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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,081,790 times
Reputation: 11862
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I even felt a tiny bit guilty for killing a cockroach, believe it or not (I usually don't, but this particular time I still felt a bit like a murderer)...nah in general I don't feel guilty killing cockroaches, mosquitos, flies, and very small insects - the first two because I have a 'reason' for it. I'd find it difficult to kill anything else though; even beetles, butterflies.etc.
Call me hypocritical (because I do eat meat, and cows and pigs are higher sentient beings) or too soft, but I still don't like the idea of killing things including the animals we eat even though it's a natural part of the ecosystem. In general I'm very sensitive to cruelty to animals etc but I'm still not ready to join PETA or something.
So I'd like to hear your opinions on the subject and if you feel like I do. Is the guilt over killing instincts an innate or conditioned response? I don't think primitive people feel guilty about hunting animals, but I feel that's a bit more justified than killing for no reason.
I don't think most people consider killing insects a great topic of debate, because it's so trivial (so many are just killed through walking on the ground) and often necessary for pest control (I've never really had insect or pest problems where I live, but I'm guessing encountering large bugs must be more common in other places).
I usually don't go out of my way to harm wild creatures if I don't need to. Although as a kid, like many young boys of that age, I did use to do cruel things to insects and kill them for fun. I also admit to doing things that I kind of felt guilty about that I don't do anymore, like throw rocks at ducks and squirrels.
The thing is though I actually very interested in observing wildlife, and right now I'm more likely to just watch and look at things if I'm bored.
There is nothing wrong to being sensitive to other life forms. Personally, I go out of my way not to kill spiders. I catch them if they are in the house and take them outside. And I just chase house centipedes away since they only eat insects (unless the cats get them first).
There are trillions of insects on earth, they make up part of the food chain, they are brainless. Remember PETA going nuts because Obama killed a fly? Priorities people!
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,081,790 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ishouldknow
There are trillions of insects on earth, they make up part of the food chain, they are brainless. Remember PETA going nuts because Obama killed a fly? Priorities people!
Yeah, killing insects doesn't keep me up at night, I guess it's more personalising them. Still I think killing any animal for fun/sport is wrong.
PETA does go too far. I was amused at their 'recipes for dog treats'...which were, believe it or not, all vegetarian. I wonder if PETA members even feed their dogs meat products? PETA seems to be pushing a vegan agenda; even milk is hideously unnatural and just totally wrong according to them!
Not true. Insects do have a central nervous system, albeit a less complex one than higher animals.
That's why scientific experiments often use fruit flies, as a simpler model for studying brain development, as well as in genetics. Some insects like bees and ants are capable of feats of memory and communication from and to their nest or hive.
That said, it doesn't mean that they necessarily can "suffer" the same way we do.
There is no line. We kill things every day just walking around. If theres a line its between killing for need or acidentally vs killing for malicious reasons to cause pain or suffering.
If something is alive, its alive, it doesn't want to die. we can sympathize with larger animals better & trivialize killing smaller things easier but I cant see how a human being has any more of a "right" to live than a bug does. We both just happened to be born as we were born.
I'm not trying to say we shouldn't kill anything, just that one person squashing an insect is no better than another killing an animal for sport. In most cases its worse if anything because most people killing for sport eat the meat or at the very least want something from the animal, even if its just to hang the head on the wall. We kill insects just because theyre there, thats got to be worse than killing an Elk to get it mounted.
If the person feels guilty then allow them to live..."go sell crazy some else." Even more, allow them to share your food and other items for human beings...like your toothbrush.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,081,790 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbub22
If the person feels guilty then allow them to live..."go sell crazy some else." Even more, allow them to share your food and other items for human beings...like your toothbrush.
Funny story, a few weeks ago I saw a cockcroach crawling on my toothbrush! There was no way I was every going to use that toothbrush again no matter what. That one was killed with a shampoo bottle .
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