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If we had a surplus of five million unwanted professional athletes, being maintained at public expense, then, yes, eliminating professional sports might be worth considering. But that is not the case.
If you think these animals ought to be kepe alive, then drive down to the pound and fill your car with them and take them home and feed them. Don't ask me to support them. I don't want them, and I did nothing to create the problem.
The public is paying millions to subsidize professional sports. When I was a resident of Oakland I really resented having my tax dollars go to Al Davis and the Raiders:
As a matter of fact I do. Since retiring 3.5 years ago I have adopted 5 old dog from various pounds, paid for their premium food, vet bills, meds, etc. I have also fostered in excess of 60 dogs, you can see some of them on one of my albums along with two foster horses who will probably be with me for life.
I purchased a Suburban so that I could help transport dogs from high kill shelters to rescues or adopters and have driven about 10,000 miles doing so. I have also used it to transport 20 or so feral cats to the monthly free spay/neuter clinic in Roanoke which I helped start.
I have purchased thousands of dollars of equipment and supplies for the local Humane Society - dog runs, houses, crates, vaccines, food, hay and grain for the horses along with visits from the farrier and vet.
This afternoon I will head in to town because it is the first Friday of an even numbered month which means that the Blood Bank is here and I will be donating as I do each time they come.
I'm not asking for you to help solve the problem in any way, just move out of the way of those who do believe in contributing to the lives of animals and humans in our communities. Stop bad mouthing people who do care.
It is widely accepted that 9.6 million animals are euthanized each year at animal shelters. This is a big number but down from the 70's. In a perfect world all pet owners would be responsibe, spay or neuter, etc. Being this is not the case, is euthanasia a neccesary means to control the unwanted dog and cat population? If euthanasia for non medical reasons was outlawed could we house all these animals? Is shelter euthanasia any more or less justifiable than thinning herds of deer who's population far exceeds their food source?
Discuss.
A number of no-kill shelters have become over-crowded and also have pets in them that are quite sick and should be put down. One near me had some disease outbreaks, the humane society had to come in an put almost all the animals down.
It's a noble idea that is just not workable and is the result of people with big hearts that are detached from the actual workings of the natural world.
Hey, I just saw a fox in my neighborhood last night...almost completely bald from mange (I suspect). It won't live through the fall let alone the winter...it's going to die from exposure. In the meantime it will probably eat several of my neighbors cats....life is brutal.
Many people do. I dont recall anyone suggesting you created the problem or you should get a pet or you are responsible in anyway for helping the cause.
There is a continuous campaign going on in our culture to encourage people to get a pet. Dick and Jane had a pet dog, Spot, to fill out what was presented to first graders as the perfect American family. The Disney corporation inundated us with movies and TV shows, shamelessly claiming that nobody can be happy, or even safe, without a pet dog. Read this: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/featur...our_health.php
and tell me again that nobody has suggested that I should get a pet.
Pet support groups are constantly reminding us how important it is for people to have pets, especially the elderly and shutins. Every effort has been made by the pet lobby to get through to me and convince me that if I don't have one of those cute and heart-warming puppies, there is something pathologically wrong with me.
If the pet lobby really cares about the surplus of unwanted animals, they would do exactly the opposite. There would try to convince people that they ought NOT have a pet, unless they are emotionally dependent on such a relationship, and fully prepared to assume all the responsibilities of properly caring for the pet. Instead of campaigns designed to make people want to fill their lives with puppies, heedless of the fact that they will grow up to be just plain old dogs.
From 1954 through 1974, there were 530 episodes of Lassie on TV, and at least one member of my family probably saw every single one of then. There was not one second of screen time in the entire series, in which there was a negative portrayal of pet ownership and the responsibilities associated with pet ownership. The entire series was an unabashed campaign to convince the naive children and their parents that every boy must own a dog. no matter how cruel or heartless or irresponsible that boy might grow up to be. Now you see the results in the kill shelters. Not pretty. Stop this insane effort to make people believe that every healthy and wholesome family must have a pet.
The public is paying millions to subsidize professional sports. When I was a resident of Oakland I really resented having my tax dollars go to Al Davis and the Raiders:
As a matter of fact I do. Since retiring 3.5 years ago I have adopted 5 old dog from various pounds, paid for their premium food, vet bills, meds, etc. I have also fostered in excess of 60 dogs, you can see some of them on one of my albums along with two foster horses who will probably be with me for life.
I purchased a Suburban so that I could help transport dogs from high kill shelters to rescues or adopters and have driven about 10,000 miles doing so. I have also used it to transport 20 or so feral cats to the monthly free spay/neuter clinic in Roanoke which I helped start.
I have purchased thousands of dollars of equipment and supplies for the local Humane Society - dog runs, houses, crates, vaccines, food, hay and grain for the horses along with visits from the farrier and vet.
This afternoon I will head in to town because it is the first Friday of an even numbered month which means that the Blood Bank is here and I will be donating as I do each time they come.
I'm not asking for you to help solve the problem in any way, just move out of the way of those who do believe in contributing to the lives of animals and humans in our communities. Stop bad mouthing people who do care.
You RELEASE these feral cats back into the wild?
Well the native bird populations, plauged by feral cats...a terrible invasive species...aren't going to be too happy about that.
Just pointing out how complicated the issue is and that the morality of the situation is quite grey and depends on your viewpoint. Personally, I think feral AND roaming cats should be exterminated for the benefit of many hard pressed native species.
There is a continuous campaign going on in our culture to encourage people to get a pet. Dick and Jane had a pet dog, Spot, to fill out what was presented to first graders as the perfect American family. The Disney corporation inundated us with movies and TV shows, shamelessly claiming that nobody can be happy, or even safe, without a pet dog.
Come on, kids books and movies are now a conspiracy to encourage intelligent adults to go out a buy a pet? Generally kids naturally like animals, Disney and childrens book target kids = stories about animals. Unfortunately there are not so bright parents the over indulge their children but that hardly equates to some great conspiracy.
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Pet support groups are constantly reminding us how important it is for people to have pets, especially the elderly and shutins. Every effort has been made by the pet lobby to get through to me and convince me that if I don't have one of those cute and heart-warming puppies, there is something pathologically wrong with me.
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What I see is a push for people to find homes for (rescue) abandoned unwanted pets. I dont see what is wrong with that. Surly people arent so weak minded that they feel coerced into getting a dog if they dont want one.
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If the pet lobby really cares about the surplus of unwanted animals, they would do exactly the opposite. There would try to convince people that they ought NOT have a pet, unless they are emotionally dependent on such a relationship, and fully prepared to assume all the responsibilities of properly caring for the pet. Instead of campaigns designed to make people want to fill their lives with puppies, heedless of the fact that they will grow up to be just plain old dogs.
I get your point, but I really dont think that would stop the problem of over breeding. Those people would still be breeding or allowing their pets to bread regardless if there were a coerced market out there. It would just mean more pets die.
Generally kids naturally like animals, Disney and childrens book target kids = stories about animals.
]I get your point, but I really dont think that would stop the problem of over breeding.]
Kids like cute animals with big eyes (google "neoteny".) . When animals grow out of cuteness, they land on the doorstep of kill shelters. You're letting kids control your universe, and now you have a mess to clean up. Remember, also, that kids like to torture animals, especially insects and spiders, and then up to frogs, and then larger invertibrates, and mammals, and even Muslims. Kids who like animals grow up to be ivory poachers and seal hunters.
Nothing ever stops a problem. But by shifting the line through the gray area, you can minimize a problem and make it manageable.
Kids like cute animals. When animals grow out of cuteness, they land on the doorstep of kill shelters. You're letting kids control your universe, and now you have a mess to clean up. Remember, also, that kids like to torture animals, especially insects and spiders, and then up to frogs, and then larger invertibrates, and mammals, and even Muslims. Kids who like animals grow up to be ivory poachers and seal hunters.
Nothing ever stops a problem. But by shifting the line through the gray area, you can minimize a problem and make it manageable.
This was a bizarre tangential rant (one of your better ones).....but it made me laugh so I'm just going to go with the flow on this one.
You RELEASE these feral cats back into the wild?
Well the native bird populations, plauged by feral cats...a terrible invasive species...aren't going to be too happy about that.
Just pointing out how complicated the issue is and that the morality of the situation is quite grey and depends on your viewpoint. Personally, I think feral AND roaming cats should be exterminated for the benefit of many hard pressed native species.
The cats that we work with come from colonies that are already being maintained - fed and sometimes sheltered - by people in the community and the cats are returned to them. With food regularly available that hopefully cuts down the hunting they do. I know it doesn't eliminate it, when my cat occasionally goes out she loves to catch mice, bring them in the house alive and let them go. When we catch young ones we can move them from feral life and get them adopted out. When you stabilize the size of the colony by spay/neuter its numbers eventually dwindle with time. It has been showed time and again that exterminating them simply does not work. Getting the existing ones neutered and vaccinated and getting the general public to not dump unwanted, unneutered cats and kittens is really the best answer.
I think that habitat destruction by humans has a far greater impact on not just birds but all wild creatures.
Kids like cute animals with big eyes (google "neoteny".) . When animals grow out of cuteness, they land on the doorstep of kill shelters. You're letting kids control your universe, and now you have a mess to clean up. Remember, also, that kids like to torture animals, especially insects and spiders, and then up to frogs, and then larger invertibrates, and mammals, and even Muslims. Kids who like animals grow up to be ivory poachers and seal hunters.
Well then obviousley KIDS are the problem. If we all stop having children there will be no need for kill shelters. Problem solved.
Feral cats seldom survive in non-urban environments. In cities, they do OK, and have very limited impact on bird populations, since they can only affect bird species that are tolerant of human activity. Those species are wonderfully adaptive to adverse conditions, including feral cats.
Urban feral cats terrorize only a tiny part of the continent, and the overall bird populations can sustain. Wilderness feral cats are not numerous enough to be a problem to wildlife.
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When we catch young ones we can move them from feral life and get them adopted out. When you stabilize the size of the colony by spay/neuter its numbers eventually dwindle with time. It has been showed time and again that exterminating them simply does not work. Getting the existing ones neutered and vaccinated and getting the general public to not dump unwanted, unneutered cats and kittens is really the best answer.
