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 platypuscorner@bigpond.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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