Many people accuse animal activists of concentrating on the "cute and fuzzy" animals, but those nay-sayers should talk to Matt first.

Matt Ellerbeck is a conservation educator and arachnoculturist who has an interest in scorpions.

For more information on scorpions, and the work that Matt's group does, visit the Scorpion Conservation 101 site .

Here is what Matt has to say on the subject:

Suffering Scorpions

Scorpions are among the world's most misunderstood and feared animals. This perception, compiled with the fact that invertbrates rarley recieve protection under laws from cruelty, abuse, or death, makes scorpions extremely vulnerable to human exploitation. According to author Manny Rubio's book 'Scorpions' (2008 Barron's Educational Series), humans kill millions of scorpions annually.

Scorpions are often used as 'props' in movies and TV shows. Here they may be subjected to any form of misuse and cruelty. A prime example is the 1996 film The Great White Hype, which contains a scene of two scorpions being run over and killed.

Scorpions are also used in various contests in which participants see how many live scorpions can be consumed in the shortest amount of time. Videos of these 'contests' have surfaced on many popular video-sharing websites. This has resulted in many copy-cat videos of people killing scorpions for shock value. These videos are harmful for various reasons. Not only do they show people killing scorpions for 'entertainment', but it also promotes to viewers that the killing of animals for attention is entertaining and justifiable. These contests and videos are just a prime example of the cruelty and exploitation that scorpions face from humans who generally view them as 'bugs' that do not deserve protection from such abuse.

The trade in live animals and animal products is also detrimental to scorpion populations. Scorpions are harvested from the wild at a staggering rate. They are collected for the pet trade, food markets or to be used in traditional medicines. Well over 100,000 Emperor Scorpions (Pandinus imperator) are moved annually from Africa to other parts of the world to supply demands for the pet trade. This represents only one species from one continent. Dozens of other species are highly sought after and these too are harvested in significant numbers from areas in North America, Africa, and Asia.

Vodka, containing dead scorpions, is a popular drink throughout the world and this market represents another sector in which scorpions are killed and exploitated for monetary value.

Scorpions on a stick is a popular food item for sale in many Asian markets. The most disturbing aspect of this is that the scorpions are left alive after they have been staked.

Scorpions are also captured from the wild and then killed so that they can be made into various trinkets and souvenirs to supply tourist markets. The extensive exploitation of scorpions is a tremendous problem that is certainly causing a huge stress on natural populations.

Scorpions are not even safe within the confides of their natural habitats as humans are rapidly destroying them. Habitat loss and habitat destruction are extremely significant issues for scorpions as many species are habitat specific and have well defined natural ranges. The most scorpion rich environments on the earth are the deserts and the rainforests, and both of these areas are particularly sensitive to habitat destruction. Natural regions within these habitats are quickly destroyed due to logging, agriculture, and developmental construction. Natural habitats of all kinds are being lost at an alarming rate. Scorpions are literally losing their homes and they are losing them rapidly.

Remaining natural habitats are often degraded and fragmented. Fragmentation occurs when healthy areas of habitat are isolated from one another. Scorpion populations are affected since gene flow between populations is prevented. Habitat degradation occurs when the natural habitat has been altered and degraded to such a degree that it is unlikely that any remaining scorpions will be able to survive.

According to Sissom and Hendrixson (2005) scorpions are certainly not the 'warm fuzzy' animals that the average person finds so appealing, and it is doubtful that the lay community will ever be much concerned about their conservation. Despite this, some scorpion species may eventually be threatened with extinction due to habitat destruction.

Scorpions are not usually aggressive creatures, but rather wary, timid, and retiring. They prefer to avoid confrontation by remaining cryptic or hidden. These animals are also not malicious creatures that stalk out humans to sting and deliberately harm. Sadly, though, the same can not be said about humans, as people seriously harm scorpions in a number of ways. Through time and education, one can only hope that people will eventually learn to respect and offer compassion and kindness to the many wonderful animals on this planet, even the misunderstood ones.