What Do You Think (not for the faint of heart!!)

Yah, Dave, the "pt" version of "tarmigan" is a derivation of the old English "tarmachan". Be that as it may my spelling reflected the common spelling used up there back then (that's why I put it in quotation marks) and may also be fairly common today.
Although my post was not following the sequence of your discussion I wanted to make a point regarding cruelty toward living things. Your take on these matters, religious and others, is interesting and certainly useful in provoking others to re-examine ( and most likely reinforce) their own philosophies. To each his/her own. I feel very comfortable with mine and that is the important thing. :?

 

While I share your opinion that religion does far more harm than good, the Indian custom of not eating cows actually increases the available supply of protein:

Cows convert plant protein to meat protein at an efficiency of about 10%, but they convert that same plant protein to milk protein at an efficiency of around 33%. Dairy is simply more efficient, and the cultural prediliction favoring milk over meat results in roughly three times as much food being available for people.

The food they would gain by eating those cows at the end of their lives is small compared to the amount of food they would lose by a cultural preference for meat.

Where India remains in the dark ages is not in their dietary habits or in their religion (which is far more progressive than most other world religions, including Christianity) but in the persistence of the caste system, the dowry system, and the shameful treatment in many families of brides who are perceived to have brought too small a dowry. The government and progressive activists are fighting these traditions, but traditions die hard, and India has a long way to go.

 

These creeps ... who knows what's wrong with them that they'd be the way they are. Not condoning, but we have neighbors in Kalispell MT whose dog got shot when it was chased up onto the owner's porch (late 1990's). Seems it had killed livestock. The owner never came out to protest, but rather 'understood' why. Acceptable behavior in some cultures, I suppose. Glad it wasn't my pooch.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jrawles @ Sep 2 2004, 05:11 PM) [snapback]36993[/snapback]</div>

It's good to have a professional opinion here. {thumbs up}

On livestock populations - I'll agree appetites have made it excessive and given these animals a poor quality of life. Chickens with beaks cut off - standing room only, living in it's own waste...

The US is only the 9th fattest nation, but 74.1% are overweight (see http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/2007/02/0...worldfat_2.html )

Some moderation would be good for both animals and humans.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Mar 8 2007, 01:13 PM) [snapback]402297[/snapback]</div>

My quick 2 cents on the livestock populations and weather to be a vegetarian or not

We should all to our part to support sustainable agriculture.
Check it: http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/whatis/

This way perhaps everyone can benefit.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 2 2004, 10:51 AM) [snapback]36910[/snapback]</div>

In terms of cows, farmers could still breed them for milk. There are cows that roam around in India and they don't eat them. On a side note, there's a robust industry in India to clean cow dung off of westerner's shoes.

I like your punishment idea, but it's too short. Give them a choice. 10 years in prison or 10 years 10 hours a week in a animal shelter for 10 years.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Mar 8 2007, 11:49 AM) [snapback]402267[/snapback]</div>

A person's livelihood comes above another person's pet.
You don't let your dogs run loose in cities or rural areas - it may appear dogs are loose on farms, but they, by training or temperament, stay close to their farmyard unless with an owner. Any unattended dog seen chasing livestock or even wild game is open to being shot. That's just the rules of farming areas. I tried explaining that to a friend of mine who occasionally let his dog loose on rural roads to "chase deer", but I'm not sure it sunk in. Killing a dog on the owner's porch is a little extreme, it's better to do it at the place of transgression so there's some proof of the act. I assume there must have been some communication between these two people beforehand.

As for meat, I feel hunting is a more humane way to get the meat - the animal lives a free and independent life (instead of being confined and fed unnatural foods), and then instead of starving to death over winter or chased and torn apart by coyotes or wolves, is killed in seconds by a bullet or arrow. Plus you don't spend all the petroleum feeding the animal (although many deer, bear, etc. do eat a lot of farmer's crops).

That said, purposeful violence to an animal for violence sake is clearly a sign of a sick mind.

Holy smokes, a closer look at this thread reveals this is something that happened 2.5 years ago. I should've just let it go, I thought it was something recent. It had a lot of familiar names in it...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Sep 5 2004, 01:58 PM) [snapback]37594[/snapback]</div>

Daniel, you did know that carrot juice constitutes murder, didn't you?

 

Whatever happened to these kids its been about two years now?

Wildkow

 

Sidestepping the sentencing I'll say this.

Better they get put away now before they go "gay bashing" with a baseball bat and take turns beating someone they think "looks gay".

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Sep 2 2004, 07:10 PM) [snapback]37012[/snapback]</div>

Well, lookee lookee lookee.

I guess they'll be buying that baseball bat pretty soon.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Mar 11 2007, 03:36 PM) [snapback]403910[/snapback]</div>

Who knows after being in the slammer for a year their attitudes towards the Gay may have changed.

Wildkow

p.s. Then may even be happy to bend over and pick up the soap! :lol: