by Ryan R on August 7, 2015
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Habitat loss is regularly identified as the biggest threat to wildlife throughout the world. Conservationists cite destruction, fragmentation and degradation as a result of the increasing human population as categories of the extermination of various species. Despite its roots as an environmental science, wildlife conservation efforts provoke plenty of controversy. The captive breeding model is a prime example, where a species is bred within a controlled environment such as a preserve. A growing subset of this is commercial breeding. I invited Stephen L. Angeli of Horridum Angeli Reptiles, the sole licensed breeder and broker of venomous reptiles in the state of California and all-around venomous lizard authority to sit down and talk with me about his vision of animal conservation. For years he's been a commercial breeder of reptiles from the genus Heloderma - commonly known for the “beaded lizard” and “Gila monster.” For those that aren’t familiar with captive breeding, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute has some excellent resources on the science of preserving endangered species. This includes more information on the species that are currently being bred in captivity, some with the intention of being released into the wild, given that the natural habitat of the species hasn’t been destroyed and is sufficiently protected.
Interviewing a reptile breeder comes with a culture that’s rather unique. Despite a sometimes gruesome public image, venomous or “hot” snakes and other reptiles are often quite apt as ‘pets’ due to the simplicity of care when compared to some of the more exotic mammals kept by qualified (and unqualified) civilians. While there exist plenty of hard-to-keep reptiles, the amount of care required compared to exotic mammals - big cats such like lions or tigers, for example, is minimal.
The import and export of reptiles has become increasingly complicated in the United States since the 1970s passing of CITES, a law which restricts the trade of protected and endangered species. While many reptile breeders such as Angeli are glad that these animals are being rigorously protected, he’s hesitant to categorize the current situation as a total win due to the state of habitat destruction and how reptile breeders like himself “could act as a resource for these animals as breeding program implementers."
An example of how smuggling altered the availability of animals (and how common it is/has been) one needs to look no further than the bearded dragon, a common animal in pet stores across the United States to this day. Bearded dragons were “introduced as pets to the US during the 1990s…even though Australia, from the 1960s onward...banned the sale of its wildlife to the pet trade." Given the context of how Americans likely obtained these animals illegally and his experience through a long career in exotics (coupled with an eye on conservation), Angeli claims that “a lot of people are led to believe that it’s animal smugglers that are pushing animals to the endangered species list, which is very rarely the case.” Using Heloderma as his primary example, “their place on the ‘Least Concern’ spectrum of CITES isn’t the whole story. You see, these lizards spend over 90% of their lives underground or in shelters and the assumption becomes what we can’t see isn’t there. Don’t misunderstand me, H. charlesbogerti [currently a subspecies of Heloderma] is one of the rarest reptiles in the world and there are supposedly less than 200 worldwide, but I’m not sold on these approximations. The other subspecies are doing far better than what's being depicted when their commercial availability is factored in. Private breeding programs have largely destroyed the poaching of the Mexican and Rio Fuerte beaded lizards as well as the Gila monster. Instead of a long-winded and often futile search in the desert that may result in finding an aggressive, dull-colored lizard that’s clearly been through Hell and back from under a rock, it’s far more affordable and legally viable to get the designer version from someone like me. Animals from Heloderma [beaded lizard] and Pogona [bearded dragon] are booming due to their popularity in the trade. They certainly aren’t the only ones, either.”