[QUOTE=JustDroppingBy]
Thanks.
Regarding the methods you suggested, are there risks of domesticating and lowering the survival evolutionary process of the animals through euthanasia?
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Sorry for the delay- it is storming here and my power was out.
Not really. Most of the animals you encounter on a daily basis are plentiful- and we haven’t yet stomped any species into extinction one at a time.
Go the your state’s home page (www . your state . gov) and click on the links for the department of agriculture and forestry. Use the search function and type in “endangered species”. You will get a list of those animals in your area that need special consideration and help. Try to improve your immediate surroundings to make life more hospitable for the animals on the list, and if you find an injured endangered animal, get to a vet right away. Since most recent extinctions have happened due to loss of habitat, your kindest act would be to create a better habitat for a diverse array of animals. You may be able to help whole families of animals rather than just one at a time.
Let’s talk about “pest” animals like rats and mice. These animals are generalists- very good at adapting to a wide range of environments. Good for them; bad for everything else that shares their space and struggles to compete with them for resources (like food and shelter). Another name for generalists is “opportunistic species” because they adapt quickly to new environments and can quickly populate and fill a niche left by habitat destruction or the demise of a competing species. Besides being good at capitalizing on many different habitats- they also produce an extraordinary amount of young in a very short time. This is one of the many ways that they are so successful: if a mouse in your garage produces 5-10 young three times per year, and only half of them survive to produce 5-10 young three times per year, then there are still many, many more left to procreate.
Let’s swing back to the top of the food chain. Since the early part of last century, farmers have killed nearly all of the gray wolves and coyotes in the Southeastern United States because they felt these predators were killing their livestock. What happened next? Rabbit, opossums raccoon, and mouse populations exploded because nothing was around to eat them. The rodents continued to produce young at the same alarming rate; but there were no predators to thin their numbers. There were so many rodents that they began to move into barns and houses. What happens when animals are crowded and stressed? Another opportunistic species moves in. Viruses and parasites began to infect the mice in our homes. And since we lived in such close proximity, we were infected as well with diseases and parasites like fleas, plague and hantavirus. Without a predator at the top of the food chain to keep generalists in check the ecosystem is severely compromised and we all suffer. All species (including man) need balance to survive.
Cockroaches, just like mice, produce hundreds of young. And since they are very good at adapting to new environments, they make home with us very easily. Don’t worry about stomping one; there will quickly be 500 more to replace it in a very short time.
If you don’t want to memorize the endangered list, here is a shortcut. When you see an animal struggling, try to imagine how many young it produces and how often. If its population will very quickly be replenished; then the decision to euthanize or stomp becomes easier.
Man has taken many predators out of the food chain and destroyed much of the environment to make room for homes and industry. Since we profoundly upset the balance in the ecosystem we are now responsible for controlling those opportunistic species. You aren’t “playing God” when you euthanize a suffering animal or stomp a roach; you are taking a responsible role in the ecosystem.