Dog & cat days

[skjl47]

MSN

Hello; This is something expected for some years. At least I wondered when someone would make the connection public. Someone finally did so. From the start let me say I do not have a dog in this fight, nor a cat either. So, in real terms I can be neutral and perhaps I will be.

The gist revolves around all the meat dogs and cats eat and the associated things needed to produce dog & cat foods. A summary goes sort of there is impact to starving people and the environment form all the meat production which winds up in dog & cat food. General details in the above link if you need to know more.

A crux of the matter is cats specifically and dogs nearly so need meat protein. From a physiology view point a look at the gut of these animals will tell the tale. Can take a look at the teeth for confirmation. That dogs & cats need meat should not be debatable, but this site does surprise me often.

Anyway, the nature of these revelations has led up to cries to change the way we live often. Think of the agendas against domestic cattle as an example.
So do you favor getting rid of dogs and cats or maybe just cats as pets?
Do you fall on the side of keeping dogs and to heck with all the hungry people?
Is there another lane to be in?

I will try to be impartial as I do not have neither a dog nor a cat.

SIDE NOTE- this would have been posted in the off-topic thread which remains closed. Such a shame to close that thread.

 

[jjohnwm]

Oh, boy...this should be good...while it lasts...

It's patently silly to ask the question as it is posed here. "Pick a lane" suggests that there are only 2 or 3 or some small finite number of options, and that everybody needs to fall into lockstep with the ideology of the one they select. That may work on the freeway, but life isn't like that. Everybody has their own ideas, their own biases, their own mitigating factors and emotional responses and interpretations of the world around them. 8.3 billion people crowding the earth now? That's how many lanes there are.

I consider myself a conservationist, and that ideology includes an acceptance that we can utilize the resources of the planet as long as we do so in a sustainable way. It specifically does not mean that we must move Heaven and Earth to insure that every individual bug, fish, plant, bird, animal or human must live out its life in complete safety.

Do I justify feeding meat to carnivores instead of feeding starving people? Is that evil? Well, everything we do that is not geared towards 100% maximum efficiency in housing and feeding humans could be thought of as evil, if we are to follow that train of illogic to its natural insane conclusion. Every dollar spent on wildlife protection or endangered species or habitat recovery or a host of other projects...could have been spent on feeding more people. Everybody living in a single-family dwelling on a rural acreage is slurping up money and space and food and oxygen that could have benefited many more people kept in urban apartments. If that's the only goal...we can't justify anything other than feeding and housing people like livestock on a factory farm. Can we have a show of hands for that lane?

I personally am no longer concerned with justifying my actions to anybody. There are lots of folks who consider me an environmental nutcase, simply because I have very specific ideas about conservation...and there are an increasing number of people who look at me as a fiend simply because I choose not to kill myself to ease the burden on the planet. Bahhhhh...the heck with both sides.

So, here we are. S skjl47 has again tossed another dry fly out onto the glassy surface of the pond of life...given it a subtle twitch or two...and I have once again lunged out of the weeds like a starving bass to engulf it.

........sigh........

I'm going to treat this thread like an exercise in personal growth...by not responding again...no matter what.

 

[danotaylor]

Some cultures like to eat dog and cat meat, so I guess we have balance then right

 

[skjl47]

I'm going to treat this thread like an exercise in personal growth...by not responding again...no matter what.

Hello; You will be missed. At least i did not pick another mauling.

 

[skjl47]

Some cultures like to eat dog and cat meat,

Hello; Already an option I had not expected. The old western movies had such in the story. By the way the stray cat I was feeding disappeared a while back The neighbor whose shed it was living under thinks Coyotes got it.

jjohnwm is correct it is not either -or.

 

[skjl47]

"In cities, the issue extends beyond packaging. Dog feces, if not collected and treated properly, washes into waterways, contributing to nutrient pollution that can trigger harmful algal blooms. In places like Chicago and New York, local studies have found that pet waste makes up a measurable fraction of stormwater contamination."

"This hidden cost rarely makes it into sustainability conversations. Yet as cities densify and pet ownership grows, dog waste becomes a public health and environmental management challenge. It’s a reminder that even the most mundane parts of pet life accumulate into ecological realities."

Hello; the above is from the link. My neighbor on one side has three dogs. When her mom comes to visit that adds two more. Four of the five are large golden retrievers. When my college student neighbor moved into the rental two years ago i saw her picking up dog poo from the yard. She puts into a bag and then into a bucket. I do not know where it winds up. Not too bad until I mow near the fence in mid July. Then I smell it. Of course, the 20+ head of cattle to the north also have a ripe smell in July around here. Somehow the cattle are less offensive, but such is relative. Both are bad. The neighbor and her mom are from Pittsburg, but I have not asked about pet poo there. I think people in cities get programed to pick up

The walking trail is another story. Always a deposit or few to avoid. More of a problem for me as I do walk on that trail. Local folks do not generally pick up.