Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: RE: cats: the real extreme position

[Norman Gauss (normangauss]

Living things have been used by humans for all kinds of purposes.  Plants
and animals have been domesticated so that certain desirable characteristics
are emphasized.  Often these characteristics are not economic, but are
enhanced for their esthetic values.

Roses and azaleas have been developed for their beauty, and enhance our
existence when they are in our  yards.  Most of these would not be able to
reproduce nor thrive in the wild.

Indoor plants are bred for peoples houses and make our residences more
pleasing.

Shade trees make our yards more pleasant.  We plant them and thus own them.
We can even cut them down (i.e. kill them) if we want.

Many breeds of dogs and cats are bred for their beauty, often to the
detriment of their personality or hardiness and cannot survive in the wild.
Dog shows for beautiful dogs are held all over the country.

But perhaps the most important reason people have domestic animals for pets
(not fish or snakes) is companionship.  Thus certain breeds of dogs and cats
are better companious than others.

Yes, having domestic plants and animals in our environment is justified.

Norman Gauss
oakcreekcommons [at] yahoo.com




Original Message -----
From: "Ruddick, T.R." <RUDDICK [at] edison.cc.oh.us>
To: <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2001 10:29 AM
Subject: [C-L]_RE: cats: the real extreme position


> Personally, I have owned and loved many cats and other types of pet.
> However, I have decided that when my responsibilities to the current ones
> (one 12 year old polite feline and one zebra danio) are fulfilled, I will
> have no more.
>
> Why?  It occurs to me that keeping pets is anachronistic and not entirely
> ecological.
>
> Some types of pet--my beloved aquarium fish for example--result in the
> decline of natural populations of species.  I am happy to satisfy my
desire
> to see exotic fish by visiting public aquaria, where a wider variety of
> species can be cared for by eminently qualified professionals, viewed by
the
> general public, and not collected in such numbers that the species faces
> extinction in nature.
>
> And what about dogs and cats, seemingly symbiotic with humans after
millenia
> of domestication?  I can't see the practical need for them in first-world
> cultures (guide dogs and other assist animals excepted), in fact they seem
> to cause many problems that could be eliminated only by ceasing to collect
> them.  Why should we want to possess another living thing?
>
> I'm not attacking anyone here, just trying to stimulate thought by sharing
> my beliefs.  Just stating that I think people need to leave animals alone
in
> most cases.  I have been known to shout "leave the snake alone" at the TV
> when Crocodile Hunter gets a little too grabby...however when they're
> rescuing a croc I think they're doing good work.
>
> I'll enjoy other peoples' pets when I can, but for myself it'll be a
robopup
> if anything.
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