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Sixth Year - Lesson 1

Today's topic is breeding. While many magical creatures are left to their own devices and reproduce in the wild, others are bred in captivity. Some are bred to protect the species from extinction. Some are bred to provide magical components. Still others are bred to sell on the black market. And a very few are bred in an attempt to create new species.

The Golden Snidget is an example of a creature bred to help prevent extinction. Nearly hunted to extinction, Snidgets are kept in sanctuaries and magical Golden Snitches have replaced Snidgets in Quidditch. Still, some wizards feel there are too few of these, and other, endangered creatures. So they actively try to breed the creatures. Some if it is done through proximity, making sure a male and female are kept together, much as humans do with giant pandas. A few wizards have experimented with magical insemination, though this has not been as successful. Part of the problem is that wizard biologists have not been very successful at figuring out how some species actually reproduce.

Magical components may be made from magical creatures. A profitable, if not particularly enjoyable, enterprise involves breeding a number of flobberworms. Flobberworm slime is used as a potion thickener, so a larger volume of flobberworms means more slime to sell. Similarly, there are a few wizards who breed ashwinders simply to acquire the eggs to create love potions. Breeding for profit is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Those wishing breeding licenses must agree to follow various regulations, including limiting of harm to the creatures. It will be admitted that they Department isn't quite sure what would constitute harm to flobberworms, except perhaps stepping on them.

Breeding for black market is not controlled by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. In fact, should the Department discover such a breeding program, it will be shut down, with the offending wizards tried and, if convicted, sent to Azkaban. Despite the risks, black market breeding can be exceedingly profitable, and so it continues. One such breeding is the dangerous breeding of dragons to sell the eggs. Dragon eggs are highly sought after, both by dragon lovers, and those seeking powerful spell components. Unfortunately, black market breeding is often detrimental to the animals. As the breeders are seeking
only high, risk-filled profit, they often treat the animals badly, without feeding properly, giving them enough space, and so on. Worse, there are creatures bred for their pelts only, pelts that cannot be gathered while the creature lives.

Lastly, there are those who breed creatures to create new creatures. This is highly illegal, but there are those who cannot resist the temptation to create a new species. It is rumored that this is how the blast-ended screwt came into being. The real danger to such meddling is that the creature may not be controllable. One would shudder to imagine the product of an ashwinder and an acromantula, magically created.

Sixth Year - Assignment 1

Direct your answers to your professor at comc@starpaw.com.  Clicking on this link will fill in year and assignment number.

All answers must be in your own words.  

Remember, making your answers interesting and/or amusing may result in bonus points at the end of the term.

1.  What are the four reasons for why wizards breed magical creatures?

2.  Can you think of any other reasons a wizard would breed magical creatures?

3.  For what reason would you breed magical creatures?

4. Should magical creature breeding be completely outlawed?  Why or why not?

What is your name and House?