I have trouble with hating animals that are just following their instincts - I
direct my anger towards the folk who dumped kittens or pups in the bush, let
their pets roam at night, or those who intentionally introduced pest species
We don't have to hate everything we need to ban or kill, and doing so can lead
to needless suffering
Some conservationist-minded people who would never dream of being cruel to most
animals do terrible things to cane toads as a kind of punishment for what they
do to our wildlife, but the toad is totally unaware of the problem, and their
ancestors never asked to come here any more than the convicts did - they should
be killed quickly and humanely just as any creature that needs dispatching. I
sympathise with one resident of the Adelaide Hills for wanting to kill the
foxes, but not for capturing one and then giving herself the satisfaction of
beating and strangling it.
Foxes are lovely, intelligent, sensitive animals, but it was idiotic to bring
them here (and what a stupid reason - for gentlemen to go hunting!), and
criminal to take them to Tassie more recently (now that we have no illusions as
to what their effect will be). They need to be exterminated wherever possible,
but do we have to actually hate them while doing so? Do we want our abattoirs
staffed by people who hate the cattle and sheep they're killing?
WIth cats and foxes, I tend to think of them in much the same way that
Frederick did of the Pirates of Penzance: "Individually I love you all with
affection unspeakable; but, collectively, I look upon you with a disgust that
amounts to absolute detestation."
I have not kept a cat for over 40 years now, although I used to be very fond of
pets I had way back then, but the on;y way I would keep them would be in
extensive enclosures we can't afford. I still keep dogs, but they are confined
to the garden by a high chain wire fence, sleep in the house at night, and know
very well they will be reprimanded for chasing anything living, and I have
deliberately not chosen terriers or hunting breeds when selecting new puppies
for the household.
Ronda Green, BSc(Hons) PhD
Araucaria Ecotours
http://www.learnaboutwildlife.com
ph 61 7 5544 1283
Visit us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AraucariaEcotours
Chair Wildlife Tourism Australia: http://wildlifetourism.org.au
Chair Scenic Rim Wildlife: http://scenicrim.wildlife.org.au/
Honorary research fellow Griffith University
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