.... Ohhh CRAP!!
I just lost about an hour and a half of writing on this blog post !!!
... Its just one of the occasional risks of blogging in a "mobile" fashion ... as usual, no sense getting too upset about it... Just do it again :))
... This post discussion is a bit more divisive than the prior "eco" posts, but I think a lot of most peoples issue with mounted butterflies is frankly quite hypocritical... but I'll get to that all a bit latter :))
OK, so this time I went to see an insect farm. This one is very different to the previous three activities in that this is basically a commercial business that has "added on" a side-stream of revenue from tourism rather than a primarily tourist business... And it clearly shows in the "quality" of the tourist experience too.
And what do insect farms do, well, they "cultivate" exotic insects for sale to both the public and scientific/academic institutions. I guess originally butterflies and such were all collected from "the wild", but as the market for such things has slowly increased over the years, and as we have studied and learned in more detail about the dietary/environmental needs of the insects, it has become feasible to start small businesses that actively farm the insects that are most in demand and are of the higher values .
And so, these days, in pretty much any region in the world where exotic butterflies and insects naturally live, there are small businesses that raise some of the local butterflies for commercial purposes.
And its one of these businesses that I went to have a look at:
This is a prime example of an exotic species that is farmed. Its a sub-species of the large green bird-wing family (Ornithoptera Poseidon) that live in New Guinea and surrounding Islands. It is about 15cm in wingspan, and a mounted specimen is worth several hundred dollars!
And some of the other museum type displays at the start of the little insect farm tour.
A small collection of the beautiful iridescent "Morpho" family of butterflies that I mentioned quite frequently in my blog entries as I rode through central/South America.
This is one of the local species being farmed here... The huge "Atlas" moth...Its a very popular collectors item but is easy to raise and not that rare. Its up to about 20cm across but only fetches about $5 -$10 each.
So, after the little museum section of the tour, they let you go see the actual critters that they are farming... And its not just butterflies... There are al sorts of insects that have "commercial value"... And not just for mounted specimens either. These days there is quite a market for insects that people keep as pets... These large scorpions are a good example
And a camouflaged "leaf" insect
And then it was off to look at the "larval" stages... lots of pretty caterpillars here :)
This one is huge at about 15cm long!
And then it was into the "butterfly house" where they let the butterflies hatch from their chrysalises and then flap about among their chosen food plants.. where they find a mate and lay eggs... The eggs are collected and the whole process starts again :)
I didnt get to see them "processing" (catching, killing, and mounting) any of the adult butterflies, but I believe it is done pretty much immediately after the adults "hatch". Of course they only kill a percentage of the butterflies that hatch for sale, since they obviously need some adults to breed and continue the "normal" life cycle.
And that was it.... Like I said above, its mostly a commercial business and the tourist thing is an add-on rather than a primary goal of the business. As such, I got pretty much what I expected and was happy I went to see it... But its probably not of much interest to most people and even I would not bother to do it again.
OK, that was the tour...Lets get down to the "eco-thinking" :)...
Again, as I said above, I think most people with "Western" sensibilities do not approve of killing, mounting, and displaying butterflies just for their viewing pleasure!... It seems grisly and gratuitous!... But, as I said, I think that most peoples "objections" dont really stand up to logical scrutiny (although "logic" often has little to do with emotion!)...
But of course, I should clearly state here that I actually have a few mounted butterflies that I display on a wall at home...So I am biased and I may just be going through the process of "self justification"....
The judgement of that and of your own ethical position on the subject, Ill leave to the reader :))
Right, So on the "eco" front:
As I mentioned above, originally these rare butterflies were collected from wild populations... and as expected this was a bad thing as it brought the wild populations into decline and they became endangered.. I dont know of any that were made extinct but I expect specialists in the field could name a few.
But, fortunately, these days the international trade in rare butterflies, along with any endangered wildlife, is regulated so as to try to limit damage to and even help bolster and rebuild native wild populations of the species. The regulation is done by a permit system on any importation of specimens (ether alive or dead). Its called CITIES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and the regulation came into force in 1975. Like all regulation systems its not perfect and there are people who do whatever they can to avoid it and get around it illegally for their own financial gain. And likewise, there are plenty of "consumers" who will buy the item regardless of it being a permitted and legal "white market" or illegal "black market" item, but in short the CITIES system has helped a lot and is doing a pretty good job (as I understand it).
So, the international trade in rare butterflies is regulated and these businesses make most of their income through international trade...So a good amount of their "product" flows through the legal channels (though Im sure many businesses also service black market demand too).
Oh, and as part of that permit system, The "farms" are also required to release a percentage of their captive bred endangered butterflies back out into the wild to help rebuild wild stocks. The farms also breed saleable species that are not on the "endangered" list since the quality of the raised butterflies is higher than wild captured ones (not battered around by conditions outside the shade house etc)...
And in many cases, the butterfly farming is done in very remote areas by small villages of indigenouse peoples (they are also endangered of course). Its usually intended to provide the community with a "cash crop" in order to try to help the communities transition into the "modern/economic" world... Thats a whole other very complicated subject of course, but in short the butterfly farming is often one of the few commercial opportunities in these areas.... back to the butterflies.
And so, in short I think the farming of butterflies is a good thing... Well, if you consider that they should be allowed to be collected at all.
So, the main aspect of most people's objections to "butterflies for display" is that they are being killed just for our aesthetic satisfaction.... Not really being put to any good use!
My response to that is that if the person objecting eats meat or wears any silk clothing then they are being quite hypocritical!!
As I described in an earlier post, I think that its quite clear that virtually all people can live very happy, full, cheap, and convenient lives as vegetarians (allowing milk and dairy consumption in that definition of "vegetarian"). The Hindus of India have been doing it for centuries and many modern "Western" people do it too. So, if people are prepared to kill sheep, cattle, and chickens etc just for the few moments of pleasant taste as they eat their meal!; then I hardly think it reasonable to complain about killing a butterfly in order to have many years of enjoyment from looking at them... Likewise, I think that most people conveniently remain ignorant of what happens in the silk farming industry... Basically, the silk moth is bred in masses so that the caterpillars will weave their little cocoons of silk thread... Then, the little fellows get boiled alive in water inside their cocoon and the silk thread is unwrapped and spooled up to be later woven into silk fabric for the consumers wearing pleasure!. Each silk worm killed generates a few square centimetres of silk fabric! Again, we are long past the point of NEEDing silk fabric. We can easily substitute synthetics or fine quality wool from non-fatal wool farming of sheep etc!
So, the "killing them for our pleasures" being unacceptable argument seems pretty hollow to me!
Likewise, if Im prepared to eat meat (and I currently do), I cant find fault in people wearing animal furs either... Assuming that the animals are raised (farmed) and killed humanely and the market does not cause the "parallel" demise of the wild animals due to black market demand for the same product (Which is why they ban completely the sale of ivory and the import of crocodile/snake skin leather products in many countries).
Oh, and I also think the concept of "cruelty" becomes more "murkey" on the ethics definition front for insects versus mammals and birds, but suffice it to say that I dont think the farmed insects are treated or killed inhumanely (well certainly not when compared to what the silk worms experience!)
So, thats my take on it personally, and as I am currently a meat eater, I do not find I have a problem with the ethics of displaying butterflies...But thats just the logic of it and as I said, much of the "argument against" is not logical at all; Its emotional... And I admit that I too have a level of emotional response to these things (killing animals be it for food, clothing, or viewing pleasure)... And I also admit that it "feels" like Im slowly drifting toward being a vegetarian, but I think it will be a while yet before I get there :)))
Interestingly, on the butterfly front, I find that one of the more powerfull arguments against displaying them is much more philosophical than emotional or rational... And it is this...
People mount and display the butterflies because they are amazingly beautiful in their colours and shapes and we get great enjoyment from looking at that beauty. But butterflies are virtually impossible to fully appreciate in the wild because they are so timid and transient (as well as many of them only living in remote and inhospitibal locations). And so mounting and displaying them is peoples attempt to grasp and hold onto their beauty...As usual, we humans are trying to assert control over nature in order to satisfy our desires (we do it in all areas of our lives).
... But as I grow and learn, I change, and Im slowly learning that perhaps the greater part of the beauty of life (butterflies included) is exactly that it is so transient!... And that when we grasp it and try to hold onto it, we in fact "kill" an aspect of its beauty... And we cease to appreciate it as much as when it was "there for just a moment"... As I grow, Im slowly learning to "let go" and not need to possess; and to accept that its all only transient and that I should appreciate it all the more "while it lasts" because no matter what I do, I cant actually stop it from passing.
.. So I suspect that for me at least, the days of steaks and mounted butterflies are limited :))
