Maren writes:
>But I will say this - using any live animal as either food to
>another or as bait for "blood sport" is cruelty on its face and the
>prosecutors agreed. And further to "grow your own food" by having dogs
>and cats serve as perpetual breeders for the purpose of using the
>puppies and kittens as food for these snakes is not only cruel, but
>sick. And, again, the state agreed. This is an important case for our
>animal rights movement and we hope the outcome will set precedent for
>future cases.

Hang on there Maren! I completely disagree that to "grow your own food"
constitutes being "Cruel and sick". It bothers me that you've taken up
a banner to impose your views on pet owners that choose to feed their
animals completely natural, wholesome forms of food.

I guarantee that people who have mice and rats as pets disagree that
they should be fed as food! Just as folks with rabbits as pets likely
disagree that rabbits should be food. People that keep chickens and
other poultry as pets are likely to frown upon those that offer such
as food. You can easily go completely up the ladder of animal species
where each animal could be considered a companion yet the carnivores
will happily devour those under them on that ladder and some of those
carnivores can be considered food for the next!

Where in the world does one group of people get the right to impose
their views upon another?

There are MANY peoples that eat animals of ALL varieties from the lowly
spider to brethren primates (reports of "natural" cannibals still
circulate). The french and Belgians are known to relish horse meat.
Americans devour cows like the orient devours fish! One specie's food
source is another specie's source of companionship its as simple as
that!

To think that the RIGHT to offer my chosen companions a healthy,
economical, perfectly safe and CORRECT diet to them could be taken away
from me and that my companions would now be forced to eat practically
indigestible products made from unknown sources creating detrimental
health issues JUST BECAUSE some uninformed, close minded people manage
to bend the ear of some politicians long enough to create a law is
maddening! To take away MY ability to raise my companions own HEALTHY
food source and put their health in the hands of faceless, profiteering
corporations is in MY book abominable!

What gives YOU the right to impose YOUR views upon MY life?

If YOU don't want to feed your carnivores a natural diet, so be it! If
feeding a worm, cricket, mouse, rat, rabbit or chick to your ferret
(or cat, dog, snake, oscar, piranha, arachnid or lizard) makes YOU
squeamish - who cares? But what in the FREE world gives YOU the right
to impose YOUR views of so called "proper" pet food UPON those of us
who have no compunctions about feeding wholesome natural foods?

Where will your "animal rights group" draw the line? Will you be
focusing only on preventing kittens, cats, puppies and dogs from being
devoured? or will you be extending your so called "protection to mice,
rats, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters? How about meal worms, wax worms and
other invertebrates? How about crickets and flies? Poor venus Fly Trap -
doubt it will survive on a piece of kibble...

What is so barbaric about raising our own feeder animals? I regularly
eat animals raised as "feeders" - they are feeders raised on ranches
and farms AKA cows, steers, turkey, duck, chicken, veal, pork and
rabbit! I also raise my own feeder mice for my ferrets and if I had
the time and space, I'd raise rats and rabbits too!. What is wrong in
offering the mice a healthy, safe, enriched environement to breed,
play and grow to feeder age and weight?

Do you REALLY think that feeding kibble creates LESS inhumane treatment
of animals? How do you think the meat portions of the kibble get into
the recipe? HOW do you suppose THOSE animals were treated or where they
were raised? Yeah, I know - its a mystery isn't it? But its NO mystery
to me where or how MY feeder mice were raised or how they got treated!

Just because YOU disagree with a process does NOT give YOU the right
to impose YOUR views upon others!

Obviously those people harboring the snakes and selling them were NOT
law abiding citizens. But making it criminal for ME to feed my animals
natural forms of food is NOT the right direction to take!

Regards,
Kim

[Posted in FML 6458]