Call to action
EU positive lists: Your offspring count
Most of you are probably familiar with the German Society for Herpetology and Terrarium Keeping (DGHT) e. V.’s commitment to various issues relating to species conservation and terrarium keeping. Recently, for example, it issued a position paper opposing the introduction of an EU-wide positive list for keeping pets. The latest DGHT newsletter (03/2025) summed it up aptly:
‘This would mean that most amphibian and reptile species would no longer be allowed to be kept by private individuals. So far, the DGHT, in association with zoos and the BNA (Federal Association for Professional Nature and Species Conservation), has been able to fend off such attempts, but it is becoming increasingly difficult.’
What does this have to do with our offspring?
The DGHT already keeps offspring statistics, which it uses as an argument against the introduction of such positive lists. This is because if enough animals are bred, it means that domestic breeding is successful and the species are not endangered in the wild as a result.
In the aforementioned information letter, it therefore once again called on all reptile and amphibian keepers to report their offspring for the statistics.
You can therefore actively contribute to protecting our right to keep pets by reporting your annual offspring (including those from this year):
To whom?
You can simply send your report at any time either directly to alina.bertram@sachkunde-vda-dght.de or to kassenwart@egsa.de (where the data is collected and passed on anonymously).
Anonymity is guaranteed in all cases!
What?
o All your offspring, not just Thamnophis
o Scientific name (genus/species/subspecies, if applicable)
o Year and country of breeding
o Number of mated parent animals (x.x)
o Number of successfully born/hatched young animals per mating
Thank you for your commitment. And because the text is rather boring, I am including a recent photo as compensation 😊