I'm not paranoid ?

[Jake]

I totally understand what you're saying, but if an animal is going to die, and has already been purchased by a pet shop or vendor, the demand for more has already been created even if they don't sell that particular animal, I could turn my back on them and let some idiot with half a brain buy those insanely rare, expensive newts to put in with a turtle, or I can actually try to do something. Newts are the animals in question, right? Well, they're some of the most prolific animals around. It should only take a handful of dedicated breeders to flood the market and eliminate the demand for wild caught specimens of any given species (with the exception of species like Salamandra atra which only have a few offspring every few years from what I'm told), but in order for those breeders to get them they have to buy them in the first place. Watching them die is a good waste of an animal, but taking them in and letting them breed, then raising the offspring and dispersing them eliminates the need for that many more animals to be removed from their natural habitat. While it's true the animals we keep in captivity that come into an environment where they are exposed to a number of pathogens should never be released, there should be a captive population for "proof" even if they're just meant to be viewed by the public to educate people (yes, including newt keepers). I don't know if you're aware of this fact, but we can learn a lot more from a living creature than we can by looking at a picture of an extinct species in a text book or in a jar of preservative.

You're absolutely right though, let's just let all of the rare newts being offered die off so that we can only dream about them later on when the wild populations disappear!

 

[joonas]

if an animal is going to die, and has already been purchased by a pet shop or vendor, the demand for more has already been created

If vendor is not able to sell the animals, he/she doesn't buy any more of them: demand expires. But if some one buys the animals, vendor sees that there is demand, and orders more salamanders from the wild.

I don't know if you're aware of this fact, but we can learn a lot more from a living creature than we can by looking at a picture of an extinct species in a text book or in a jar of preservative.

If we want to learn more about rare creatures and their ecolocy, we must observe them in wild! The only place they do behave absolutely naturally.
And also protect them in situ.