I agree with Cenotaph. I would also like to be part of a responsible project for the love of science.

The only thing that should come of a project like this is good documentation and nothing more.

If your doing this for the right reasons and you are open with everyone about it then i don't see the harm in it.

Okay, so now we are back on Track.
Now when I conduct my Brachypelma experiment these are the things I shall be determining:

1. If the pairing produces a Viable (Fertile) eggsack
2. How many eggs there are
3. If the offspring exhibit different behaviours that none of the parents have or a mixture of the two
4. Do the offspring have markings/colour/whatever that seems to be a combination of the two parents, i.e Brachypelma albiceps x Brachypelma boehmie to produce a Tarantula with the Red Legs and a Golden Carapace
5. Are the offspring fertile
6. Can they produce offspring with other hybrids and can they produce offspring with pure tarantulas

What my grand plan is, is to perhaps do something I don't think has ever been done before: Brachypelma boehmie x Brachypelma albiceps MM bred to a Brachypelma albopilosum x Brachypelma emilia to create something either really, really beatiful or some thing really, really ugly. Either way it's a victory for science. Any one willing to donate me a Mature Male Brachypelma albiceps?

What will be interesting is, if Scarab decides to go ahead with the P. metallica x P. fasciata hybridisation and the offspring turn out to be absolutely stunning T's, how many members will volunteer to keep one/some. To document for scientific reasons of course

Furthermore if said hybridization does in fact produce fertile offspring and they are stunning and not easily confused with currently available Pokie species why would it be wrong to put them into the market as long as they are "sold" as what they are... hybrids?

Good idea .....BUT as has been said before, someone will go and F the whole thing up by selling it as something completely different to make a quick buck. And I don't think a lot of members here will appreciate hybrids being sold, as is evident here. Here's looking at you Lion

Scarab wrote:

It would spoil the fun in the hobby for me if I couldn't be sure that any T' I'm buying wasn't the species I think it is.

Can you explain how his would happen?

the genetic material of our tarantulas is precious

So it is, but what would happen to the genetic material of the parents? It is not as if all originals will be discarded and the hobby continue with hybrids only? There is no way I will mate any of my 5 P metallica females (sorry Lion) with anything other than a P metallica male? How will this experiment be detrimental to the genes of the pure spiders (parents of pure P metallica slings) ??

If you have a first generation cross, it might or might not be evident that the offspring is exactly that. But if a hybrid went on to be mated with one of the original species or with another hybrid, their ancestry may become much less obvious for part or all of the offspring. So who will be able to confirm that the Pokie I'm buying is in fact a pure-breed?

Scarab, I'm not doubting YOUR integrity (neither Cerat's, for that matter), but you aren't the only ones out there who will consider experiments like that. I'm sure that there will be enough people less sincere about what they do with the offspring. But this has been pointed out before. This is the genetic material that I see being jeopardized.

Yes, the genetic material of the parental generation remains pure, of course, in your planned experiment. Which is good But think of someone keen to make a quick buck and doing the exact same crossing, selling them as metallicas? If this works at all, that is...

Like Lion I'm not a fan of producing animals purely for experimental purposes and is goes against my personal ethics to produce them with the knowledge that I'd have to kill the majority of them. But this is purely my personal view and something everybody will have to work out for themselves.

See, we can all love each other...

I read your post after posting mine Marula, so, I am with you 100% and when your argument is dissected, it boils down to personal choice and responsibility.

IF, and a very big IF I decide to try the P fasciata (F) and P metallica (M) hybrid, all will be documented. I am very hesitant to say "in the name of science" because I am no scientist. Scientific papers and theses scare the crap out of me. Documentation on this public forum might make for some very interesting reading at least, as the documentation on my P metallica/ M balfouri breeding and M balfouri communal.

Should this go ahead, everybody already knows, it will NEVER be done in secret. Also, I do not foresee giving/selling ANY possible offspring to ANYBODY, EVER. My curiosity lies in the coloration and fertility ONLY, and that would imply long term observation, accompanied by clear pictures of each instar.

You see, I am VERY aware of the nonsense such spiders can cause in the hobby and will NEVER contribute to ANY detrimental activity. Yes, I was whipped on the knuckles with "thinking only of myself". This is completely devoid of any truth. The idea and possible results fascinates me, and that is that.

I stand and live by my statements on ethics, if this discussion plants seeds into the minds of unscrupulous individuals, their actions will be their choice, and their choice ONLY.