Not everyone is keen on the idea of selling native species.
"We're talking about endangered native species, not pets or farm animals. We have a duty to protect them and their habitat, certainly, as they're part of our national identity. To move beyond that into breeding and selling wildlife like kakapo, kiwi or tuatara on a commercial market is not something I believe New Zealanders would accept."
• A Department of Conservation spokesman: "Doc [the Department of Conservation] is firmly opposed to the commercial trade of endangered wildlife. We are fully committed to ensuring threatened species like Otago's jewelled gecko thrive in the wild - not in some unnatural breeding cages for sale.
"The real value to New Zealand from species like gecko or kiwi lies in protecting the very places they need to survive. It is these unique environments that underpin our economy, either by providing the landscapes our tourism industry is based on or the fresh water and clean soils that New Zealand's agricultural sector trades on.
"A healthy wild gecko population equals a healthy environment, and that means a healthier economy as well."
• Independent herpetologist Dr Marieke Lettink: "I have no doubt that the men who have appeared before the courts to date [on charges related to the smuggling of jewelled gecko] represent only the tip of the iceberg. In my opinion, their sentences were far too short and any fine too small.
"Some of the jewelled geckos seized last year and released back into the wild have since been poached again and sold on the internet.
"It has been suggested that one means of solving this problem would be for New Zealand captive breeders to farm [breed up] and export whatever species is in demand in order to saturate the black market.
"This would supposedly decrease harvesting pressure on wild populations by reducing the value of the species in question. Certainly, this appears to have worked for some New Caledonian gecko species, but only after large numbers were taken from the wild.
"So, should New Zealand captive breeders and herpetologists buy into the gecko-farming argument? I strongly believe not and here are my reasons.
1. "New Zealand species are slow-growing and have low reproductive rates, making this strategy less viable than for commercially-available, egg-laying species, some of which are highly fecund and reach maturity within one year.
"For example, the crested gecko Rhacodactylus ciliatus from New Caledonia can lay up to nine clutches [two eggs each] per year in captivity and attains maturity in as little as 10 months."
2. "It would undoubtedly put wild populations at huge risk and stimulate further illegal collection simply because there are not enough animals in existing collections to satisfy the demand.
"For example ... there are only eight West Coast green geckos held by one breeder and no harlequin geckos in any collection."
3. "I fail to see why we should cater to the arrogant demands of people who must have our species and are willing to go to any lengths to acquire them."
4. "My personal belief is that lizards belong in the wild and should stay there. Keeping lizards is a privilege and not a right."
"Jewelled geckos are slow-breeding. Gerrard Eckhoff's suggestion that you could double or triple the population of jewelled geckos in a year is not possible. Jewelled geckos also take three years to reach maturity and some other New Zealand geckos take much longer than this to reach maturity and only produce offspring every second year.
"Jewelled geckos have been held in captivity by licensed, experienced New Zealand herpetologists and there has been very poor success at getting them to breed in captivity.
"Collecting geckos from wild populations to breed in captivity is illegal without a permit from Doc, and over-collection of animals for this purpose would put the remaining wild populations in danger of extinction.
"If jewelled geckos become common in captivity, the poachers will probably target other species because the value of jewelled gecko would be expected to decline. The rarer an animal is on the black market, the higher the price it commands and therefore the problem will merely shift to another species.
"There are about 100 species of geckos and skinks in New Zealand which are all potentially at risk.
"Authorities such as Doc would have no control over how well the animals are treated in captivity by private owners once the animals are sold. Some owners may not know how to look after the geckos properly and therefore instances of animal cruelty could increase substantially.
"I think that everyone should be doing what is best for the conservation and welfare of the jewelled geckos and should not exploit them to make money."
