Yes, it is. Of course they're more closely related. It only makes sense that the animals that are from the same continent as each other are much more closely related then animals from thousands of miles away across an ocean. But the various different species that are found on this continent are still considered different species from each other because they have evolved over time to fill different ecological niches and have different environmental needs and react in different ways (have differing personalities). None of which makes any difference at all because none of these animals will ever be re-released into the wild. They are captives and will always remain captives.Isn't the hybridization of North American colubrids, recently, what caused the New World Rat snakes to be renamed Pantherophis? They were found to be more closesly related to other North American colubrids, than their old world relatives?
My objection to hybrids is, and has always been, that in the future it will be IMPOSSIBLE to find pure bred stocks of certain species unless you go back and collect from the wild. The more hybrids that are created the more inevitable it will be that genes from a different species will creep into my breeding projects mucking up the expected outcome. It's one of the reasons that I don't have as many corn snakes as I used to. Hybridization has been happening with them for such a long time, that there is no way that I could ever guarantee that any of my stock really is 100% pure corn snake. Now I see the same thing happening with the pythons.
And yes Andrew, comparing hybridization between two different species and reproducing random mutations that occur within a species are two completely different things, I don't see how you could possibly think they are similar in any way.
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