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How to Kill Wild Animals Humanely


Claire.

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How to kill wild animals humanely for conservation.

Every year, trained professionals kill millions of wild animals in the name of conservation, human safety and to protect agriculture and infrastructure. Commercial pest-control operators, government agents and conservationists trap beavers, poison cats, shoot wolves and gas rabbits in their warrens with varying levels of ethical oversight. Now, animal-welfare experts and conservationists are making a bid to ensure that these animals get the same consideration given to pets and even to lab animals that are killed.

People use methods such as carbon dioxide gas, drowning and painful poisons, to kill non-native or ‘pest’ animals, says Sara Dubois, chief scientific officer for the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Vancouver, Canada. She considers these methods inhumane. But no one bats an eye, she says, because those animals are considered ‘bad’.

Read more: Nature.com

 

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Not a pleasant thought, but one that needs to be addressed.

I'm reminded of the movie Avatar.

Jake was taught how to humanely kill a creature. :huh:

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We are not talking about a imaginary movie with imaginary things, we are talking about real animals.

Sadly humans have repeatedly defended their use of killing other animals simply by calling them pests, nuisances, too many or simply because they are in the way. I find it horrible the methods used to kill animals; gassing...has anyone been in a room where a floor, for example, had just been varnished? I have and it is horrible, your eyes burn, your chest ceases up and your head feels like it is going to explode.

Drowning? Ugh! Hideous method. Has anyone ever been in a river, pool or lake and accidentally inhaled? Pretty painful, isn't it? You just can't wait to get to the surface so you can expel the liquid so the burning will stop. Imagine though if you couldn't because someone was holding you under somehow, how frantic you are to escape. It is not pleasant, painless or quick.

Poison? I have yet to see a poison that was instantaneous. I watched a documentary where feral cats were being routinely poisoned and I could see they did not die peacefully. They ate the tainted meat and died a painful death while vomiting profusely.

Only humans have taken it upon themselves to decide who or what gets to live or die based simply on their own myopic view of how it affects something. Nature is very good at adapting and yes, sometimes certain species die out. So what? It has happened before probably with or without the intervention of humans. We procreate out of control but throw a hissy fit because there are "too many" deer in the woods. We whine that we are just being "humane" by "culling" a few thousand to ensure the survival of the rest. Really? For what reason other than to provide something for sport hunters to shoot at. Wow,,,really a lot of humaneness going on there.

As soon as humans started creating civilizations we also placed ourselves in a position where we assume we are always "at war" with nature. That nature has to be beaten and chained under our control, that nature exists only to serve us and if we can't exploit it somehow then it should be destroyed.

Usually we create problems with animals by recklessly destroying everything in our path or creating environments like landfills that are acres in diameter then pretend to be confused that other animals take up residence there to take advantage of what they see as an opportunity to survive.

Nature is not at war with us, it does not go around and deliberately do things to "annoy" us. We imagine these things so we can feel justified in killing in order to preserve what we assume is a "balance" What a load of ignorant, ego-laden B.S!

What about our activities and how that has contributed to a disharmony in nature? What about the human created extinctions of creatures that we decided were there to satisfy our sick need for fashion or "sport"?

Yes..I am ranting because I see such hypocrisy saturating our desire to control nature and bend it to our vision of "perfection". Nature doesn't need us but we need nature so maybe if we could put the brakes on our moral high-horse mentality and stop viewing nature as this horrible thing that has to be "managed". Foxes and singular wolves will eat rabbits and mice, mice eats seeds and plants, rats will do....whatever it is that rats do (probably plotting to take control of our coffee supplies.) Cats do...cat-type things and deer will do whatever it is that deer do.

Maybe instead of constantly being at war with everything and feeling we just HAVE to kill everything in sight maybe we should look more closely at what WE are doing that helps create these problems and I suspect much of it has to do with our total ignorance and absolute disconnect with the natural world around us.

Nature is not there to serve us..we ARE part of that system, not the masters. Nature doesn't need our so-called "well-intentioned' intervention and it certainly doesn't need us at all but we, like all life, need nature in order to survive.

 

Ok..I got that off my chest. Probably has little to do with the article (actually next to nothing to do with it). I just wanted to rant.

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I'll kill feral cats .  I used to trap them .    I was told to gas them in a bag on the car exhaust  ( NPWS &  RSPCA )  thats BS for a number of reasons , also I tried it and it was horrible !  

best method I found was, a live trap / cage   immediately throw and old blanket over cage when found, this calms them to an extent . Put in the car boot and drive to river, tie a rope around cage and throw it in .  They swim around fro a min and stop - thats it. 

For anyone concerned - here is why ;

400 native species endangered   ;    https://jordimorgan.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/shootdog.jpgwww.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2015/02/australian-feral-cats-wreak-the-most-damage-to-species

 

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9 minutes ago, Ryu said:

We are not talking about a imaginary movie with imaginary things, we are talking about real animals.

Sadly humans have repeatedly defended their use of killing other animals simply by calling them pests, nuisances, too many or simply because they are in the way. I find it horrible the methods used to kill animals; gassing...has anyone been in a room where a floor, for example, had just been varnished? I have and it is horrible, your eyes burn, your chest ceases up and your head feels like it is going to explode.

Drowning? Ugh! Hideous method. Has anyone ever been in a river, pool or lake and accidentally inhaled? Pretty painful, isn't it? You just can't wait to get to the surface so you can expel the liquid so the burning will stop. Imagine though if you couldn't because someone was holding you under somehow, how frantic you are to escape. It is not pleasant, painless or quick.

Poison? I have yet to see a poison that was instantaneous. I watched a documentary where feral cats were being routinely poisoned and I could see they did not die peacefully. They ate the tainted meat and died a painful death while vomiting profusely.

Only humans have taken it upon themselves to decide who or what gets to live or die based simply on their own myopic view of how it affects something. Nature is very good at adapting and yes, sometimes certain species die out. So what? It has happened before probably with or without the intervention of humans. We procreate out of control but throw a hissy fit because there are "too many" deer in the woods. We whine that we are just being "humane" by "culling" a few thousand to ensure the survival of the rest. Really? For what reason other than to provide something for sport hunters to shoot at. Wow,,,really a lot of humaneness going on there.

As soon as humans started creating civilizations we also placed ourselves in a position where we assume we are always "at war" with nature. That nature has to be beaten and chained under our control, that nature exists only to serve us and if we can't exploit it somehow then it should be destroyed.

Usually we create problems with animals by recklessly destroying everything in our path or creating environments like landfills that are acres in diameter then pretend to be confused that other animals take up residence there to take advantage of what they see as an opportunity to survive.

Nature is not at war with us, it does not go around and deliberately do things to "annoy" us. We imagine these things so we can feel justified in killing in order to preserve what we assume is a "balance" What a load of ignorant, ego-laden B.S!

What about our activities and how that has contributed to a disharmony in nature? What about the human created extinctions of creatures that we decided were there to satisfy our sick need for fashion or "sport"?

Yes..I am ranting because I see such hypocrisy saturating our desire to control nature and bend it to our vision of "perfection". Nature doesn't need us but we need nature so maybe if we could put the brakes on our moral high-horse mentality and stop viewing nature as this horrible thing that has to be "managed". Foxes and singular wolves will eat rabbits and mice, mice eats seeds and plants, rats will do....whatever it is that rats do (probably plotting to take control of our coffee supplies.) Cats do...cat-type things and deer will do whatever it is that deer do.

Maybe instead of constantly being at war with everything and feeling we just HAVE to kill everything in sight maybe we should look more closely at what WE are doing that helps create these problems and I suspect much of it has to do with our total ignorance and absolute disconnect with the natural world around us.

Nature is not there to serve us..we ARE part of that system, not the masters. Nature doesn't need our so-called "well-intentioned' intervention and it certainly doesn't need us at all but we, like all life, need nature in order to survive.

 

Ok..I got that off my chest. Probably has little to do with the article (actually next to nothing to do with it). I just wanted to rant.

I agree with a lot of that  ^  .   I also dont agree with the 'save the earth' idea ... the earth can go on as a ball of bare rock.  What we want is the earth saved in a state that is most comfortable to us . 

The other side is   .... it was stupid people that bought the cats here in the first place ... a really bad place to do that !  ... and were irresponsible in managing them . 

Some people are horrified and called me a cat killer .   I have also killed pigs, kangaroo and killed and butchered a cow . Those that called me a cat killer  .....  get their meat from a supermarket    < shrug > 

and if we want to get emotive about it  ....

would we want to see a cat eat this little guy ?  

Image result for baby wombat

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Goodf3llow said:

That's just wrong, just have them euthanized via injection..

   Do you realise what that costs ?   

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As I just said, nature does well enough, we do not need to keep playing god" and assuming we have a right to kill with reckless abandon just because something is there.

However I have no desire to tangle with a roo, they are kinda...uppity.

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24 minutes ago, back to earth said:

I agree with a lot of that  ^  .   I also dont agree with the 'save the earth' idea ... the earth can go on as a ball of bare rock.  What we want is the earth saved in a state that is most comfortable to us . 

The other side is   .... it was stupid people that bought the cats here in the first place ... a really bad place to do that !  ... and were irresponsible in managing them . 

Some people are horrified and called me a cat killer .   I have also killed pigs, kangaroo and killed and butchered a cow . Those that called me a cat killer  .....  get their meat from a supermarket    < shrug > 

and if we want to get emotive about it  ....

would we want to see a cat eat this little guy ?  

Image result for baby wombat

 

 

Time for new boots eh mate?

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1 minute ago, back to earth said:

Only the sole lasts forever . 

Good play on words.

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I total agree that "nature does well enough". When in balance. The problem is if we don't cull the herds there's not enough predators to do it for us, and if there was 99% of people would be outraged having to worry about if there going to be eaten or not.

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34 minutes ago, back to earth said:

   Do you realise what that costs ?   

Potassium Chloride isn't too much I believe.. Pentobarbitone Sodium is costly however.

Even a captive bolt method is better than what you have been doing.

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The following is a really good analytical, and thought provoking, follow-up article:

Rather Than Kill Animals "Softly," Don't Kill Them at All.

Its primary gist is this: As the dominant species on Earth and in other ecosystems, we simply cannot continue to have it anyway we want it. We must change how we interact with other animals and recognize that developing a culture of coexistence means that we need to move away from the paradigm in which our interests trump those of other animals because it's the easiest path to follow. It's also a path filled with untold pain, suffering, and death, and it's time for the killing to stop.  

 

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4 minutes ago, Claire. said:

The following is a really good analytical, and thought provoking, follow-up article:

Rather Than Kill Animals "Softly," Don't Kill Them at All.

Its primary gist is this: As the dominant species on Earth and in other ecosystems, we simply cannot continue to have it anyway we want it. We must change how we interact with other animals and recognize that developing a culture of coexistence means that we need to move away from the paradigm in which our interests trump those of other animals because it's the easiest path to follow. It's also a path filled with untold pain, suffering, and death, and it's time for the killing to stop. 

I agree with the sentiment but I think the time for "live and let live" has long past. With invasive species, habitat loss and other human induced factors, we have made ourselves stewards of the land. The natural balance has been upset and now we have large populations of predators (grizzlies, cougars, wolves,) that will absolutely decimate other species unless WE step in. Grizzlies have no natural predators and they have been a protected species for a long time. Now that their numbers have really grown, again it's up to us to keep it in check.

I would like to hear a naturalist answer to the above.

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Another important reason to control the numbers of wild animals is that certain species attempt to embarrass humans by exposing their sock induced ankle hair loss,  as is clearly happening in this disturbing photo. 

22 hours ago, back to earth said:

 

Image result for baby wombat

 

 

 

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22 hours ago, Ryu said:

We are not talking about a imaginary movie with imaginary things, we are talking about real animals.

Sadly humans have repeatedly defended their use of killing other animals simply by calling them pests, nuisances, too many or simply because they are in the way. I find it horrible the methods used to kill animals; gassing...has anyone been in a room where a floor, for example, had just been varnished? I have and it is horrible, your eyes burn, your chest ceases up and your head feels like it is going to explode.

Drowning? Ugh! Hideous method. Has anyone ever been in a river, pool or lake and accidentally inhaled? Pretty painful, isn't it? You just can't wait to get to the surface so you can expel the liquid so the burning will stop. Imagine though if you couldn't because someone was holding you under somehow, how frantic you are to escape. It is not pleasant, painless or quick.

Poison? I have yet to see a poison that was instantaneous. I watched a documentary where feral cats were being routinely poisoned and I could see they did not die peacefully. They ate the tainted meat and died a painful death while vomiting profusely.

I absolutely agree with that. 

 

22 hours ago, back to earth said:

The other side is   .... it was stupid people that bought the cats here in the first place ... a really bad place to do that !  ... and were irresponsible in managing them . 

Some people are horrified and called me a cat killer .   I have also killed pigs, kangaroo and killed and butchered a cow . Those that called me a cat killer  .....  get their meat from a supermarket    < shrug > 

and if we want to get emotive about it  ....

would we want to see a cat eat this little guy ?  

But I absolutely agree with this too. 

 

22 hours ago, Ryu said:

Only humans have taken it upon themselves to decide who or what gets to live or die based simply on their own myopic view of how it affects something. Nature is very good at adapting and yes, sometimes certain species die out. So what?

So, and in the context of Australia (which I realise you may not necessarily have been thinking of at all, but I'm using it as an example), if we don't control the 'pest' species all we're doing is continuing to kill by proxy on behalf of our idiotically naive ancestors who introduced a host of species who are both wholly innocent in themselves, and catastrophically destructive into the single most significant ecosystem on the planet. We can't separate ourselves or our actions from nature, but we have to take responsibility and manage the consequences of our own stupidity. 

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I drown the raccoons and other animals I catch in my small live trap.  I fill up a 55 gallon drum I have.     Takes about 30 seconds.   I know it is not painless, but it is better than shooting them.   Much easier to dispose of the body too.  

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On 3/1/2017 at 1:06 PM, Claire. said:

Its primary gist is this: As the dominant species on Earth and in other ecosystems, we simply cannot continue to have it anyway we want it. We must change how we interact with other animals and recognize that developing a culture of coexistence means that we need to move away from the paradigm in which our interests trump those of other animals because it's the easiest path to follow. It's also a path filled with untold pain, suffering, and death, and it's time for the killing to stop.  

 

That sounds all nice and fluffy, but........

Are you going to let the mice and rats live in your house?    Are you OK if a family of raccoons is living in your attic?   Do you swat flies?   If you had cockroaches, do you just let them thrive?   Maybe you just catch them and release them outside.    

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5 minutes ago, Myles said:

That sounds all nice and fluffy, but........

Are you going to let the mice and rats live in your house?    Are you OK if a family of raccoons is living in your attic?   Do you swat flies?   If you had cockroaches, do you just let them thrive?   Maybe you just catch them and release them outside.    

I've never encountered any of those situations, but yes, I would catch them and release them outside. I would not, could not, kill an animal, not even a fly.

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1 hour ago, Claire. said:

I've never encountered any of those situations, but yes, I would catch them and release them outside. I would not, could not, kill an animal, not even a fly.

That's good, but your are in the small minority.   I don't know anyone who would find flies flying around their dishes who wouldn't swat them.   

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17 minutes ago, Myles said:

That's good, but your are in the small minority.   I don't know anyone who would find flies flying around their dishes who wouldn't swat them.   

 

1 hour ago, Claire. said:

I've never encountered any of those situations, but yes, I would catch them and release them outside. I would not, could not, kill an animal, not even a fly.

I try my best to avoid killing if I can. Night before last though  there was a giant ass spider on my wall with what appeared to be about 50 babies running around it. .....I confess I  hit a spider nursery with a chemical attack. I didnt want to but clearly it was me or them. 

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41 minutes ago, Farmer77 said:

 

I try my best to avoid killing if I can. Night before last though  there was a giant ass spider on my wall with what appeared to be about 50 babies running around it. .....I confess I  hit a spider nursery with a chemical attack. I didnt want to but clearly it was me or them. 

I don't kill for fun and I don't even hunt.    However, if a bug run across my floor, I step on it.   A mosquito lands on me, it is as good as dead.

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42 minutes ago, Farmer77 said:

 

I try my best to avoid killing if I can. Night before last though  there was a giant ass spider on my wall with what appeared to be about 50 babies running around it. .....I confess I  hit a spider nursery with a chemical attack. I didnt want to but clearly it was me or them. 

Eeeeekkkkkkk!  I would have, too.

I caught a mouse in a trap and watched it trying to get away.  I bawled the whole time as I flushed it down the toilet.  It was injured pretty badly.  Now I keep mint around the house and we have our cat for the mice.

As to other animals, when I grew up on the farm, it was death by gun for unwanted predators on our land, including neighbour's dogs that thought our animals were a free for all for their entertainment.  

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1 hour ago, Farmer77 said:

I try my best to avoid killing if I can. Night before last though  there was a giant ass spider on my wall with what appeared to be about 50 babies running around it. .....I confess I  hit a spider nursery with a chemical attack. I didnt want to but clearly it was me or them. 

There is no way I could have killed a mother and her babies. No way. Years ago, our then housekeeper vacuumed a little spider family from one of our basement windows. I went ballistic and made my father fire her — that's how upset I was.  Oh and you should know, having the odd spider in your home is actually a good thing. Spiders feed on moths, flies, roaches and other disease-carrying pests.

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