Breeding Threatened or Endangered Species

[Jay_Bunny]

I'm on a fish forum and there was a thread about programs that are for the breeding of threatened or endangered fish species. (I believe CARES is one of those programs) I was wondering if there is anything like that available for us herpers. I think it would be great for the reptile world (not to mention a rewarding experience) to breed threatened or endangered species (perhaps with the goal of reintroduction with certain species).

[llovelace]

We have a few that breed indigos here in Fl, with the hopes to repopulate

[Raptor]

I actually wouldn't mind breeding a few native species here and selling them to take the demand off of catching wild snakes. The main issue I see with raising reptiles for releasing is that they don't have the top notch hunting skills like the wilds and wouldn't know where the hibernation dens are.

[Jay_Bunny]

But how would a simple hobbyist go about trying to breed endangered species?

[Raptor]

Permits probably. For my state, you just need some sort of hunting license to own/sell native reptiles. For me, I'd probably just have to talk to the wild life department. The local game warden is pretty neat. My family has permission from him to transport injured wildlife, so I doubt it would be a stretch for me to get permission to breed endangered wildlife. As it stands, I want to eventually set up a rescue/rehabilitation center for reptiles.