Responsible Arachnoculture: Can You Imagine Dugup Antiquity Collectors Writing Things Like This? Why Not?

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Continuing the theme of the post above this and the difference between US spider collectors and dugup antiquity collectors I was struck by some of the comments on the damage done by smuggling which could be met on a forum of the former, and how much it contrasts with the "from my cold dead hands" approach of certain sections of the antiquity collecting community. Like this one from "Ranchulas":

While I do not condone the illegal shipment of tarantulas, I hate the negative press for our hobby! I hope that the circumstances behind this were harmless and simply bad judgement. We have got to be responsible in EVERYTHING we do. This is such a great hobby with positive effects, sometimes even being the only means to save a species. We should all work with the greatest of respect for what we do and treat every shipment as such. Just my 2 cents..

Xenesthis; 05-18-2011 what is the single most important thing that affects American hobbyists right now :

American hobbyists have a need and right to know about this situation. It affects us all. I believe we need to self-regulate our hobby best we can as if we don't, Big Brother will surely step in to do it for us.

As of May 15, 2010, I offer my opinion. We have failed. Expect our hobby to be more restricted, overly regulated and get more expensive due to this problem. This Ron Paul idea of how our hobby/trade should operate has failed. Big Brother is here and alive and well. The bird trade did not regulate themselves well and in the '70s, Big Brother stepped in to do it. Primates in the '80s. Reptiles in the '90s.

2011, Big Brother is here because we failed. People who knew things were going on illegally chose to pretend they didn't hear or see it. Some choose to benefit/profit from it. Some even joined in by helping unpack the "brown box" from Europe, Thailand or Brazil via "EMS" that a U.S. buyer purchased and then, down the road, put them up for trade or sale on the classifieds knowing full well that stock was illegally obtained. They bragged about it on forums, in chats, in emails, on the phone and some idiots even posted on review boards their illegal activities. The don't ask, don't tell policy was used for some. It has hurt us all.

Again Xenesthis; 05-18-2011:

As an American, when you go to buy a house in a neighborhood, you have a right to know if there are criminals on your street before you make that decision. Before you buy your kid a toy, you have a right to know if the toy maker has [put] toxic levels of mercury in that toy. With this analogy, American hobbyists have a need and a right to know if a seller, here in the U.S., smuggled stock in the past and is still operating selling and trading today even on this site. [...] There are 100 other Kopplers mailing stuff to U.S. smugglers. Koppler's conviction did not stop that. Why? Because we have American smugglers still operating, unpunished, using the internet to find those overseas to sell and ship them undeclared (from customs and USFWS) stock to the U.S. You have to bust the Americans sending money overseas for this undeclared stock to send a strong message throughout the U.S. trade/hobby that you will be punished if you do that.

Koppler's conviction did not send that message Monday. It is not just the nine Americans. The number is substantially more. Just look at the idiots that post in AB's review threads openly admitting to it. They are bragging about how they got their tarantulas or scorpions from a foreign country shipped in via "EMS". From an American hobbyist perspective, we have a need and right to know who they are. [...] We only need to know who the unpunished smugglers are. That is what directly affects American hobbyists in their trading and purchasing decisions right now.

Xenesthis is, by the way a dealer. What a world apart this is from dugup coin collecting !