And how does it relate to Herpetoculture?
Over many years (and likely decades) now, a significant, alarming, and increasingly evident trend has been emerging within much of both our western culture, as well as that of many others as it related to animals, nature, and the environment. As the human population (and their subsequent activities) continues to grow and expand worldwide, we subsequently are witnessing ever increasing amounts of destruction of and/or degradation of natural habitat and both plant and animal species biodiversity. And undoubtedly, there remains hundreds, if not thousands of new species in such natural habitats which have yet to be discovered or be well understood by science. Furthermore and at least partially coupled with this complex issue, is the seemingly increasing preference of much of western culture in particular in leading a largely to completely urbanized lifestyle.

In his 2005 book titled “Last Child in the Woods”, author Richard Louv addresses the very issue in depth, aptly referring to this trend as “Nature Deficit Disorder”. In this book, Louv describes how an increasing number of children are tending to spend less time in the outdoors due to a variety of factors, ranging from parental influence, the aforementioned habitat loss and destruction, increasingly punitive or prohibitive environmental education policies and practices, and an overall “increased draw to remain indoors”, thus becoming increasingly exposed to video games, television, and the like. However, I would like to take some time to state how and why I personally believe this trend is happening.

The Media: Sensationalism Sells
Much of society is now undeniably becoming more and more exposed to, and reliant upon many forms of media and technology as a means of daily communication and information gathering/processing. While this fact in of itself presents many benefits, I can also see it as a negative in many regards when coupled with the several other facets of this complex issue. As we are continually being exposed to an ever increasing amount of information in the world, many media outlets inevitably must compete with one another for our time and attention by selecting only what is sensational (or what can easily be construed to be). Likewise, our time and attention has frequently become so limited due to many factors (such as our increasingly fast paced lifestyles, and other situations) that it frequently leads to us to simply regarding any information we are exposed to at face value or as the truth. And as I am sure all here on Kingsnake.com are familiar with by now, the sensationalizing of many of the issues or subjects portrayed fuels and even perpetuates many myths and misinformation that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, create grave damage to society’s overall knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of animals/nature, particularly of those species that have long been misunderstood (reptiles and amphibians for example).

I saw a sad statistic the other day from the National Wildlife Federation relating to all of this; that many children can now recall and recognize the corporate logos of hundreds of different companies. Yet at the same time, many could identify fewer than ten of their local backyard plant and animal species. Ten.

Too Much Emphasis on Safety a Good Thing?
Perhaps the most prominent reason Louv stated for this trend we are seeing was the fact, fueled largely by the aforementioned media, is that an ever increasing number of parents are protecting their children to the extent that doing so disrupts their child’s ability to connect with nature. I personally believe we are also seeing a very similar issue with how many laws and legislation are now being proposed, therefore prohibiting or severely restricting many activities including keeping many animals (which is a means of gaining a better understanding, appreciation, and ultimately hands on exposure to them and nature in general), with the rationales of “for your own safety”, or to “ensure the public’s safety”. We seem to be consenting to, whether knowingly or unknowingly, the creation of more and more legislation designed to ultimately "protect us from ourselves." Rather than being encouraged and allowed to explore and enhance (and yes, to be able to take risks relating to) our knowledge and passions towards the natural world, we are now seemingly being mis-taught by sensational media outlets at an ever increasing rate to simply be outright fearful and/or distrustful of any objects or situations we may not fully understand or be familiar with.

There are undoubtedly some situations that do arise and therefore need to be addressed and/or corrected accordingly. However, a large segment of society has seemingly fallen into the dangerous mindset that entire segments or industries (our herp community being a prime example) should be penalized for the acts of irresponsible or negligent individuals within that particular field. When this occurs, the efforts and abilities of many knowledgeable and passionate environmental educators, reptile keepers and enthusiasts, conversationalists, and others who privately maintain these animals as a means of educating and ultimately exposing the public to the many species around the world that they would likely have very few to no other opportunities to witness are hampered. It is my belief that witnessing an animal in person has a far more profound and memorable effect overall on our senses and reception of that animal than does simply viewing a picture of one in a book or through archived television footage.

So, What can we do about this problem?
In my opinion, this is a very complex and multi faceted issue that by no means can be fixed or solved “overnight”. I also believe that there is no “only one right way” to solving this, or even conservation and species diversity issues in general. I believe that what we as reptile keepers, enthusiasts, and breeders can and should be doing, in addition to helping to ensure that native habitats for species worldwide are maintained and protected, is to continue to educate and inform the public of the biology and natural history of the animals that we keep. We may not be able to change everyone’s perceptions or attitudes towards snakes and other “creepy crawlies” for example. However, each case of someone who does as a result of our efforts can in ways be considered yet another small “baby step” towards the public better understanding and ultimately accepting our hobby, nature, and the environment altogether.