Quote:
Originally Posted by hboyles66
This is what I was talking about. maybe Ashely didn't intend on this happening but she also did not do much to stop it either. I am very sorry to hear of your mite problem. I hope all goes well. Have you informed Ashley?
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You know, this is a common "feel better" theme I see whenever something seriously unpleasant happens, especially when that unpleasantness spreads to other people.
At this point I no longer care about one's "intentions". Unless you are a pioneer at what you are doing or so little is known that what transpires could not be helped with general knowledge, your intentions mean squat. Legally, ignorance of the law does not equal innocence.
In this case, Ashley appears (if we can believe her) to be under one or more mistaken ideas about IBD. Some of those ideas have traction on the Internet. Now multiple people are at risk of losing their collections because one person failed to do proper research and take even a bare minimum effort to protect anything.
While it is true that not much about what is known about IBD is concrete, that is not the same as not knowing about IBD. I knew more about IBD 15 years ago from an article in Reptiles Magazine than she has displayed here, and much more is known now.
Unacceptable.
I can excuse a new boid owner who in their research does not get into the finer points of a specific disease.
I cannot excuse someone who is setting up shop as a breeder not knowing more than decades old myths about that disease.
There is a huge difference between owning a pet and exposing only your own animals through ignorance, and running a facility that can put hundreds of animals (her own reference) at risk.
For some time early on I thought some of the verbiage was a little harsh. After spending some time contemplating what I have read here I now have a different opinion. I think people are not coming down hard enough.
If only half of the "200ish" animals that were exposed to the collection were infected, and each of those animals were allowed to carry that disease through quarantine to other collections, we are talking about potentially thousands of animals infected or exposed.
This is how pandemics occur. One ignorant careless person can start a massive outbreak. How many snakes are carrying dormant IBD right now? Have any of the animals exposed to Ashley's collection been brought to shows? How many of those owners are even peripherally aware there might be an issue?
That is why this is so scary, and outrageous. Many people may not even know they have a problem until they too spread it to other collections.