Just jumping backwards here to a prior discussion...
There is a difference between ‘live food’ and ‘live feeding’ in common parlance – the former refers to invertebrates and the latter to vertebrates. Invertebrates are not considered to feel pain in the same manner as vertebrates and so there are pretty much no legislative restrictions on the using of them as food. So let’s just exclude them from the current conversation.
One thing that has always intrigued me (and I am going back nearly three decades) is how fish, as vertebrates, are seldom if ever included in ‘prevention of cruelty to animals’ type legislation. It’s OK to catch a fish by hooking it through the mouth and dragging it through the water against its will. Yet if you were to do that to a member of any other vertebrate group you could likely be prosecuted. Similarly, the use of live feeder fish is widely practiced and not considered contrary to the law. Intriguing… So I guess we can leave fish out of the discussion of legalities as well.
So what is “prevention of cruelty” to animals all about? Being ‘cruel’ is to cause pain or suffering. If you have ever heard a Common Tree Snake eating a frog, its almost exclusive food item in nature, then you would have to say the frog suffers and the snake is being cruel. For those who don’t know, CTS swallow frogs butt first (to stop the frog from using its legs and potentially kicking itself free). At least elapids and pythons kill rodents before swallowing them. Yet we don’t go out and slaughter every CTS or lion or whatever because they are cruel killers. We accept this as a part of the natural world. So where do we draw the line when keeping natural animals artificially?
As far as I am concerned it gets down to not causing unnecessary cruelty. If you can get by without live feeding, then one should do so. If it is necessary, then it is necessary. So long as any suffering is not made worse (by inept procedures) than what would happen in nature, then ethically I have no issues with it. My issues with feeding live rodents lie with the potential negative effects on the snake if not done correctly.
Just as a general comment, something I have often come across is people who have an uninformed, idealistic notion of what the natural world is like. They seem to perceive it as a sweet, harmonious, gentle place. This is NOT the reality of it at all. It very much is a ‘jungle out there’! The vast majority of individuals born simply don’t make it. They get eaten or die of starvation &/or disease and then provide food for scavengers and decomposers. This is the cruel, harsh reality of those beautiful snapshots of coral reefs, rainforests and desert landscapes etc. So please, think twice before bandying around that word “cruel”.
