Hey all:
I must say that I find the "venom" with which some address this subject to be interesting. I, actually considered a blue ring for my first ceph. The reason had nothing to do with its potential danger or for its shock value. I simply found it to be a beautiful and interesting creature. However, after research (much of it accomplished right here at Tonmo) I decided that the risks outweighed the potential pleasure that this pet might give me.
That being said, I don't think that the answer lies in thinking in terms of absolutes. To say that nobody should be able to keep one or that one is "warped" for wanting to do so is overly simplistic (in my humble opinion). Do we outlaw every activity which is potentially life threatening? (For a couple hundred dollars and 3 hours of training you can jump out of an airplane)
In terms of regulation, I agree that this community should be proactive in attempting to help craft any regulations that would limit one's ability to keep potentially dangerous marine life (or any potentially dangerous animal for that matter). I do speak from experience when I say that allowing legislation to be created by those who lack the appropriate expertise can lead to absurd results. I am forced to deal with those results every day - it is amazing how laws with obvious good intentions can so often have injust results because of poor drafting.
George
I must say that I find the "venom" with which some address this subject to be interesting. I, actually considered a blue ring for my first ceph. The reason had nothing to do with its potential danger or for its shock value. I simply found it to be a beautiful and interesting creature. However, after research (much of it accomplished right here at Tonmo) I decided that the risks outweighed the potential pleasure that this pet might give me.
That being said, I don't think that the answer lies in thinking in terms of absolutes. To say that nobody should be able to keep one or that one is "warped" for wanting to do so is overly simplistic (in my humble opinion). Do we outlaw every activity which is potentially life threatening? (For a couple hundred dollars and 3 hours of training you can jump out of an airplane)
In terms of regulation, I agree that this community should be proactive in attempting to help craft any regulations that would limit one's ability to keep potentially dangerous marine life (or any potentially dangerous animal for that matter). I do speak from experience when I say that allowing legislation to be created by those who lack the appropriate expertise can lead to absurd results. I am forced to deal with those results every day - it is amazing how laws with obvious good intentions can so often have injust results because of poor drafting.
George