I don’t think mice are cute, or “cuddly”. They’re gross. I wouldn’t want one as a pet, I wouldn’t even want to touch one. Last year a family of mice moved into my bedroom, and I was terrified I’d wake up with one of those nasty little bastards in my bed.
Still, I wouldn’t even consider a method of extermination that involved excessive pain for the mouse, until it was the very last resort. Even then, I would still feel bad about, even if I knew it was necessary. Whether they’re cute or not doesn’t even enter into it. I know they feel physical pain, and I know what it’s like to feel physical pain. My empathy extends to other species, including “vermin”. Clearly not everybody’s does, and judging by the some of the posts here some people can’t even wrap their head around such a concept.
So really there’s nothing to debate here. Some (most?) people just can’t feel empathy for a mouse. If you don’t, you don’t, it’s not really something I can argue into you.
Ha! Thanks Crab Rangoon, I just had a bit of a chuckle imagining how that Martha Stewart episode would go. Martha Stewart Mousetraps, now available at K-Mart in the bedazzled shoe section, for fashionable dispatchment.
They dodge to the outbuildings for cover, but they live somewhere down in the holler. No curiosity catches or corralling. Canteloupe was first choice (advice gleaned from the same mama). So, I guess trappin’ just ain’t in my blood. Still, thanks for your insight.
You can fuck right off please. Being a little kinder when killing something and not being an inhumane jerk about things does not mean I am putting their right of existence ahead of humans, you’re just making that up. You’re putting words into my mouth. Now, I have already mentioned, that I don’t disagree with killing mice, so keep your strawmanning, misinterpreting bullshit to yourself. That is not what I had said at all, you’ve missed the point completely because you are too idiotic to comprehend what I am trying to say.
An animal lover would realise that a swift blow to the head is far, far more quicker than drowning. And yes, shooting it would too be more humane, as would a shovel. Mice are small fragile animals, destroy the brain quickly and they won’t have time to think/panic/feel pain. You on the other hand, treated the suffering animals like a piece of poo - something to flush down the toilet. That’s being an animal lover?? Yeah right.
Besides, flushing it down the toilet is no guarantee it will drown. It may be pushed down. The pipes aren’t full of water 100% of the time. There was a story of someone flushing a puppy down the toilet, and it survived. Perhaps your solution isn’t humane as you’d like to think (as if drowning is humane anyway).
No, it is hunting. You’re actively seeking out an animal to kill it, for a specific reason. That is the definition of hunting. Whether you use a high powered rifle, a BB gun or a sharp stick, it doesn’t change the definition.
Finishing off a wounded animal in an act of mercy isn’t a “screwy idea”. Respecting life and showing decency when killing something isn’t “screwy” either. Perhaps you’d like to explain why not being an asshole is “screwy”. Is this an attempt to look tough? What is it?
Jules27, apart from in jest, nobody here seriously wants to inflict unnecessary pain and suffering upon our rodent-cousins. We want to expediently rid our houses of their presence, and depending upon where we live, the methods might vary.
It’s all well and good to promote the short, sharp blow to the head, but have you ever tried to actually catch a mouse in order to deliver this blow?
Methinks you are somewhat of a romantic, and that’s fine too. But when your area suffers a mouse-plague like this, you can be damned sure that a hammer or two is not gonna work much magic.
So far you’ve accused every single person here of being inhumane regardless of method used to kill mice. How else to interpret this? You’ve got your panties in a bunch because no one is kissing the feet of a bleeding-heart, “enlightened” entity such as yourself. You waltzed in here to save the masses (of mice if not people) and are just shocked that you weren’t hailed as the messiah.
Here’s the real kicker: the question wasn’t “is drowning an OK way to kill mice”, it was “Is drowning more or less bad than letting a mouse linger for days while dying of poison?” More evidence of your kneejerk approach to the whole matter. You aren’t interested in having a discussion or even an argument, you only want to bludgeon people into compliance with your narrow viewpoint.
Fine. You come up with a foolproof way to catch the mice and administer a blow to the head without hazard to humans and I’ll go with that. Fact is, the mice aren’t going to cooperate. If you don’t take 'em out the first time they’re going to try to escape, wounded or not, and since they can get into places like walls it’s not always possible to pursue them to finish the job. Unless you propose that people destroy drywall in pursuit of them? Not going to happen. Likewise your demand someone dismantle a woodpile - do you seriously think the animal is just going to stand there waiting for the humans? No, wounded or not it will continue to try to escape.
Is it OK with you if we flush them down the toilet after they’re dead? Or is a formal funeral required followed by burial and a small, mouse-sized gravemarker?
I’m on team human, but, I sincerely admire your empathy and wish I felt the way you felt about animals. It’s rare to find compassion in this world so I salute you (and other like-minded individuals in the thread), although, there’s a part of me that would argue that there’s enough human suffering to diminish would-be empathy toward animals.
It’s not required but I feel obliged to admit that I have a cat. In some ways, I love my cat as I would a human. However, I would kill the bitch dead in the most horrible ways if it meant saving the life of a single human being. The will and comfort of humanity takes precedent over an animal in all cases. In your example, I don’t think the use of rat poison is inhumane. I consider that humane; the contrary would be to purposely let loose a 1000 owls and videotape the carnage.
(42) He that dwelleth in heaven
Psalm 2:4
4. He that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision.
And:
(31) He was cut off out of the land of the living
Isaiah 53:8b
8. he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of [Thy] people was He stricken.
Jules27 does not impress me, my lovely Hot-House Tomato. I impress me. You impress me. Shit, even BigT is almost impressive, by that standard. Jules27 does, indeed, impress me… as an idiot. Jules27 is the epitome of “idiot”.
Consequently, Jules27 bores me. H/She/It is a fool. And I am bored by it. I shall poke it with this stick… ----> : poke :
And again, I shall poke it with this stick… ----> : poke :
We are in the presence of greatness. Great idiocy.
So, as an aside, how come they don’t need to drink, while we humans drink a lot? Is it because they eat more compared to their size, and therefore consume more water in that way (compared to size)?
My house has been rat free for several months now. I use a cage trap baited with bread, they get in there and are trapped live with enough bread for a decent last supper. I then drop the entire trap in a bucket of cold water.
How am I doing for humane killing? I don’t like the idea of poison but probably would use it if I didn’t have two small dogs.
Well the fuckers are back! The problem with this method is I have to get my killer instinct up to a certain fury before I tackle it because I have to actually drown them. If I was using poison I would have put it down by now.
