@ HeteroScuderia, fantastic idea!

The "registered breeder" system would be strengthened if permits for locals (when this happens) being issued only to registered members of a recognised hobbyist society, as is the case in getting permits for things like leopard tortoises...

I Second that HS. I think this would be a good step forward!!!!

I think that is a brilliant idea, give that man a Bells !!!

So as per HS suggestion, i think this is an interesting idea. But as a community i would like to start a poll and get votes for this idea.

You can select option 1 : This would be awesome or option 2 : I hate this idea

This is the suggestion:

What can certainly be done, is that we as members of this forum can nominate breeders we know of and trust - as "tarantulas.co.za approved breeders" and anyone else wanting to breed need only apply to be a member for a small annual fee like R50 that can go towards the site. We then turn that title in to a requirement that people should look out for when buying spiders.

If you are a new breeder, you will need two other registered breeders on the site to vote for you to become eligible and then the a board of breeders can make the final decision.

In the beginning, nobody would pay it any mind and T's would still be selling all over the place, but eventually it would start becoming the "better idea" to buy from a tarantulas.co.za approved breeder. I will even design us a logo that approved breeders can use, and each approved breeder will have a unique breeder number which can be verified here on the site.

So for example if someone wanted to buy from a breeder and wanted to make sure he is an approved breeder, the breeder can give his customer his breeder number and we could have a dedicated page here on this site that is only accessible by Taki and Dimitri, where the customer can come and check the details and breeder number for the specific breeder.

This will not solve the worlds tarantula problems and scrupulous sellers will always be out there - but this gives consumers the option of rather buying from someone reputable and will not only curb excessive breeding because approved breeders will be keeping track of what is and is not being bred, but it will also prevent poor unknowing noobs from buying "Theraphosa paraybana's" lol.

This is my suggestion. use it, don't use it. Flame it Grill it, but consider it.

HS

Just some quick thoughts here guys:

Have you asked the breeders/resellers what they think about being soft regulated?

I think you need to be a little cautious with the committee approval thing. The hobby and the community that drives it, although growing, seems still fragile enough to be harmed by possible or perceived conflicts of personality, ego and interest as we have seen in last bit of 2012.

I am not saying don't do it, just plan carefully. At some point the committee will have to decline someone approval. That could be a vocal person and the fallout could be very damaging to the hobby as a whole.

I like the idea.

This would go a long way to protect n00bs, but a n00b would ten to one only become aware of the list after getting into the hobby and starting to do more research.

Question: Lets say I buy a few T's from breeder x that is on the list and I have a problem with the T's, shipping or whatever can the sellers name be removed from the list? I would suggest a Tarantulas.co.za approved breeder policy. If a breeder fails to adhere to the policy his name gets canned :chainsaw: