Quote:
Originally Posted by The BoidSmith
It would be nice for those that had made a living out of selling reptiles to have an option built in their price stating "do you wish to donate "x" amount towards IBD research @ UFl. Of course there would have to be a way to ensure that the donated money goes in effect towards that cause.
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My experience is that many of them would rather convince you that it's not an issue we should be worried about.
As Maynard says: Shut up and buy. In this case, a snake, not a new record.
I brought up my experience on another forum as it was occurring and was basically told I was scaring away potential customers and peeing in the punch bowl (not by the Mods). My animals are tended to by an amazing vet and UC Davis was also used in diagnosing and testing my animals. I spent a small fortune in testing and follow up testing. I was literally told I was full of shib and that I was over-reacting. Luckily, between my vet, the vets at UCD and Dr. J, I realized that there are alot of idiots in denial about how widespread this thing may indeed be.
I then did some research and was sickened by some of the big names who have poo poo'd IBD - sometimes even on forums or in interviews.
Dr. J's response confirmed that, by in large, the boid industry is willfully ignoring some of the scary truths about IBD. I mean, the possibility that an animal can go asymptomatic indefinitely and potentially infect other snakes is real.
If you do the research and look into the incident rates on how many seemingly health animals were found to be infected, your fingers start to go a bit numb. Then factor in that a large number of healthy animals that were donated for research as part of the supposed "healthy" group were infected with the virus.
In the end Dan, your idea is a great one - but one I'm betting not many breeders take you up on.
Dr. Jacobson's efforts should be strongly backed by the reptile community. Does anyone remember the HR2811 hearings in Florida? It was Dr. J who was the real star on behalf of the "Reptile Nation". The very fact that we are making progress on the war on IBD is mainly attributed to his thinly funded efforts.
While we are all waiting for the boid nation to start taking amore active role in helping out with IBD research (don't hold your breath or you will turn pretty blue), the rest of us idiots and chicken littles can send donate here:
Dr. Elliott Jacobson
2015 SW16th Ave
SACS
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Florida
Gainesville, Fl 32610
(add for IBD Research to the memo line) should be made out to "The University of Florida Research Foundation".