Taboo against purchasing a bufo alvarius as a means of obtaining 5-meo-dmt

[gurudedicationananda]

Hi,

I just wanted to mention here that I am an enthusiast of all animals, especially amphibians.

When I first learned that a certain species of toad produced copious amounts of 5-meo-dmt in it's venom, I was naturally enthralled and excited, being also very interested in entheogens.

I thought long and hard about purchasing a colorado river toad, not just for the reason that it's venom contains 5-meo-dmt, but I wanted to keep it as a life-long pet.

After thinking deeply about this, I realized a few things.

One is that I would be doing the toad a great disservice by taking it out of its native habitat and raising it in an unfamiliar, unnatural, and artificial environment.

Another thing is that I would be indirectly contributing to the removal of these endangered toads from their natural habitat.

On top of all that, I would be stressing it into releasing its life-force just so that I could have an entheogenic experience; not to mention allowing it to suffer in the mail when being delivered to my address.

Even if I did not milk it, I'm sure that the toad would not be happy living in a small glass box in a bedroom in someone's house.

So what it comes down to, for me, is that experiencing 5-meo-dmt at the expense of an animal's happiness and health is certainly not a good thing.

I decided that if I do get the chance to experience this amazing entheogen, it will be in the form of the laboratory-synthesized molecule.

Thanks for reading.

[Xzen]

There are many voices expressing these concerns, as popularity & demand for the humble toad rises exponentially & dramatically.

Intention to fund the long term study of bufo alvarius & environment, for the sake of longevity & sustainablity, has been mentioned by numerous groups, however to date I am unaware of any significant official studies taking place.

It is early days in the cultural movement of 5, & I pray we have the foresight to learn from past mistakes .. a clear example being the sometimes harmful impact we have had on the trade of ayahuasca & related plants, as well as the environment & culture that is entwined with this sacrament.

Our impact on the toad & its environment remains unknown, & as such I implore caution. Milking, trade, consumption & captivity will all have effect. How significant this will be remains to be seen .. however we do know that amphibians are extremely sensitive & that a single disease spread from man's hand, in the wild, may seriously harm the population of a region.

Do we choose to leave a legacy of compassion, intelligence & co-operation .. or as history shows, will we continue to stumble blindly .. moved by greed & self interests?

Thank you for acting considerately & compassionately, gurudedicationananda.

[Handshake]

There are many voices expressing these concerns, as popularity & demand for the humble toad rises exponentially & dramatically.

Intention to fund the long term study of bufo alvarius & environment, for the sake of longevity & sustainablity, has been mentioned by numerous groups, however to date I am unaware of any significant official studies taking place.

It is early days in the cultural movement of 5, & I pray we have the foresight to learn from past mistakes .. a clear example being the sometimes harmful impact we have had on the trade of ayahuasca & related plants, as well as the environment & culture that is entwined with this sacrament.

Our impact on the toad & its environment remains unknown, & as such I implore caution. Milking, trade, consumption & captivity will all have effect. How significant this will be remains to be seen .. however we do know that amphibians are extremely sensitive & that a single disease spread from man's hand, in the wild, may seriously harm the population of a region.

Do we choose to leave a legacy of compassion, intelligence & co-operation .. or as history shows, will we continue to stumble blindly .. moved by greed & self interests?

Thank you for acting considerately & compassionately, gurudedicationananda.

As of right now, the only way to truly prevent this kind of nature-rape is to use synthetically produced 5-MeO-DMT. It works the same as the venom.

[gurudedicationananda]

Thanks for your replies, Xzen and Humblevoyager.
Yes, this is exactly why I obtained the synthetic form of 5-meo-dmt, produced in a laboratory, instead of purchasing a toad and extracting its venom.
I've had it for quite some time now, but am still a little hesitant to try it; I'm afraid of what it might do to me.
And yet, I've spent a very long time trying to procure synthetic 5-meo-dmt, and even longer researching it.
But now that I have it, I'm not even sure that I still want to try it.
I think that I will purchase those polypropylene lab-grade micro spoons before I actually try the 5-meo-dmt, so that I can accurately measure out a dose, as opposed to trying to eyeball a dose.
It's HCL, so it's slightly weaker than freebase, which means that I will probably start with only 10 milligrams.
I've read that it can be very uncomfortable in lower doses, so I want to dose it properly, without overdoing it.
Thanks for reading.

[Migaloo]

Is buying Toads and breeding them in captivity helpful?

Some people think that buying a Toad and keeping it in captivity and release baby toads back into the wild may help the species. I would like to express my opinion here and also start a discussion about this issue and see what are the best options to support Bufo Alvarius’s sustainability/survival in this changing world.
In my opinion breeding programs are not needed yet as there are still lots of them. They are not like the black rhino with less than a hundred breeding pairs. Rather than breeding I feel is the best strategy is proper management of their environment and the predators e.g. humans. I would like to also suggest strongly that no one buys Bufo Alvarius toads from the internet, pet stores, friends or anyone, as this has the potential to contribute to poaching and the continued decimation and possible extinction of this species. It appears the toad population is more than halving every year due impart to sales and toads being taken out and away from their natural environment. Buying live toads supports poaching which often ends with the toads dying in captivity or in transit not to mention the suffering caused to the toad while in transit and due to a life of captivity. I  heard a story of thousands of toads dying in a hot truck that broke down near the mexican border.
Im curios to hear if there have been successful experiences of releasing captive bred tadpoles or small toads back into the wild or if it is a bit more complicated than that. Also people need to consider the effect of keeping an animal such as the light baring toad in captivity, under lights and away from its natural free life and what effect this may have on the medicine. Dolphinariums come to mind.  I feel they need to submerge into the earth for 10 months then come out and eat spiders and bathe under the moon and stars, not flouro lights and a glass cage 24/7. I have heard said that if it was cheaper to buy a live toad online than it was to get a poached one, why is that not reasonable? My question, Who is verifying if the toad is bred in captivity or it is a poached one? And if dolphins are breed in captivity is it therefore ok to use them for human entertainment?  I get upset when I see animals of any kind locked up in captivity for human entertainment. I would suggest to anyone who has toads in captivity and your unsure whether the toads are happy, then ask them before going on a journey if they are happy being in a glass cage or would prefer jumping around free in the desert and then see what comes in. If they say I wanna be free then there maybe a location in the wild you can take them and someone who maybe able to rehabilitate them to living and eating in the desert. If it works with Dolphins Im confident it could work with Toads.
I am aware of some Toad ranches that have been set up in Mexico, all with different running and set up models and some for motives other than conservation. Im curious to hear about a good model that works for the toad. The only way I could see a ranch being ok for the toad is if their are no walls or fences around it and the toads are free to come and go as they please.  The reason why they may choose to stay or breed there is that the ranch has duplicated as close a possible its natural environment and they like it. Possibly a free to roam ranch set up by an indigenous group on their land or by a not for profit foundation may be a structure that could work. It seems that it is very difficult to breed Bufo Alvarius in captivity due in part to the difficulties in imitating their natural habitat and climatic needs. I see some [/size]limited success with vets or at least very experience Amphibian carers that know how to access and intravenously administer breeding hormones. There are many other issues involved to breed and raise a healthy toad and then there is the question on what an artificial environment will do to the medicine. There is also the ethical question of keeping this divine creature locked up for our entertainment. All in all I would [/size]suggest that if your motive is to look after the toad and ensure their survival there are much more efficient ways to do that than an enclosed captive breeding program. So I stay with my original statement that... In my opinion breeding programs are not needed.