rights

[Stitched]

Well the number of Buddhists in the world is estimated to be between a quarter - half a billion, and that was exactly what their big dude told them they ought to do.

Hix: If by flesh you mean muscle, sure. But certain parts of the body will very likely make you ill, and there are usually taboos about eating those parts. Livers and brains come to mind. Nobody likes Kuru!

Haggis anyone?

 

[Sdaji]

In my mind, ability to experience suffering increases with intelligence.

i dissagree with that entirly unless you mean they less intelligent the animal the less understanding it has of the pain. but i personaly believe if you rip off a crickets leg it will feel the same amount of pain a cat would if u did that same thing the cat however would have a greater understanding of the pain. but to scale they would probably fell the same amount of pain. the nerves still fire, sending messages to the brain telling it the animal is wounded.

So taking antibiotics is as bad as torturing a few million monkeys to death? Crop dusting is as bad as poisoning every last person in a whole continent? Why should we bother trying to talk people out of mistreating their pet cats and dogs? If we're lucky we might help a few animals here and there. If we step out into the garden we can probably save a few thousand insects.

I don't think any animal wants to be eaten, cris No animal is 'supposed' to be our food, but I suppose you could say we are 'supposed' to eat some of them. In any case, all mammals are pretty much as nutritious as each other, all birds are pretty much the same as the mammals (relatively speaking), fish are a little different, but most are reasonably similar to each other. Invertebrates vary heaps.

When it comes to animals, my philosophy is "Get in my belly!"

 

[Kathryn_]

Haggis anyone?

No kidding! I've always wondered if you could really mess yourself up with enough pate. Apparently not, the French haven't dropped dead yet. Though apparently polar bear liver will kill you rather quickly due to the vitamin A content.

 

[Sdaji]

Hix: If by flesh you mean muscle, sure. But certain parts of the body will very likely make you ill, and there are usually taboos about eating those parts. Livers and brains come to mind. Nobody likes Kuru!

You can eat human liver if you want to. Eating human brain is usually safe. Prion diseases like kuru can be caught from animals too. I stopped eating brain after learning about prions, even though I'd never eaten human brain and probably never would have even if prions didn't exist.

 

[Kathryn_]

Good call. I doubt I'd ever have tried brains anyway but damned if I ever will now. Thank goodness BSE got someone else first so we got the legislation without the dead-folk and carcass burnings.

So taking antibiotics is as bad as torturing a few million monkeys to death

And, try again *evil grin* You've got over a hundred billion bacteria per gram of dental plaque. Enjoy your next toothbrushing session

...You know, I just never get tired of telling people that. Ten times more bugs per gram in your mouth than in your colon. Just, think about it. God I hope no one here as OCD, I'd just have ruined their lives. That said, who actually has a gram of plaque? Eeeeugh.

 

[Sdaji]

What's with the evil grin? Are you even more of a pedant than I am? That'd be impressive.

 

[Hickson]

Hix: If by flesh you mean muscle, sure. But certain parts of the body will very likely make you ill, and there are usually taboos about eating those parts. Livers and brains come to mind. Nobody likes Kuru!

My point was to refute hooglabah's unfounded assertions that "human flesh is inedible its only things like the eyes and brain your body wont reject. ".



Hix

 

[cris]

If we step out into the garden we can probably save a few thousand insects.

That would depend on how many lizards you step on.

When it comes to animals, my philosophy is "Get in my belly!"

Brilliant work, you are quite the philosopher

 

[DDALDD]

To some people, the idea of all animal life being equal is appealing. I don't many people who actually live it though. And we are the only species to consider it as an option, I don't think many lions hang around the waterhole discussing the necessity of killing a zebra that day due to feelings of guilt over ending the another life.

 

[cris]

To some people, the idea of all animal life being equal is appealing. I don't many people who actually live it though. And we are the only species to consider it as an option, I don't think many lions hang around the waterhole discussing the necessity of killing a zebra that day due to feelings of guilt over ending the another life.

This isnt really true some other animals can descriminate which species or individuals they eat, just as a human is unlikely to want to kill their pet dog there dog is unlikely to want to kill them. I dont really think its normal for any animal to feel guilty about killing its food, but humans are not the only animals that will choose not to kill particular animals.

 

[DDALDD]

Absolutely, we are the only ones that can choose and the only ones who will cite moral reasons for not taking a life. The animals that do choose which animals to kill are not choosing out of moral conduct.

However, I don't think that Hooglabah meant to include humans in 'animals' so I'm off topic anyway.

 

[channi]

Could you explain the whole tooth thing? Also what are the nutrients that dogs and cats lack that rodents have?

The tooth thing I was refering to is all primary carnivores have eye or k9 teeth for shreding meat. It is the big fang that dogs and cats have and the third tooth to the front of your mouth. I personally would not, unless starving eat any animal with this tooth and yes that includes pig.
As for rodents being more nutritious, I have no proof of this I assume because the diet is more varied that they have more nutrients, kinda like gut loading crickets.

 

[albino]

Where does it say feeding cats and dogs is illegal? I wouldn't have a problem feeding a humanley killed puppy or cat to a snake.

see there's the flaw with the question, it makes the assumption that it is illegal, when i would suggest it's not. kangaroos, horses, donkeys, camels etc are all culled and end up as pet food, rabbits, too can be shot and eaten, or become pet food, there is no law that says if you shoot a wild dog or feral cat that you can't use it.

qualfying that, it probably is illegal in some red-neck county in southern texas, and i'll get suspended again for "encouraging illegal behaviour" by Garth.

 

[Kathryn_]

Absolutely, we are the only ones that can choose and the only ones who will cite moral reasons for not taking a life. The animals that do choose which animals to kill are not choosing out of moral conduct.
.

I'm actually not sure about this. What are morals except a recognition that it's desirable to avoid causing others suffering? Many, many animals communicate to members of their own species when they're in pain, mammals particularly but also birds and cephalopods. Those that they're communicating to understand that - they can conceptualise pain in others. Some species kill, rape and maim their own in spite of that, including infants, sometimes just for increased reproductive success, not even over food or any basic need. I think that's pretty close to a moral choice. I also think its very similar to human behavior.

 

[sej66]

I'd like to feed paedophiles to snakes - alive!

 

[channi]

I'd like to feed paedophiles to snakes - alive!

bah hahaha seconded

 

[Chris1]

i'm a bit pathetic, i even get up in the middle of the night if i've forgotten to feed the feeder worms or roaches,..for a while i was watching the roaches social behaviour alot but had to stop cos i started liking them and couldnt feed them to the dragons anymore.

i think its a complete waste that all the kittens that are put down every year cos of irresponsible cat owners arent frozen and sold as snake food.

 

[gillsy]

It's not illegal, and you can kill cats and dogs without poisons.

It's perfectly legal to eat cats and dogs if you do it all humanely.

agreed.

 

[DDALDD]

I'm actually not sure about this. What are morals except a recognition that it's desirable to avoid causing others suffering? Many, many animals communicate to members of their own species when they're in pain, mammals particularly but also birds and cephalopods. Those that they're communicating to understand that - they can conceptualise pain in others. Some species kill, rape and maim their own in spite of that, including infants, sometimes just for increased reproductive success, not even over food or any basic need. I think that's pretty close to a moral choice. I also think its very similar to human behavior.

I was aware that some animals do that, however, would you say that predators make any moral choices about their prey? My (admittedly basic) understanding was that animals are amoral. I'd also agree though, that often we find that human behaviour is very similar to animals.

 

[DDALDD]

I'd like to feed paedophiles to snakes - alive!

Disgusting and repulsive though they are, would you really watch that?