As I read this professional criticism (more appropriately referred to as whingeing) about Steve Irwin I have to wonder how much of it is based on envy that people like Irwin are popular and beloved around the world while most of us work in relative obscurity teaching students who spend a lot of time asleep in class.
There is room, and a need, for showmanship. We need the Steve Irwins of the world as much as we need those who go through committee review to obtain approval of research protocols. Maybe more, as public support for conservation is essential if we are going to save anything. The public learns via the Irwins, not through us. Most of us, if we attempted to start a television show to educate the public, would be miserable failures. He wasn't, and should be commemorated for that. Dave ------------------------------------------------------ David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] USA | http: http://fuzzo.com ------------------------------------------------------ "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo "No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Sears Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: How Steve Irwin Could Have Used Entertainment in a Better Way Regardless of my thoughts on Steve Irwin, there is at least one big difference between the harassment that Irwin imposed on animals and that imposed by researchers employing the various methods listed by Sharif...we researchers must have our methods approved by Animal Care and Use Committees, meaning that a group of peers and laypeople review our protocols to determine whether the welfare of the animal is endangered, whether the methods are ethical, and that the scientific discovery merits the means used to collect the information. I doubt the the croc hunter had to follow the same stringent guidelines that many of us on the list must go through. Mike
