Should we need licenses for this hobby?

Zooid

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
My only problem with this is that it would insert government further into our lives and the money developed from
licensing would most likely be used to fund college scholarships for illegal aliens.

If the money used for licensing could be locked away and used for aquaculture research, that might be enough to
change my mind. But a government lockbox is a fantasy. Case in point; Social Security was supposed to be a lockbox
when it was first instituted. Then Congress saw money in that lockbox and quickly found the key. Now, it's full of IOU's.

I do think that mandatory courses would be worthwhile. Understanding the nitrate cycle is extremely important in this
hobby but there are still an overabundance of people who don't understand it trying to add fish and corals to a tank that is
a week old.

JMHO
 

othercents

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#3
I'm open to doing anything that would be required for me to do for our own kids. If they require me to have a license to have a child then I would gladly accept being licensed to own a fish, birds, reptiles, cat, dog, horse, house, car, garage, play-do, hair products, food, utensils, etc.

In reality the fish owner's misunderstanding is a failure on the fish sellers part. It would be easier, however more expensive to the buyers, to monitor the sellers and require seller to refuse sales to people who are not equipped to take care of their purchases.

David
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
my life is micromanaged enough. i am way against this. I'm ready for a new government but thats another story...
 

spstimie

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#5
othercents;111888 said:
In reality the fish owner's misunderstanding is a failure on the fish sellers part. It would be easier, however more expensive to the buyers, to monitor the sellers and require seller to refuse sales to people who are not equipped to take care of their purchases.
Not sure I agree with that. Is it the retailers responsibility to teach a car buyer to drive or a new RC helicopter hobbyist to fly. If you want to know something in life, it's really on you.

Denvercherub;111891 said:
my life is micromanaged enough. i am way against this. I'm ready for a new government but thats another story...
I agree about limiting Govt, but at the same time, I wish they would license people to keep bully breeds of dogs instead of banning them.
 

spstimie

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
Zooid;111884 said:
My only problem with this is that it would insert government further into our lives and the money developed from
licensing would most likely be used to fund college scholarships for illegal aliens.

If the money used for licensing could be locked away and used for aquaculture research, that might be enough to
change my mind. But a government lockbox is a fantasy. Case in point; Social Security was supposed to be a lockbox
when it was first instituted. Then Congress saw money in that lockbox and quickly found the key. Now, it's full of IOU's.

I do think that mandatory courses would be worthwhile. Understanding the nitrate cycle is extremely important in this
hobby but there are still an overabundance of people who don't understand it trying to add fish and corals to a tank that is
a week old.

JMHO
I was so angry when I found out all my snowmobiling fees went to pay for hiking trails!
 

othercents

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#7
This doesn't have to be a government license or even a license at all. If all the sellers got together and devised a set of training classes that were required to complete before purchasing from them then it would basically do the same thing. The easiest way to explain it would be through dog sales and the AKC. If the AKC required their AKC breeders to only sell AKC certified puppies to AKC certified owners and they also setup a class structure to take classes on basic puppy care, puppy training, and AKC breeds to become AKC certified owners, then you would have a system in place along with training that most owners would want. The hard part is policing the system. This is why we expect the government to handle the policing of these things. I'm just unsure that police coming to my house and confiscating my $3 gold fish in a fish bowl because I wasn't licensed was a good use of their time. The sellers really have to not sell to someone who hasn't taken the proper steps to guarantee success.

David
 

othercents

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
This doesn't have to be a government license or even a license at all. If all the sellers got together and devised a set of training classes that were required to complete before purchasing from them then it would basically do the same thing. The easiest way to explain it would be through dog sales and the AKC. If the AKC required their AKC breeders to only sell AKC certified puppies to AKC certified owners and they also setup a class structure to take classes on basic puppy care, puppy training, and AKC breeds to become AKC certified owners, then you would have a system in place along with training that most owners would want. The hard part is policing the system. This is why we expect the government to handle the policing of these things. I'm just unsure that police coming to my house and confiscating my $3 gold fish in a fish bowl because I wasn't licensed was a good use of their time. The sellers really have to not sell to someone who hasn't taken the proper steps to guarantee success.

David
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
spstimie;111895 said:
I agree about limiting Govt, but at the same time, I wish they would license people to keep bully breeds of dogs instead of banning them.
License doesn't stop a dog from mauling someone if it gets out. I believe that is the main concern.
 

othercents

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
spstimie;111895 said:
Not sure I agree with that. Is it the retailers responsibility to teach a car buyer to drive or a new RC helicopter hobbyist to fly. If you want to know something in life, it's really on you.
Yes car retailers should insure you are licensed to drive, but that is different because there is a license mechanism in place.

If I was outside and got injured by an RC helicopter the lawsuit would include the manufacturer and the retailer. More so the retailer for selling a dangerous weapon to someone ill equipped to use one which resulted in injury.

BTW. I didn't say the retailer should teach the buyer only that they should "refuse sales to people who are not equipped to take care of their purchases."

David
 

dv3

Beluga
M.A.S.C Club Member
#12
aww geez here we go again people put to much value in animals lives and not enough in humans
im all for saving the oceans but...
 

spstimie

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#13
Denvercherub;111899 said:
License doesn't stop a dog from mauling someone if it gets out. I believe that is the main concern.
But, ensuring the owner is responsible and knows how to keep the dog from getting out would help. I know Pits that wouldn't hurt a fly. It's the owner and not the animal.

othercents;111900 said:
Yes car retailers should insure you are licensed to drive, but that is different because there is a license mechanism in place.
If I was outside and got injured by an RC helicopter the lawsuit would include the manufacturer and the retailer. More so the retailer for selling a dangerous weapon to someone ill equipped to use one which resulted in injury.
BTW. I didn't say the retailer should teach the buyer only that they should "refuse sales to people who are not equipped to take care of their purchases."
David
There is the idea though. If you have been licensed and present that to a retailer, then they don't have to worry about selling you a car/fish.
Maybe mdrumm will jump in, but I am pretty sure you cannot sue a retailer or manufacturer for what an operator does. Are you going to sue GMC if someone hits you in a car.
What retailer is going to refuse to sell something unless it is required. None.

othercents;111901 said:
Can't you run your snowmobile down the hiking trails?
No. As a matter of fact Off road vehicles are prohibited in most of these areas and yet the fees pay for those trails. And any trails are covered in snow during snowmobile season.
 

Zooid

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
spstimie;111896 said:
I was so angry when I found out all my snowmobiling fees went to pay for hiking trails!
Exactly.
And the cigarette tax in California that should be used for smoking cessation or cancer research is used for medical care for the poor. I'm all for helping the poor, but taxing one group of people to benefit another group of people is far too socialistic for me.
 

spstimie

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#15
dv3;111902 said:
aww geez here we go again people put to much value in animals lives and not enough in humans
im all for saving the oceans but...
What is wrong with valuing all life Don?
 

ShelbyJK500

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#17
Being new to the hobby, in the last three months I believe I've hit every LFS in the Denver metro. As much as people have issues with Liquid Kingdom, Tom (the owner), required a water sample to test before beginning to sell a new customer fish. I was a bit taken back by this at first but realized very quickly this was a responsible thing for him to do. He also asked MANY questions in a "get to know you, your tank, and goals" before selling as well. I gained a good amount of respect for him and the store. I go to Elite three times as much, but I don't snub off Liquid for some of these very reasons. Just my quick .02
 

djkms

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#18
Threads like this are funny. Hobbyists have this holier than thou attitude. Do you REALLY have the animals well being at heart when its snagged out of the wild and you stick it in your 2 foot by 4 foot cell? Do you reallyl think your husbandry is better than mother natures? We can only hope to replicate a fraction of what mother nature provides for these animals. Sure, you can use the whole, its gonna live longer in my tank then it would in nature due to preditation, but guess what, that doesn't change the fact that you just jailed your fish/livestock for the remainder of its life.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of idiots in this world and I would venture to guess probably half of the people who care for fish probably have no business doing so but it happens. I think we should start testing humans and there should be qualifications that need to be met before we can have children. Way more idiots having children then keeping fish :)
 

othercents

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#19
spstimie;111905 said:
What retailer is going to refuse to sell something unless it is required. None.
Now you found the problem. A retailer will sell you anything dis-regardless to the fact that doing so could cause harm to yourself or someone else. If the seller could be responsible, or for live animals if it was required by law to refund the full amount of purchase in 30 days regardless if the buyer was responsible for the death, then I think sellers would be more proactive in what they sold and who they sold it to.

David
 

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#20
spstimie;111905 said:
But, ensuring the owner is responsible and knows how to keep the dog from getting out would help. I know Pits that wouldn't hurt a fly. It's the owner and not the animal.

Yes there are nice dogs and I agree it’s the owner in most cases. I’ve still seen pits that wouldn’t hurt a fly but then the neighbor dog walks by and it’s a devil dog. Ready to rip down whatever barrier to kill that dog. They are called aggressive breeds because the breed is aggressive by nature. You can train a Chihuahua to be a jerk but that’s not their nature, well most lol. Plus there are still those who would abuse the system… “I have a license so I can fight my dogs” or whatever. Easier to avoid all the variables and just ban them.

Sorry for the late reply I’m at work and check on breaks :)
 
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