feeding cats to snakes

[Scleropages]

G'day guys,

I was halfway through typing a post, correcting mistakes and myths that people have made in this thread. It was growing to be quite a large post, so I scrapped it and decided I wouldsummarise a few things.

1 - People do not feed knobtail geckoes/blue tongues etc to our animals because they are native, they are protected, they do not cause any unnatural destruction to wildlife populations, they are expensive, they offer no benefits over rodent/mammalian prey, and finally - it's illegal!

2 - To those people trying to downplay the negative effects of feral cats in Australia, please take the time to research some facts, rather than relying on presumptions and emotion. It is estimated that two and seven BILLION native animals are killed each year by feral cats, and that is a very conservative estimate. Also, that estimate is just feral cats, it doesn't include the moggy down the road with the bell around its neck and the naive owners who swear their cat doesn't hunt. ALL cats hunt, regardless of age/size/breed/training, it is instinct. They are, if I remember correctly, the second biggest killer of native wildlife outside of habitat destruction.


Some links -

http://www.feralcat.com/sarah1.html

http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/articles/facade/


There was also a paper by Hal Cogger that was really informative, but I can't seem to find it.

Sorry if I come across as harsh in this post, it isn't my intention, however this subject is something I am passionate about, as should anyone who has an interest in native wildlife. The best thing for Aussie animals at this point (besides totally bannings feral animals as pets), is a permit system for cats and dogs, the removal of them from pet shops, and a law brought in to make the possession of undesexed cats/dogs illegal, outside of a few (read - very few!) registered breeders. This, coupled with more biological control research into feral animals, would be the biggest turning point for wildlife populations.

Cheers

Jonno

wot he said.


erm and CO2

 

[xrushx]

G'day guys,

I was halfway through typing a post, correcting mistakes and myths that people have made in this thread. It was growing to be quite a large post, so I scrapped it and decided I wouldsummarise a few things.

1 - People do not feed knobtail geckoes/blue tongues etc to our animals because they are native, they are protected, they do not cause any unnatural destruction to wildlife populations, they are expensive, they offer no benefits over rodent/mammalian prey, and finally - it's illegal!

2 - To those people trying to downplay the negative effects of feral cats in Australia, please take the time to research some facts, rather than relying on presumptions and emotion. It is estimated that two and seven BILLION native animals are killed each year by feral cats, and that is a very conservative estimate. Also, that estimate is just feral cats, it doesn't include the moggy down the road with the bell around its neck and the naive owners who swear their cat doesn't hunt. ALL cats hunt, regardless of age/size/breed/training, it is instinct. They are, if I remember correctly, the second biggest killer of native wildlife outside of habitat destruction.


Some links -

http://www.feralcat.com/sarah1.html

http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/articles/facade/


There was also a paper by Hal Cogger that was really informative, but I can't seem to find it.

Sorry if I come across as harsh in this post, it isn't my intention, however this subject is something I am passionate about, as should anyone who has an interest in native wildlife. The best thing for Aussie animals at this point (besides totally bannings feral animals as pets), is a permit system for cats and dogs, the removal of them from pet shops, and a law brought in to make the possession of undesexed cats/dogs illegal, outside of a few (read - very few!) registered breeders. This, coupled with more biological control research into feral animals, would be the biggest turning point for wildlife populations.

Cheers

Jonno

here here jonno!

like i said.... **** cats

 

[xrushx]

everyone grab yur biggest pythons... its cat huntin season

 

[Elfir]

i love cats or am i thinking of something else

 

[Scleropages]

i love cats or am i thinking of something else

cats = charlie the unicorn.

 

[Hetty]

2 - To those people trying to downplay the negative effects of feral cats in Australia, please take the time to research some facts, rather than relying on presumptions and emotion. It is estimated that two and seven BILLION native animals are killed each year by feral cats, and that is a very conservative estimate. Also, that estimate is just feral cats, it doesn't include the moggy down the road with the bell around its neck and the naive owners who swear their cat doesn't hunt. ALL cats hunt, regardless of age/size/breed/training, it is instinct. They are, if I remember correctly, the second biggest killer of native wildlife outside of habitat destruction.

No one was downplaying the negative effects of feral cats in Australia.

 

[Midol]

G'day guys,

I was halfway through typing a post, correcting mistakes and myths that people have made in this thread. It was growing to be quite a large post, so I scrapped it and decided I wouldsummarise a few things.

1 - People do not feed knobtail geckoes/blue tongues etc to our animals because they are native, they are protected, they do not cause any unnatural destruction to wildlife populations, they are expensive, they offer no benefits over rodent/mammalian prey, and finally - it's illegal!

2 - To those people trying to downplay the negative effects of feral cats in Australia, please take the time to research some facts, rather than relying on presumptions and emotion. It is estimated that two and seven BILLION native animals are killed each year by feral cats, and that is a very conservative estimate. Also, that estimate is just feral cats, it doesn't include the moggy down the road with the bell around its neck and the naive owners who swear their cat doesn't hunt. ALL cats hunt, regardless of age/size/breed/training, it is instinct. They are, if I remember correctly, the second biggest killer of native wildlife outside of habitat destruction.


Some links -

http://www.feralcat.com/sarah1.html

http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/articles/facade/


There was also a paper by Hal Cogger that was really informative, but I can't seem to find it.

Sorry if I come across as harsh in this post, it isn't my intention, however this subject is something I am passionate about, as should anyone who has an interest in native wildlife. The best thing for Aussie animals at this point (besides totally bannings feral animals as pets), is a permit system for cats and dogs, the removal of them from pet shops, and a law brought in to make the possession of undesexed cats/dogs illegal, outside of a few (read - very few!) registered breeders. This, coupled with more biological control research into feral animals, would be the biggest turning point for wildlife populations.

Cheers

Jonno

You'd feed your snake feral animals? Not knowing what diseases they have picked up?

QLD is making it illegal to own desexed dogs/cats unless you are a showie. People who take the time to show are responsible, dedicated owners who do NOT want their animals out wandering.

Kangaroos are native, if we never culled them they'd cause huge amounts of damage and overrun the country.

 

[chickenman]

lol charlie the unicorn

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day thenothing,

It depends on what you consider "feral". Of course there is the definition in the dictionary, but I prefer to define it as being outside.

G'day Midol,

No, I don't feed my snakes feral animals, as I have no need or access to do that.

One thing you will notice in my post, is that I provided links to credible sites that substantiated the comments I made - I'd love to see the same with regards to your kangaroo comments.

Cheers,

Jonno

 

[nvenm8]

People who take the time to show are responsible, dedicated owners who do NOT want their animals out wandering.

Where do you get this information from??? Sadly you are wrong! I know *showies* that have $1000+ animals that let them wander!! There are responsible pet owners out there, but showies as you call them don't always fall into this category.

 

[Scleropages]

lol charlie the unicorn

We going to cannnnndy mountain charrrrlie

 

[nvenm8]

PS - this thread is as exciting as raking your face through razor wire

 

[Hetty]

G'day thenothing,

It depends on what you consider "feral". Of course there is the definition in the dictionary, but I prefer to define it as being outside.

No offense, but that's ridiculous. If we're outside, are we feral? what about cows? is a cow feral if it's outside? or does the term 'feral' only apply to cats?

 

[spilota_variegata]

I know a few people I would regard as being feral. I sometimes think it would be a good idea to deny them the right to procreate.

..ʎzzıp ǝɯ buıʞɐɯ sı buıpɐǝɹ sıɥʇ 11ɐ

 

[Hetty]

I know a few people I would regard as being feral. I sometimes think it would be a good idea to deny them the right to procreate.

:lol:

 

[Scleropages]

:lol:

 

[Rennie]

I'd still like someone to answer me this:

What makes a kitten or puppy any cuter than the lizards, bilbys, koalas, possums, wallabys, etc. that snakes eat in the wild?

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day thenothing,

You need to look at the situation from a number of different angles. Firstly, any animal that isn't native to Australia, and is out of a persons control (i.e. outside), should be considered feral. I can not for the life of me fathom why someone who cares so much for their cat, let it wander around in this world full of danger - if they really cared for them, they'd be responsible and keep them inside!

Back to the "different angles" comment. Whilst the situation with cattle is not a preferable one, it does have its positives. Economically, grazing land can have significant rewards for Australia. Feral cats don't, in fact it's the opposite and they cost us money. If someone could create a secret formula that would replace the need for grazing cattle in Australia, I would be all for it, however that isn't going to happen, and I need to eat meat at night and have milk on my Weet-Bix in the morning, and a lot less animals die as a result of grazing (I said grazing, not land clearing!).

In short, there are positives of having cattle in Australia, there are no positives to having cats.

Where's Sdaji?

Cheers

Jonno

 

[mcloughlin2]

....

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Pythoninfinite, why exactly shouldn't this thread continue?
it's quite a valid argument, every one is behaving, there's no reason to close it.
__________________

OK... this is a discussion about nothing... you either feed (hopefully) dead cats to any snake you may have that will eat them, or you don't... Discussions about the relative merits of pigs, dogs or any other animal are off-topic and irrelevant, as are statistics about the damage that cats, feral or otherwise, may do to our native animal populations.

The original question was basically "do people feed cats to snakes?" And the answer is: yes, sometimes, and in some circumstances, they do, if the snake will eat them, and the keeper has access to them. I once kept Boa constrictors when I was working for the WA Museum in Perth, and on a couple of occasions when I had access to dead cats (I once killed one accidentally in my car), I fed them to these snakes.

Now - I haven't bothered to go thru all 144 (atm) posts on this thread tonight, but I wonder how many others have actual experience of feeding cats to snakes, and can therefore answer the question originally posed? Of couse it isn't something I would make a habit of unless I had access to numbers of dead cats, and none of the cats so used were killed with the intention of using them as snake food. It was just a matter of the dead cat (or any suitable animal for that matter) being in the right place at the right time. As far as the snake is concerned, a food item is a food item.

If I was the sort of person to have a cat as a pet (I don't dislike cats by the way, but I don't think they belong in our environment) and it died, I probably wouldn't feed it to a snake - even I have a few sentimental bones in my body...

As I said, I just think the thread has gone off-topic, and the moderators should either pull it back on-topic, or close it.

Jamie.