• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Larry King Tonight

Mustangrde1

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That information is no ones business
Rich and Ken I am sorry to post this on the BOI as it is not an inquiry. But as this is the forum with the most daily veiws I felt it important that people are aware of this as it may have ramifications on the industry.
Tonight on Larry King Live . Larry will talk with Jack Hannah reguarding Steve Irwins recent actions.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

Scott Bice
 
Personally, I just can't believe how thin-skinned people have gotten over the years.... when I was growing up in the 60's, we never cared about all the "safety" mechanisms in place these days.... i.e., helmets, knee pads, seatbelts, airbags, sticking pennies in plug sockets (do it once and you'll never do it again), climbing trees and large boulders, doing 360's in your car in the snow, roller skating with someone on your shoulders, etc., etc., etc....

I don't think Steve did anything "wrong".... he was in full control of the situation and he knows that Croc and what it will and won't do.... how many times have you seen little kids at herp shows holding large burms or retics just to take a picture with them.... do you really think that's any different??.... People have gotten so "politically correct", and "anal retentive" lately, that it's just sickening (to me)....

I can understand if he just let the baby crawl around loose while he was feeding the croc, but that's not the case here.... people (in general) have lost all their backbone....

Again.... I don't think Steve did ANYTHING wrong....

Neil
 
Neil,

First off you can't see the problem with it as you do not have any children and do not have the mindset that a normal parent does about children. Second it can not be even compared to the way things were back in the 60's. People did not know any better back then but when they learned they changed things to protect children and others. Today education is a valuable thing. Mr. Irwin knew it was not a smart thing to do and he even admitted that he would do things differently if he had the chance to now. Just because he knows what that Croc has done in the past does not mean that it won't do something different in the future. If he were so perfectly knowing on what Crocs were going to do he would not have been bitten numerous times as he has by crocks that he has known and dealt with for YEARS. There is no way of being 100% safe when dealing with wild animals and there is never a reason to subject a child to those things period. I could care less if he feels he needs to teach his children how to be around Crocs and other dangerous reptiles. He can do so without subjecting the child to possible injury or death. I also do not agree with small children being allowed to play with large boids at Reptile shows or anywhere else for that matter. There is always a chance and possibility that something terrible could happen then as well.
 
Comparing an individual publically and deliberately placing a one month old infant within about four, maybe five feet of an unrestrained crocodile of that size with rollerskating is about the stupidest thing I have ever seen written on these boards.

Way to go Neil, you just keep setting Faunaclassifieds records.
 
Luckily I think neil doesnt, Thats a good thing. Imagine something Het for neil! Although what steve irwin did was not wise it is no where near as dangerous as some of the things I see in Miami on a daily basiss. Just yesterday I saw a father with his young child ridding a mini bike on a highway. If that wasnt bad enough they had no helmets. Its all a matter of perspective, did he do something wrong, maybe to some. did he know what he was doing? thats obvious he is still here after dealing with deadly reptiles. Would have any of us gotten world wide coverage over a similar stunt? Not a chance. Would he do it again? Probably not cause of all the bad press. We Live and learn. My 2 cents



Alfredo Veloso
 
did he know what he was doing? thats obvious he is still here after dealing with deadly reptiles

He is not... despite what Animal Planet may tell you... Some kind of magical, invincible herp god.

If many of the accounts from people who have met him are to be believed, quite the opposite is true.

Even if he was... This does not excuse his actions. Not just the croc action either... It does not excuse freehandling mambas. It does not excuse using random twigs to harass arboreal vipers. It does not excuse tearing the jaw of a seasnake while talking out of his rectum about how far it's jaws can open (only saw that episode once, there was a piece of plexiglass and blood... Animal Plant seems to have made it "never happen").

Someone with experience should be more cautious around animals which have a potential that needs to be respected. Anyone defending his actions as safe or a reasonable risk for him to assume is simply buying into the hero worship and propaganda which surrounds the TV show hosts.
 
Yeah, yeah, yeah.... I knew I was gonna catch slack for that, but.... sorry guys, I meant what I said....

You're right, though.... I DON'T have any children (that I know of... lol).... never wanted them, don't like them.... and everybody that knows me.... knows that.... My motto's always been.... Not ALL kids are bad.... if you know how to COOK them!

With all that said, I STILL don't see what was wrong??.... It might have been a BIG risk, I agree, but that's what HIS life is all about??.... Taking risks??.... Not to mention a GREAT publicity score!

What he did, might not have been the best thing to do, but, he did nothing illegally, either!.... If you guys are just concerned with the kid's safety.... then why take them in your cars, or why take them on plane trips to see the new grandparents.... aren't you risking their safety by either of those two scenarios??.... The plane could lose an engine.... and then the other engine would have to take you all the way to the scene of the crash!!.... You could also get in an "accident" in your car....

Life itself is a risk??.... I think he was just trying to get his son acclimated to reptiles at a very early age??.... I just don't see (or understand) why everyone's making such a big fuss over it....

Neil
 
I will say it once more.

Just because you have been blessed with a child, that does not make it "yours," as if it were a piece of property with to deal as you alone see fit. That baby has the right to live, and, in the absence of its own ability to determine its best avenue for protection of that right, its parents are responsible for those determinations. When, the parents are publicity crazed idiots, the State must then step in and protect that child until he is old enough to decide if he really wants to be dangled in front of a hungry croc!

He did nothing wrong? Well, I suppose everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but he did break the law. In Australia, it is required that anyone entering a croc enclosure be licensed by the State to do so. That one month old hasn't gotten his paperwork filed correctly, I'm pretty sure!

Besides, he makes us all look like the kooks the rest of the world assumes we are!
 
I agree

with Seamus on several points. Steve Irwin is not a herpgod. I am not even sure if i have heard him ever use a latin on his show(jeff corwin and rob bredl do). I even have problems considering him a scientist. He is like Marlyn Manson to the music industry, SHOCK VALUE. Other than his zoo, what major contributions has he made to science? John Weigel is a far better example when it comes to Australian herpetologists.
And Neil, come on pal, would you let your kid(if you have one), play with large crocodiles. If the croc had been taped shut, and he had his kid sitting on the back of it or something, no problem. But steve placed his kid in that crocs territory. The croc could have taken him out in one bite. THAT is NOT like rollerskating. A great man once said " Think before you act, or the consequences will be swift and terrible". Doesn't seem like steve did this, in the safety of his baby, or in the court of public opinion. A few great men have said " Think before you speak, or you could end up looking really stupid". Neil, memorize that one, and try and pick some better analogies next time.
Jesse Smith
P.S. Xtreme.....het for Neil LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
 
My aunt the social worker

I called my aunt( a Ret. Social worker). She said that if he had done that here, in her juristiction, you would be damn sure she would have filed a child endangerment complaint, and done further investigation.Just thought i'd mention that, he clearly endangered that childs life, and that is illegal Neil.
Jesse Smith
 
I liked the quote from Irwin.."..i was in complete control at all times." Control of anything in nature is an illusion! Why do you think accidents happen especially with venomous and large predators? They are what nature intended them to be. Anything can happen. His wife Terry even said that he takes chances that she does not agree with. All for the "drama"! It would only take a moment for an accident to happen. The idea is not to fear them but, make sure you do have a healthy respect for what they are capable of. Look at Sigfried and Roy! I'm sure he felt he was in complete control. They worked with these cats for years and lost the perspective and caution needed when dealing with any dangerous species. Putting oneself into danger is much different than placing another in the same danger with you. The few "accidents" that I have had were due to my becoming complacent and careless. Even if the croc were not to actually grab the child... Steve could have tripped and dropped his child causing harm. Any number of scenarios!!!! The idea is to take every precaution possible to not only avoid endangering yourself, anyone else but, also not to endanger the animals as well. Many have been destroyed after an attack. They were doing "what they do naturally"! I give Steve credit were it's due but, he's not what I would consider a good role model for our up and coming "herpers"! Sorry some incorrect spelling! LOL's! Also, when we do programs we place ourself between the children and the "business end" of the specimens we allow them to touch. Never do we allow the children to place a large snake around their neck. We do not let them hold specimens by themselves for photos..we simply allow them to hold a portion of the body. Crocodilians are touched while we have control of the head and body. Simple precautions. The reason for the increase in safety devices is due to ACCIDENTS HAPPENING! Not paranoia. Besides Neil...plastic wasn't around when you were born!!! LOL's just kidding! In closing... humans are the only species where evolution (survival of the strongest,most intelligent) does not make the species stronger. We keep fixing the stupid ones who get hurt. They pass on those genes!!! Just look at "jackass" they're getting paid to do those things! Remember..it's only funny till someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious! In all seriousness it was a irresponsible thing to do at least!
 
"I might disagree with what you're saying.... but I'll fight to the death for your right to say it!"....

If you saw the footage, the baby was being held way above the ground in his left arm, and you could see Steve keeping his arm as far back as it could get, I'm also sure that there were many people in there with them that weren't on camera.... I just don't think it was wrong.... and I don't think it was dangerous for the kid, either....

It's ok.... my statements are my statements.... if you don't want to know my answer, don't ask the question??.... I'll give my opinion, whether they're agreed upon or not.... that's where lively discussion stems from.... if everybody had the same opinion as everyone else.... well, you know....

Sorry if I offended anyone with my remarks, that wasn't the objective.... just to state MY opinions....

Neil
 
It was STUPID !!

I just have to add my 2 cents to this whole matter. First off Im the father of 4 kids. I keep hearing, both in public, and in private that Steve knows his Crocs and what he is doing. This may very well be so. But, let me give everyone a few things to chew on.

A few months back one of my 3 year olds wanted to hold a Ball Python. Now, my wife hates snakes, but deals with them for me. I have raised this snake from a baby, it has never bitten EVER, was not in shed, just ate a few days prior and I held her for a good 5 minutes before I let my son handle her. Not wanting my kids to have the fear my wife has, I felt a brief supervised handling session was due. The second I went to hand her over, BAM, it struck at him. Luckily she missed. But she missed my sons eye within a inch. Now, this is a tame BALL PYTHON !! Not a massive agressive Croc that could view that dangling infant as a food item. It only takes a split second, TRUST me. To think you have everything under control, years of knowledge and knowing your animal. Well, that goes all out the door. They can claim Steve knows this and that. But its all BS and a excuse for a poor decision !! Personally I think the fame has gotten to the Irwins heads big time. I just hope its not one of their kids who pays the price for their stupidity. The worst thing that could of happened to my son would of been a few small puntures. Just think what would happen to a infant in the jaws of a croc.

And a second thing to chew on. Look at what is going on right here in our country !! They are trying to take our right to own reptiles away from us everyday. I was at the Ohio Show when it was raided and see all these new laws trying to get passed all around the country. Now this ONLY adds more fuel to their cause. Think of it in their train of thought. If a professional who has his own show is that careless, then what about all the novices with 10ft pythons ??

Just think about it !!
 
I know that there are going to be exceptions on both sides of the argument, and I am not at all saying that one set of peoples' opinions are of better quality than the others, in any way. However, I think it would be interesting to see if being a parent colors the way a person sees this event.

I'm sure it colors my perspective, and it may very well be causing others to see things in one way or another. I would suspect, with no empirical evidence at all, mind you, that those who see nothing wrong with this are overwhelmingly those who do not have children, and those on the other side are overwhelmingly parents.

I'm sure some parents think he did no worng, and some without kids of their own are horrified at his actions. I'm not making any sweeping generalizations. I just think it would be interesting to see how that single distinguishing fact might make a difference one way or another.

:idea:
 
I am a Parent of a new born baby boy , born on 12/4/2003.

I don't see the big deal with what he did, and what i do see is people implementing their views of what is right and wrong on some one else,


I personally think this is all about perspective, and i also feel that some people are just over reacting.


furthermore, to the poster that said something about "that if it happened in her jurisdiction blah blah blah"

well guess what, not the whole world is as anal as the US....


all i can say is, thank god it didn't happen here, because people here definately tend to over react
 
in the earlier thread

on this topic i believe i agreed it was a stupid stunt, but i think the most dangerous fact going unoticed here is the simple fact that he had a raw chicken in his hands than proceeded to hold the child with that unwashed hand, chickens hold lots of patheogens when uncooked and even sometimes cooked, in the first year of a childs life its extremely susceptable to outside infection, things like salominila would easily take a babys life,

i personaly think we are a part of the food chain and should be eaten, so the first point with me other than the fact that it was stupid is null as people do get eaten swimming, hiking , in the sarenghetti, i love it! we deserve it! if i go i hope to be payback for all the thoughtless slaughter of animals historically. his child his choice, it hasnt been questioned before, its not habitual in my book,

he made a mistake, i am positive all of us here have done just that, you parents need to strap on those helmets, give all the shots you can get your hands on, never let them outside, overcook their food, screen the computers in your homes, baby safe everything, never overfill the tub, make sure its not to hot, only feed them soft sterile food, and let them grow into globs of thoughtless, inexperienced, unsure, very booksmart young adults- i am not being mean i am being real, i grew up with poisonous snakes the first part of my life-in okinawa, my first snake experience was a habu, i got critically ill at a daycare and had to be hospitalized from third world infections, we swam in the ocean there alot, half of the sea life there is very toxic. lion fish, stone fish, sea snakes, man-o-war, in georgia as a child, we had moccasins, copperheads, coralsnakes, they were everywhere, it was very underdeveloped before atlanta grew so big, scorpions, recluses, chester the molester, gangs , drugs, traffic. moved to the high mountains in colorado, skiing extensively in the winter, rock climbing in the summers, lots of mountain lions, bear, coyotees,wolves,

point is risks are everywhere, hes a newish dad , he doesnt have the most experience, he trusted himself as terry must have, and his crew, his staff, he does deserve public scrutiny, but experience is life and that is everything, i am sure hes learned from it, but i must agree with some of the others when said it is his life his child their experiences, our opinions are just that and mean zilch, this politically correct america is getting so over the top, its a liability to get liability insurance nowadays and i hate it thats why i moved back to the south, there are still some freedoms here,

sorry it was very long winded i know-
 
"They've (the Irwin family) assured them that it won't happen again and I am sure that if it does they will be back in touch with them," he said.

Source http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20040103_536.html

Irwin told Channel Nine he would take his son Bob back into the crocodile pen - but would ensure there were no cameras.

Source http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/06/1073267995963.html

So Irwin says he will do it again, endanger his child again and break the law again,

I think this shows the world how irresponcible he is. To risk his childs life and break the laws again.
 
If people can't see the difference between the minimal risk of driving in a car or climbing a tree and the increased risks of taking a kid and dragging it into close proximity with an animal not only capable but INCLINED to do it harm, then there's a massive problem here.

All these analogies to everyday risks are absurd and everytime someone makes one comparing these actions to other behaviors with *reasonable* risk, it makes me question the intelligence of the poster.

What was done was NOT like driving in a car or allowing a kid to play baseball... It was like driving a car with no brakes or blindfolding a child and setting them in front of a fastball pitching machine.

Reasonable risks are just that... reasonable. Massive risks with nothing to gain are simply idiotic.
 
Like many others.............

As a parent, I have to say that I believe Mr. Irwin was wrong. Despite claims that he "knew what he was doing" there always exists the possibility that something will go "wrong" when working around wild animals. I don't care how many years he has "known" this crocodile, it is still a wild animal. I imagine an infant would be a generous mouthful for a croc of that size, but let's think about a few "what ifs" for a moment:

What if the croc charge good ole' Steve....
And, what if Steve lost his footing and fell....
and what if Steve dropped his son.... and well, I think we all have a pretty good visual on what might have been.

To me the bigger question here is WHY put an infant in that kind of situation in the first place? Publicity (bad choice if it were) to boost ratings? Stupidity (my vote). Overconfidence (probably) in believing that Mr. Irwin "knows what he's doing" as I hear way too much in the discussions I have observed in regard to this dumb choice on his part....

As to Steve's position as reptile Guru of the universe.... ask an Australian what they think of him. Most of the reptile folks I've exchanged email with from Oz think Steve is a phony. A lot of them have told me that he is all show and no go as far as the herpetological community in Australia, and that he's all self-promotion with no regard for what the rest of the Australian reptile community is suffering through....imposed by their own government. As near as I can tell, he does absolutely nothing to improve the restrictive nature of Australia's laws on the general public because they don't apply to a big celebrity like him.....

So, in summation... I think he should be warned about any sort of future stupidity like this with a child under his arm. If he wants to get himself mauled by a croc, more power to him....just leave the kids on the "safe" side of the enclosure fence until they're old enough to decide to be stupid on their own.

As Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."
 
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