In the realm of conservation, actions often hold more significance than mere words. This is particularly relevant when assessing the role of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), entrusted with the vital duty of protecting the state's invaluable natural resources. However, upon closer inspection, a disconcerting reality emerges: the Commissioner's Chairman, whose professional background lies in property development, may be placing personal and political interests above the very conservation objectives the FWC is mandated to pursue. It is evident that Rodney Barreto possesses qualifications and has achieved success, as evidenced by his charitable fundraising efforts. Nonetheless, these factors…

This is an unusual BLOG in that it is a letter to the FWC regarding their killing and actions in Florida, the Holy Thursday Massacre. Included with my email to them were the previous blogs, Legislation vs Conservation, the Giant African Bullfrog and the Impact of Construction on the Environment. Should you wish to send any comments to the Governor or FWC please keep it decent. Currently the people of Florida have the moral high ground and decency needs to be maintained for greater effectiveness as hard as this is given the horrific actions taken by them. For more sensitive…

I am by no means a fan of the press and what they are continually striving to be. Negative sensationalism because we have slowly been molded to that that's what we must expect from them. The more morbid, dramatic and inflated the better. It is little wonder we are in a continually negative world, taking it the news in its various media methods is continually negative. In todays day of technology we are being bombarded by this negative mindset, how can we wonder why things are more negative as time goes one. In defense of some reporters they may want…

This might irritate a few, but such is life. Keyboard warriors are very quick to nail someone and say people are wrong, bad, keep in poor conditions, handle poorly etc.... All the big YouTubers have unfortunately gone through this and probably go through it on a regular basis. Be it Dingo letting his lighty handle or swim with crocs, being outspoken and probably other things, Brian Barczyk has had his fair share of haters and stories spread about him, most likely linked to his fame. Using one of his sentences, 'one persons success is not necessarily another persons failure', and…

Another controversial subject and this is a love it or hate it generally. I am probably a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to this subject. I am mainly referring to the breeding of the Spider Gene Ball Python (Python regius), the Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus),  Batwing Rattlesnake (hybrid) (Crotalus horridus × Crotalus adamanteus) and the German Shepherd. There will be hundreds, if not thousands of other examples I am sure, but I am predominantly just using these for my few points. The Ball Python is probably the reptile that has been messed with the most genetically to create…

Once again probably a controversial viewpoint brought on by a couple of events. One being the Instagram discussion with Dingo and Kevin (Nerd) regarding the events of the Rhino being killed at Wild Florida Safari Park, the other being Dingo and his view of entitlement of modern society. Lastly was various events in the last week that made me consider what most people have become in urban society in modern times. Sounds like one of those 'when I were young moments', which I suppose in a way it is. Consideration of each other is becoming increasingly rare, and so is…

Why do humans generally react when the horse has bolted. . . . To a degree this is a follow on from the Bullfrog article.   There was a whole outcry about the protection of the Giant African Bullfrog in Midrand, but by the time this had been done a huge area of their range was destroyed. A number of known breeding areas were destroyed, migratory routes blocked and destroyed and nothing was said by the authorities or the public. Things have changed now that the environmental laws are a lot more stringent and form part of development policies. This…

As the USA are seeing recently with attempted and successful changes in reptile keeping, especially Florida. The UK / Europe have the DWA (Dangerous Wildlife Act). Even on a different level in SA, is legislation there for conservation of control? From a personal standpoint a lot of it I believe to be there to control. To conform the masses to the ideals of the elite few, but viewpoints will be thrown out from all sides and not only reptile related. As always these are all personal views. South Africa (Gauteng) Permit legislation in SA. Lets take for instance someone calls…

It would like to make it clear from the start that this is a personal opinion being expressed. This may not be in agreement with other individuals.  I have made every attempt to ensure it is factually accurate, there is some bias. Most of what is mentioned is personal observation and a degree of common sense to the impact of construction. The impact of construction is an extremely diverse and broad subject and affects our environment in numerous ways. This is both on the broader spectrum of habitat destruction, down to the microclimatic changes. In this article I am covering…

Is it Savable? We wrote this article in response to several articles published in the Midrand Reporter. However, we received no response. Therefore, we posted it on our site to express personal opinion about the future of the Bullfrog. This too is to play  "Devil's Advocate". Frog Fight I strongly support protecting various animals and fauna, such as the Giant African Bullfrog and Grass Owl. However, I find it amusing that people have got so hyped to the Witpoort Pump Station. This is because is is a small structure occupying less than 1000 square meters of land. Other important issues…