too easy for folks to just go and get a 'cool' pet with no idea about husbandry and hey presto a pet with a very short life expectancy.
CITES helps with the importing of WC animals but I think there's enough choice already captive wise. If you want to see anything else go to the zoo or get out in the field. Failing that there's always books.

I´m with Molch, except in the last bit. While i´m all for educating kids and getting them interested in nature (which i think is absolutely necessary for a kid to be healthy) i don´t see why taking the animals home is a requirement, and in fact it may be counterproductive. When i was a child nobody ever told me about ecology, the law, etc, so everything i could catch, i took home to the eventual desmay of my parents. That resulted almost invariably in a dead animal and it took me years to learn the lesson, to value those animals enough to realise that what i was doing was absurd and cruel and that observing them in the wild was a hundred times more rewarding.
I think a kid will learn a lot more if someone teaches him/her to value wildlife as it deserves, to respect it. All you need for that is to take your kids to natural areas and let them observe and play, really... If you allow them to keep any animals they find and like, i think you are missing an important lesson, you are failing to convey the message. You can satisfy the child´s "thirst" for animals with some captive-bred species that will be apropriate for them and that they will actually care for rather than what usually happens to the poor newt that gets caught and brought home in a jar....which usually has a short lifespan ahead....
I´m not saying it´s the end of the world...but i do think it sends the wrong message to kids. It´s the message that i subconsciously got as a child, the world i a giant, free pet-shop. Not a good message...
Whereas if they just observe the animal in the wild (perhaps in a portable small aquarium for better viewing or whatever) i think they´ll value the experience and the animal more.

There's a kid who lives across the street from me who always captures toads. He's 6 and maintians that they're frogs...not toads. And of course I correct him. But anyway he keeps the toads buried in gravel and they always die. That kind of kid capturing herps isnt good...

I will admit that I an new to the hobby and I haven't had much experience with any of this. There are no local amphibian/herp breeders that I am aware of and all of the petshops carry WC animals in this regard.

It would be nice if there was a local breeder base, but until there is one I am afraid that people will most likely continue to catch WC herps as pets. I have never done so myself, but I have had people call me at work asking for information on how to care for them.

you're right of course, Azhael, and you said it better than me

All I meant really is that it would be a real loss if wild 'phibs became so hands-off that kids couldn't go to the local ponds anymore and watch them and yeah, catch a few here and there. It's best of course if kids are educated about the animals, but there's also the need for kids to go out unstructured and un-hindered by adults and make their own discoveries in nature...when I was a kid, my unstructured, un-supervised time in nature was my elixier; without it, I would have withered and died.

And yeah, I too have a few poor newts on my conscience because I was too young and stupid to know what I was doing....

I would always encourage CB animals over WC ones. But in many cases a CB animal does not exist or is only bred by hobyists which often started their colony with WC animals themselves.

I agree. When they are available, CB animals are better in so many ways. But many species just aren't available as CB yet.

But it should be up to more experienced hobbyists who have the capacity to breed them to make them available, rather than everybody running out and getting specimens of the 'flavor of the week'.

Lots of good points were brought up here. I've rethought a lot of things regarding this, but I believe it will always be a gray area.

As for kids. I think it is very important for kids to experience herps "hands on". Just taking them to view an animal in the wilderness won't work. It is instinctal that people are afraid of many herps, especially snakes. They need to touch and interact with the animal to break their fear. However, this doesn't mean a child is capable of caring for the animal. But if the parents are willing to take responsibility for a "temporary pet" then they should be able to. If after a while the family enjoys the animal they can relase it and purchase a CB permanant substitution.

But if a common species becomes available at a pet store, people may think it is okay to take this species from the wild. Why purchase a bull frog when you can get one at a pond for free? Obviously we see the logic in this, but the common individual may not. This argument kind of contradicts the idea of "temporary pets".

I don't think it is my place to encourage or discourage WC animals unless under specific circumstances such as the example JacksonR gave. Although personally, I would teach the kid how to properly care for the toad in that circumstance. Even if the parents stop him, he could try it again in secret. Keeping one healthy toad in captivity is better than the mistreatment of dozens.