Asking the President of the ACBA

[NewGPMom]

So....does he read this website or friends that do it for him? How else would he know you posted his email here? And if he doesn't feel he's doing anything wrong get so upset about it? I guess a stillborns and the death of a sow are just all in a days work to him. No big deal.....just breed some more. Some people...

[VoodooJoint]

Zakfoxmom

It is mean. it is ignorant. It is foolish and selfish, cruel, immoral, narcissistic, unethical and egocentric...just to name a few.

All for those stupid spots or colored hairs. Those marking have caused more suffering and waste then anyone cares to think about.

Those stupid spots are good for nothing other then winning a few ribbons. Apparently those ribbons mean enough to those moral degenerates to cause animals to be born into this world with no hope of surviving without human help...and when they are at their most helpless what do most of these contemptible morons do? They kill them...usually by using some of the most cruel means available. They freeze them, gas them, throw them living into the garbage, drown them,....

These imbeciles delude themselves into believeing there is no animal overpopulation problem. Apparently all of the Guinea pigs in the world have loving homes. The animals in the shelters are our imagination, the rescues are fooling all of us...oh yeah and those of us that actually fall for the overpopulation myth and care about the wellbeing of animals are "evil".

[ChadWPB]

I'm cross-posting this from another forum. It's my post, so obviously I have permission. ;+)~

Let's see what's wrong with his responses, shall we?

A large elk buck keeps a herd of does together until he is defeated. During the years that he is in charge he breed his does which are his daughters, grand daughters and so on..

We're talking breeding guinea pigs, not elk. Stay on topic, please.

what surplus population? I have for the last three years been unable to produce enough cavies for the pet trade.

Is he kidding? Does he have his head buried so far into the sand to be unaware to the overpopulation and euthanization of guinea pigs in shelters across the U.S.? One needs to do just a bit of googling to prove the problem exists. Oh yeah, guinea pigs are commodities to be sold, right?

God says that people are the sheperds of all animals, I am a shepard even if you do not think I am a good shepard. My facility is inspected by the USDA on a regular basis and I do not have violations.

He's a lousy shepherd then, and if it were a normal workplace job, he'd be fired. And the USDA inspections are a joke. It's well known that the inspections are cursory, if done at all.

Please do not ever contact me again, your email address will be blocked after this message, so I will not have to read what ever stupid response you come up with

What the matter? Guilty conscience? Is he hiding something? All SM did was ask a few simple questions. Calling SM "stupid" does nothing to further his cause, and shows real immaturity. Block SM's e-mail? Checkmate.

[salana]

That's revolting. His knowledge of genetics is as spotty as his darling little sperm factories. He believes in hell, so I hope he goes there for his cruelty.

[Susan9608]

While I think this individual has deplorable practices and pathetic rationalizations for those practices, I don't think this matter was approached with him in a very respectful or mature way. You can't reasonably expect someone to be willing to listen, admit their mistakes, or even carry on a logical and realistic discussion when you approach them first with subterfuge, then make a pseudo-threatening statement ("you better watch youself"), and then finally attacking someone and their practices.

In no way do I condone this individual's actions or arguments - but honestly, by responding this way, what can you expect in return?

[Slap Maxwell]

Hey, after he found me out, what am I going to do? Play his little games? I am not going to debate him.

[Susan9608]

Then you can't expect much more than the kind of response you got.

[Slap Maxwell]

It dosn't matter- he isn't going to be nice- this is his life I am attacking. This was a crude little joke I played and it dosn't matter. The important fact is that Cavy Welfare is now aware of the facts.

[emithebug]

I think the only semi-valid point he/she/they/it bring(s) up is that "it's a natural behavior" in the wild or something along those lines.

In the wild, dals and roans wouldn't exist - probably agoutis and abysinnians, because they'd blend in better. A white and black coat? Yeah right - it'd be like a big neon flashing sign going "COME AND EAT ME!!!" to all the predators.

Supposing that it WAS a natural wild coat color, though, all of the weaker or inferior cavies would have died due to natural selection. If a stronger boar beat out the old dominant male, the stronger genes would be bred in rather than the weaker. Thus, only the stronger genes are subjected to inbreeding without any of the weaker ones.

Also, if inbreeding and breeding just for show or patterns or colors or spots or whatever never happened, there probably wouldn't be any lethals to begin with.

Joy. He should read Ishmael.

Who knows? A few thousand/million/whatever years down the line, and we could be the guinea pigs to some other superior race that's evolved.

[salana]

In the wild, there are no lethals, because roans and dalmatians are easy to find, catch, and eat. Mutations of the roan gene can occur in any baby pig, causing the roan pattern, but it's highly doubtful that they'd live long enough to breed. So, no lethals. The roan gene in captivity has been selected for, so it's fairly widespread and two individuals with roan or dalmatian markings can easily be brought together for breeding, creating lethals.

I think perhaps 95% of lethals have/had obviously roan or dalmatian parents. The gene's activity may not be obvious if a pig has large amounts of white from other sources, like my sow Suzi, but I think most roan x roan matings could be prevented if it weren't for the greed of show breeders, the ignorance of backyard breeders, and miscellaneous accidents ("Oops, our kid put the boy pig in with the girl pigs").

I wonder if Mr. Iverson, being a Christian, considers himself pro-life or pro-choice?

[Matt & Guins]

Originally Posted by zakfoxmom

Maybe I am just too new of a guinea pig owner but why would someone breed them like that and show them? I must be ignorant but I think of guinea pigs as part of the family like our cats. It just seems mean to do what this guy does.

There are pretty much "shows" for every type of animal around. You would be aware of dog and cat shows, but there are also shows for cavies, rabbits, ferrets, mice, rats, birds, fish etc. the list goes on.

Not wanting to start up a while debate about it, but here is some information on "eartags" which someone asked about/mentioned.

Here in australia ear tags are not used by the large majority of breeders & exhibitors. By 2006 no cavy will be allowed to be exhibited with a permanant ear tag - so they will probably only be used by those very few people who for some reason cant tell their own stock apart.

In othe countries (I think in the USA the cavy must have a permanant eartag to be exhibited) the tags are used to identify and register each individual cavy - and to lessen the chances of people swapping or exhibiting the incorrect cavy.

The cavies being shown here in the different clubs/states here have stickers placed on their ear with a number, and these numbers are catelogued on the day with the cavy's name.

[Faunn]

Originally Posted by slap_maxwell

A Male Elk keeps the same herd of does until he is defeated. While he has his herd he breeds with his daughters, granddaughters, etc...



God made man the sheperd of the animals. I am one of those sheperds even if don’t think I an a very good one.

It sounds like he's quoting the bible...he obviously doesnt think in the 21st century...

[misspigglie]

I actually saw him at a cavy show last year, when I was picking up some piggies. Yes, I know, how could I? Helllllo, that was before I found the light, so to speak. After coming to this site for less than a week, I knew I had made a big mistake by thinking of breeding and showing cavies. I have since made new cages, fed better food, stopped breeding, and learned alot. Anyway, sorry, I think he was a judge there, and I recognised him from the internet. I was looking to breed piggies, remember? I think his cavies won good, and everyone was congratulating him. Also, about the tags, to be in the show they have to have a tag in the left ear, and if there is one in the right ear that means they are registered. I had a hard time taking out the tags of the piggies ears that I bought. Poor piggies. Glad I never got into that.

[Matt & Guins]

Originally Posted by misspigglie

IAlso, about the tags, to be in the show they have to have a tag in the left ear, and if there is one in the right ear that means they are registered.

Thankfully here in Australia they dont need eartags, and by next year no cavy will be allowed to be exhibited with a tag on. Cavies do not need to be registered here.

I personally see no need for eartags - if someone cant tell their cavies apart - they own too many!

Matt

[daftscotslass]

I personally, would like to see the source of the evidence that apparently inbreeding happens in wild populations of guinea pigs. I've never heard such drivel in my life. Any person who has studied even the most basic of biological and evolutionary concepts knows that inbreeding rarely occurs in natural settings. I think THIS guy is at the shallow end of the gene pool.