Blasting transgressors of BSC

[John Grehan]

. But even among vertebrates, the ability to
>interbreed is often used as an excuse to lump species.
>----------------------------------------------------------------
>Curtis Clark

The role and significance of interbreeding and genetic statbility sometimes
lends itself to some bizarre manifestations. I have mentioned this before
I think, and my apologies to those who have already been exposed, but the
one example that I feel to be very good (and worth bringing up again for those
who have not heard about it) at illustrating the conceptual
landscape of species classification is that of the black robin and chatham
island
tit in New Zealand.

As a result o human-directed parenting by Chatham island tits,
several fostered black robins mated with tits producing hybrids. The action
undertaken by the conservation authorities was to execute the hybrids (in
the first case it was photgraphed then shot to bits - literally)  in
order to maintain the "genetic purity of the species.

This policy (actually the government treats it as a "non-policy as it has
not been
defined as a policy - classic government gobledegook) makes the philosophical
issues surrounding BRC and MRC definitions of species tangible in the most
intriguing way - more than intriguing when one appreciates that Nazi
philosophy
concerning identify and difference was similar if not identical, and Nazis
were
also "environmentalists"

John Grehan