Todd, I don't know what to say about the self-medicating human visiting the
pet shop, but I think aquarium use of medications-- and the containment
thay can provide with proper use-- is a reasonable and sensible
line. Perhaps the best way to approach the issue is from a risk assessment
perspective. The chance of an aquarist actually producing a mutant
bacterium then releasing it must be many orders of magnitude less than that
of their releasing a natural pathogen. Of course such natural pathogens
may not be native to their local waters, and Voila! You have the Brazilian
Bully Bacterium in Boston. But the problem isn't the pathogen-- that's
just Nature being itself. The problem is the unwise and illegal
release. Therefore, a goal can be to educate aquarists about all the
hazards associated with fish releases.
-- Jay DeLong Olympia, WA /----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org </x-flowed>