I'm sorry, but my response was not mere whineging. I don't believe I could make the case to my university that because students in my class tend to sleep more than take notes that I should be allowed to handle venomous reptiles or wrestle alligators in class. Yes it would be entertaining, just like Steve's show, maybe more so because the alligator would win. But the risk involved would likely be judged nowhere close to the benefit that the students would obtain...and just what would that be again? They likely still wouldn't want to read their texts. So even though the students would be more aware of the danger of handling crocs by seeing their professor eaten (...it might even be must see tv week after week in the dorms), my poor exercise and resultant lack of an arm would be a failure.
All that said, as someone that works within the field of herpetology, I do see a certain breed of students (and adults) that feel that they must handle, bag, or keep many animals that would best be left alone. At some level I am sure that Steve and others in his genre encourage this behavior in some of these individuals. To most though, the effects of his show are benign...both with respect to endangering or respecting animals as well as promoting conservation. More than anything here, I am bothered by the fact that some believe any means justifies the end result. Historically, there are many examples to show that this sort of wreckless behavior can backfire. My two cents, Mike On Wednesday 27 September 2006 09:26, David M. Lawrence wrote: > As I read this professional criticism (more appropriately referred to as > whingeing) about Steve Irwin I have to wonder how much of it is based on > envy that people like Irwin are popular and beloved around the world while > most of us work in relative obscurity teaching students who spend a lot of > time asleep in class. > > There is room, and a need, for showmanship. We need the Steve Irwins of > the world as much as we need those who go through committee review to > obtain approval of research protocols. Maybe more, as public support for > conservation is essential if we are going to save anything. The public > learns via the Irwins, not through us. Most of us, if we attempted to > start a television show to educate the public, would be miserable failures. > He wasn't, and should be commemorated for that. > > Dave > > ------------------------------------------------------ > David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 > 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 > Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > USA | http: http://fuzzo.com > ------------------------------------------------------ > > "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo > > "No trespassing > 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Sears > Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:52 PM > To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > Subject: Re: How Steve Irwin Could Have Used Entertainment in a Better Way > > Regardless of my thoughts on Steve Irwin, there is at least one big > difference between the harassment that Irwin imposed on animals and that > imposed by researchers employing the various methods listed by Sharif...we > researchers must have our methods approved by Animal Care and Use > Committees, meaning that a group of peers and laypeople review our > protocols to determine whether the welfare of the animal is endangered, > whether the methods are ethical, and that the scientific discovery merits > the means used to collect the information. I doubt the the croc hunter had > to follow the same stringent guidelines that many of us on the list must go > through. > > Mike -- Michael W. Sears, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Zoology Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL 62901 phone: 618-453-4137 web: http://www.science.siu.edu/zoology/people/sears.html http://www.ecology.siu.edu "Natural selection is a mechanism for generating an exceedingly high degree of improbability" Sir Ronald A. Fisher (1890-1962)
