[Tin Knocker]

Originally Posted by Angelic_Avalon

You know everything has a balance in nature

Yup, but we screw that ballance up beyond repair just by having what we call civilization. Thats why, no matter how much some folks hate it, we NEED to have a deer hunt. Because there is simply no other realistic way to keep them under control. Predators like cougars & wolves just wont work here & thats what nature uses to keep deer in check. But if theres enough of them around to make a difference then pets, livestock & even people will become dinner too. A big cat is an excellent predator. If you look at what the common housecat has done to our songbird population you might understand. Our house cats are cute & furry & totally invasive to north America. Google it & see what you find. They kill millions upon millions of birds every year and have had a drastic effect.
While its true cougars are native, the environment in CT no longer is. I'd imagine that a good predator like a mountain lion could clean up on deer here, for a few years before they started getting hard to find. But then what?
Nah, harsh as it may seem we really dont need big cats here.

[mikelizard860]

Originally Posted by Tin Knocker

Yup, but we screw that ballance up beyond repair just by having what we call civilization. Thats why, no matter how much some folks hate it, we NEED to have a deer hunt. Because there is simply no other realistic way to keep them under control. Predators like cougars & wolves just wont work here & thats what nature uses to keep deer in check. But if theres enough of them around to make a difference then pets, livestock & even people will become dinner too. A big cat is an excellent predator. If you look at what the common housecat has done to our songbird population you might understand. Our house cats are cute & furry & totally invasive to north America. Google it & see what you find. They kill millions upon millions of birds every year and have had a drastic effect.
While its true cougars are native, the environment in CT no longer is. I'd imagine that a good predator like a mountain lion could clean up on deer here, for a few years before they started getting hard to find. But then what?
Nah, harsh as it may seem we really dont need big cats here.

The balance idea that everything is constantly "balanced" is a bunch of nonsense and also cruel. Predators adapted to take advantage of and eat other organisms. Plain and simple. Herbivores adapted by breeding faster You DON'T need large predators in an ecosystem. There are plenty of places that exist that don't have large predators(galapogos islands, new zealand ect.)

Nothing natural hunts elephants for example, yet there is no overpopulation. Breeding rates of herbivores simply slow down to adapt to a lack of predation.(Over a VERY long time)

The balance right now is one of starvation followed by overpopulation in many natural environments. Sort of like the balance between snowshoe hares and lynx. Huge dips and rises in population.

I do agree with some of the other stuff you said.

[JayCT]

This thread has gone off topic and turned into a debate so I am closing it down. Thanks everyone who responded to it. JayCT, Moderator