Catching Tadpoles?

[RedSidedSPR]

Sigh, I get that. I was offered $100 worth of snakes if I could catch 100 tadpoles, so he could get his non'eaters to eat. It's for a good cause!

I'd like to leave them, but I'd also like that snake(s).

[Sonya610]

Take the high road; do not do something you know is not right because of a tempting offer. You have a garter, you do not "need more" so do not do something you know isn't right for a monetary/equivalent gain. : )

[ConcinusMan]

if I could catch 100 tadpoles, so he could get his non'eaters to eat. It's for a good cause!

Seems to me that if tadpoles would make a difference and get them to eat, so would anything resembling them, such as guppies.

[PINJOHN]

thought long and hard about making a comment on this thread, not completely sure if an English man should be pontificating on a American eco question, but its been so onesided i thought why not,
i personally don't think in most cases taking a hundred tadpoles out of a large lake would do any lasting damage, i cannot remember the statistic but i know that frogs/toads lay so many eggs/spawn because only one makes it to adult hood from x hundred tadpoles, nature has to some degree made tadpoles disposable,
on this side of the pond [excuse the pun] i have watched a heron have difficulty taking to the air because his crop was so full of tadpoles
and if the lake in question has a healthy population the fact that the Cuban twelve eyed frog and the Peruvian pie eating toad are down to one and a half individuals each is irrelevant i would think .
now for the nasty bit,and try not to take it personally anyone
just this week i replied to Shannons thread thanking her for the report and photos [as did lots of others] on her herping trip, mention was made of the little toads on hatching being so numerous that it would be impossible not to stand on them when she returns, you will notice on her thread that not one of us pointed out the damage to the ecosystem or cruelty to toads or indeed any of the objections that were put forward on this thread, is it perhaps because we all enjoy other members herping adventures so much that we can look the other way when it suits us, i am waiting with baited breath for
Shannons next herping report which means i suppose that i find the death of some creatures acceptable when it suits me, and it looks like i am not the only member to hold this view.

[Sonya610]

Shannons next herping report which means i suppose that i find the death of some creatures acceptable when it suits me, and it looks like i am not the only member to hold this view.

John keep in mind it sounds like this could be a professional breeder that wants to harvest hundreds of wild animals to feed his captive bred stock.

If they are a professional breeder they should have lots of experience and plenty of ways to get their animals eating without having to resort to a new/faster method that harms the ecosystem.

[d_virginiana]

I'm glad you decided not to do it.
When you post something asking for advice people are going to give you advice to the best of their knowledge. Even if it disagrees with what you mentioned, it wasn't a personal attack.

i personally don't think in most cases taking a hundred tadpoles out of a large lake would do any lasting damage, i cannot remember the statistic but i know that frogs/toads lay so many eggs/spawn because only one makes it to adult hood from x hundred tadpoles, nature has to some degree made tadpoles disposable,

That's correct, but taking large numbers of tads out of an ecosystem isn't the primary concern with frogs at the moment, it's transporting frogs from one area to another. Many species (especially some of the tougher American ones) can act as carriers for some pretty nasty diseases for quite awhile without showing symptoms themselves.
In some of the forums I participate in I've seen people get verbally flayed alive for saying they caught a toad in one area and released it in their yard. I think that particular reaction is a bit extreme, but the concern is definitely there.