by Bushviper » Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:12 am
This is once again a story where the truth is hidden behind smoke and mirrors.
Not one of these species is rare or endangered. The same people doing work collecting for the red data book would have collected and euthanased exactly the same snakes. The project leader himself said that the number of snakes that anyone can collect without destroying habitat is so minimal that it cannot be factored into being a threat to any species, and road cruising is the least invasive collection method.
Did anyone bother to find out how many dead specimens were not "collected" during the time these guys were road cruising? Research has shown that road kills make up 70 percent of all reptiles found on the road so therefore there should have been 35 dead specimens left behind on the same roads.
The prices are once again this age old problem of "street value" used by incompetent officials to try and bolster their value to employers. Horned adders do not cost more than $300 each and egg eaters and house snakes have virtually no value. Coral snakes are cheaper in Europe than what they are here, about 100 Euros. Venom from these species is not in demand and the only supplier of Bitis caudalis has never sold an entire gramme of venom in the whole time he has been extracting venom.
A good friend of mine who coincidently had horned adders, coral snakes, egg eaters and house snakes on his permits when he was murdered in cold blood, also used to go road cruising with me on occassion. Despite the cops having the name of the murderer, after 3 years they have not found any of the perpetrators, and nobody is going to jail not even for 6 years as in this case. I guess that is not important.
If those prices were used by the prosecutor to assist the magistrate to determine sentencing (which is usually what happens) then possibly on appeal these guys should look into a charge of perjury over the inflated prices. The magistrate was lied to in court about the status of the snakes and their value. If they were endangered then why have the same authorities not had them listed on CITES 1.
If the MEC has this as his 3rd biggest concern following drugs and guns then we need to really worry. Do farm murders and child rape not concern him as much.
Smells like a mixture of bull dust and scape goat!
I hope they have appealed the sentencing. This is a bloody ordinance offence, meaning what is illegal in one province is legal in certain other provinces, not a capital offence.
It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Those who are afraid to ask are ashamed of learning.