Amateur Support Resolution at the Second World Congress of Herpetology

by Marcia Rybak

Reprinted with permission from Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 29(8): 188, 1994

If you read the upcoming events section of the herp magazines and newsletters, you may have noticed the announcement for the Second World Congress of Herpetology last year. Many of you may have wondered about this organization and its purposes -- information that may not be readily available to the hobbyist because the congress was attended mainly by institutional herpetologists. I will give you some background, as some issues that affect all of us were addressed at the Second World Congress.

The World Congress of Herpetology was formed in 1982 at a joint meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles and the Herpetologists' League, a meeting that also included representatives of the world's other principal herpetological societies. The purpose of the World Congress was to establish a global forum where herpetologists from around the world could meet regularly, discuss their ideas and present their findings. To this end, the First World Congress of Herpetology was held in 1990 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. Lectures were given, papers were presented, herpetologists and students got together in the pubs and exchanged ideas.

The Second World Congress of Herpetology was held last December in Adelaide, Australia. I was fortunate enough to attend this event. While there, I was asked to participate in drafting a resolution which would recognize the importance of amateurs in the field of herpetology. Now I realize that many of us do not consider ourselves amateurs and may even be offended by the use of the term amateur to describe people who, although lacking a degree in biology or herpetology, are quite expert in the husbandry of reptiles and amphibians. Many "amateurs" are so successful at keeping and breeding herps that they are able to support themselves and their families by such "amateurish" activities.

The field of herpetology has broadened from scientific study to include husbandry, conservation and commercial management of reptiles and amphibians. This new group of people and the value of their contributions to the field of herpetology must be acknowledged regardless of their academic standing. The amateur support resolution adopted by the Second World Congress is the official recognition by the worldwide community of herpetologists of the importance of the contributions made by amateurs to the field of herpetology.

Many herpetologists became interested in their science by collecting and keeping reptiles and amphibians as children. There are those who never received formal training and maintained a lifelong dedication to studying these animals. While we can arbitrarily define what is a professional herpetologist and what is an amateur herpetologist, the line between the two cannot be drawn when we compare knowledge, commitment and contributions. The amateur support resolution levels the playing field.

Currently, laws exist in the U.S. and many other countries discriminating among amateur and institutional herpetologists and zookeepers. These laws govern who may obtain collecting permits, participate in field studies or keep an animal in captivity. It is to be hoped that this resolution passed by the Second World Con- gress will serve to end the discrimination and allow all knowledge and contributions to be viewed equally and objectively, regardless of the source.

Resolution by the Second World Congress of Herpetology

1. RECOGNIZING that amateur herpetologists have contributed substantially to the body of fundamental knowledge which underlies herpetological research and further that they contribute to the knowledge needed to effectively manage and conserve wild populations of reptiles and amphibians, and
2. ACKNOWLEDGING that many herpetologists develop their interest and expertise with captive amphibians and reptiles,
3. AND further acknowledging that the collection of many species of reptiles and amphibians from the wild by amateur herpetologists, zookeepers and institutional herpetologists is a negligible factor in the decline of their populations, and
4. CONCERNED that many current conservation laws are ineffective for the conservation of biodiversity in that: a) they are written for ease of enforcement b) they seriously inhibit and restrict herpetologists from pursuing their responsible interests and from contributing to the body of information that is essential for theeffective conservation of reptiles and amphibians

THE SECOND WORLD CONGRESS OF HERPETOLOGY at its meeting in Adelaide, Australia, from 26 December 1993 to 6 January 1994:

1. Encourages continuing and wider amateur involvement in developing herpetological knowledge, and
2. Urges review of current legislation and its administration a) to ensure this effective conservation of the biota, and, b) to support contributions by amateurs to herpetology.

Moved:

Harald Ehmann, Australia

Klaus Henle, Germany

Marcia Rybak, USA

Seconded:

Chris Banks, Australia

Glenn Shea, Australia

Gerry Swan, Australia

Adopted:

In favor: 120+

Against: 1

Abstentions: 11