NEWS112
3
Hereweareatthebeginningofthe21stcentury,and inmanypartsoftheEarth
humanity is slipping back into barbarism. Archaic, brutal forms of religious
practices are coming back into fashion, like a thoughtless action against
everythingcivilized.And inthecourseofthiseventhosewhokeepanimalsare
underattackfrompower-hungryorganizationsbackedbyenormousamounts
ofmoney.Atpresenttheyaredoingeverything intheirpowertototallybanthe
aquariumand terrariumhobbies.
Bio-Invaders
- areaquarists responsible?
byFrankSchäfer
Editorial
Lionfishes - this isanadult
Pteroisvolitans
-originallyoccurredonly in the Indo-Pacific.Theyare invasive
species in the tropical Atlantic. It isn't knownwhether these lionfishes were released by aquarists, or
whether they arrived in the Atlantic as larvae in the ballast water of cargo ships. But powerful vested
interests are trying touse the arrival of this invasive species as an excuse for drastic restrictions on the
tradingof tropical aquarium fishes.
Juvenile lionfishes are reallygorgeous
aquarium fishes.
hedomesticationofanimalsandplants
arepractices specific toManaloneand
have had a decisive influence on his
evolutionary success. It is very unlikely that
humanswould still exist todaywithout this
ability.While an interest in the keeping of
animals and the cultivation of plants is
innate inmany people, the ability to do so
successfully is far from inborn. On the
contrary, a human has first to learn
everything necessary from other people.
Hence just like thecreativearts, i.e.painting
or music, the keeping of animals and the
cultivation of plants are among the most
important cultural assets of mankind, and
any attempt to ban them a crime against
humanity. Because if the knowledge of the
correct way to care for animals and plants
were tobe lost, then itmightwell bemany
generations before it could be acquired
again.
Theboy is father to theman
So what does all this have to do with the
aquarium and terrarium hobbies?Well, our
wonderful hobby is andwill remainmuch
more than "just" a very worthwhile spare-
timeactivity.Without exception,everything
that we know today about wild fishes,
amphibians,andreptiles isultimatelythanks
to aquarists and terrarium keepers. It
matters not al all whether the relevant
research was performed by scientists or
laymen. I don't knowa singlebiologistwho
didn't already have a great interest in the
relevant animals as a child and ultimately
found his way into his profession via the
hobby.
And this is precisely where a major threat
lies incurrentpoliticaldoctrine:absurd ideas
are being nurtured in society to the effect
that the domestic maintenance of fishes,
amphibians,and reptiles (andanimals of all
kinds), is morally reprehensible and
condemns creatures ”born to be free” to a
wretched existence in captivity. This
frequently results inparentsmaking access
to aquariums and terrariums unnecessarily
difficult for children and youngpeople. It is
already shocking how little knowledge of
cold-blooded animals children and young
people take with them into adulthood
nowadays. Yet it is precisely in childhood
that humans experience the innateurge to
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