On Jun 8, 12:19 pm, Jangchub wrote:
On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 06:48:20 -0700 (PDT), Chris



wrote:
On Jun 7, 11:31 pm, Jangchub wrote:
On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 20:30:27 -0500, "Nelly Wensdow"

wrote:
WTF are you talking about? Relax, I'm here trying to save the babies. How
about something a little more constructive...like maybe how to relocate that
multi-family colony under the shed.

There are rabbits everywhere here, and their recent choice of a nesting site
leads me to think they're running out of room here, which isn't good for
anyone - most especially them. I can't even count how many near-misses I've
had, running over all the young'uns with the mower the last few years. (I
always mow high for that reason.) And if I did shoot a couple of them
(adults, in case I needed to spell that out), I'd be doing dual favors
really. They're good eating, and they would certainly not go to waste. And
they'd also stop eating all of what few vegs I try to grow in my tiny garden
to offset rising food scarcity/costs. And maybe they'd stop nesting in
inappropriate places & abandoning their babies. To me there's nothing worse
than watching babies starve (unless it's running over them with a mower
shudder). And maybe with a few less around maybe they'd start to look
healthier, less mangy & emaciated as they do. If you thought I advocate
shooting rabbits just because I prefer not to have them around then you
assumed too much.

Grow a heart in that garden of yours.

The simple fact is that humans have altered the ecological landscape
so much it is not longer possible to "let nature take its course".
Humans have to actively manage wildlife populations now, whether it's
rabbits, polar bears, or deer. If, as Nelly says, the rabbit
population is booming, then it's also headed for a crash, and the best
thing to do is reduce the population- by hunting or trapping. And yes,
it is possible to trap animals humanely. The alternative is to have a
pile of starving rabbits (or deer, or what have you) dying truly
miserable deaths, and making life miserable for the humans who would
not take the responsible steps.

And yes, feeding them really does make the crash worse in the long
run. Look up the history of the Jackson's Hole elk herd.

Chris

So by your explanation we should go to Africa and just shoot people
including orphaned children to AIDS to prevent them from starving to
death?

Nope. I happen to value human life more than animal life. Call me a
species chauvinist if you like, but I'll save a human life over a
different animal any time.

I suppose I see things from different point of view. All I
said to the OP was to grow a heart in that garden of hers. I didn't
get all histrionic.

And in saying that, you are being really insulting. You had absolutely
no right to call Nelly heartless, especially given the tone of her
post. What I gave you was a perfectly rational, ecologically sound
answer. If you've ever seen real habitat degradation because of some
animal overpopulating, you might have a different attitude.

Chris