Rabbit coarsing with dogs...
I'm not sure where I stand on this. Its not really all that graphic. No more so than a million documentaries on animals hunting in the wild. Which I suppose is why I'm not really all that shocked by it. These dogs are just doing what they would normally do in the wild. I used to have a cocker spanial that killed an entire nest of baby rabbits for fun. I didn't like it, but I didn't punish the dog. The dog was just doing what dogs do. It is obvious that the dogs were loving every second of it. Its hardwired into them. I think what bothers them is that these people aren't regarding the rabbits as cute little bunnies, suitable for Easter displays. Sort of makes you wonder how long your average PETA member would survive in the wild.
Cruel or Nature?
The problem I have with it, is that these animals are being killed for entertainment.
The nature argument doesn't wash when you have a crowd full of people flushing the rabbits out, otherwise the same thing can be said of cockfighting and dog fighting.
For instance:
It's natural for two hungry dogs to fight each other to the death. It's what they do. Perhaps people who are against dog fights are bothered by the dogs not being treated as household pets.
And yes, the dogs were loving it, so are the people out there doing it, but they're there for the spectacle. The dogs have no notion of that. For them, it is, like you say, hardwired. For us, we have a choice. Would you feel the same if the game were hitting rabbits on the head with a hammer?
Upon Edit: I'm not a peta member, but I'd fare pretty well in the wild. But then again, I have different views on eating meat than most of you. Long pig is fair game.
Sleep lightly.
The nature argument doesn't wash when you have a crowd full of people flushing the rabbits out, otherwise the same thing can be said of cockfighting and dog fighting.
For instance:
It's natural for two hungry dogs to fight each other to the death. It's what they do. Perhaps people who are against dog fights are bothered by the dogs not being treated as household pets.
And yes, the dogs were loving it, so are the people out there doing it, but they're there for the spectacle. The dogs have no notion of that. For them, it is, like you say, hardwired. For us, we have a choice. Would you feel the same if the game were hitting rabbits on the head with a hammer?
Upon Edit: I'm not a peta member, but I'd fare pretty well in the wild. But then again, I have different views on eating meat than most of you. Long pig is fair game.
Sleep lightly.
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Rocketdork
- A.B. Normal
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I guess I am going to have to go with Encap on this one. Killing for entertainment is just wrong. I don't care if you do it with dogs, rifles, or sticks.
I find the justification of "this is what the dogs were bred for" argument kind of thin. Its not about the dogs, its about the handlers. They bred the dogs to grab some kind of glory, not because there is a real need to kill rabbits.
I guess just in general I find my self in disagreement with many forms of "hunting".
My brother is an avid hunter, that eats what he kills. We had a good conversation about hunting and why he does it. Its interesting that in the end it came down to "I enjoy the kill". Each argument that he presented for WHY he was hunting was easily deflected. I enjoy getting out in nature, was countered with "go camping". Its not the kill its the hunt, was countered with "shoot it with a camera". In the end with every hunter that I have had this conversation with, they ended up realizing that it really isn't anything but the kill they were after.
I have to believe that there are some out there that do it for the meat, infact, I watched a show that featured a hunter that if he didn't get a deer and an elk during the hunt, didn't eat meat until the next hunt. I have to respect this view. I will kill for the meat that I eat, no one will do it for me, if I can't kill for the meat, then I will not eat meat. I find some sort of honor in that.
I find the justification of "this is what the dogs were bred for" argument kind of thin. Its not about the dogs, its about the handlers. They bred the dogs to grab some kind of glory, not because there is a real need to kill rabbits.
I guess just in general I find my self in disagreement with many forms of "hunting".
My brother is an avid hunter, that eats what he kills. We had a good conversation about hunting and why he does it. Its interesting that in the end it came down to "I enjoy the kill". Each argument that he presented for WHY he was hunting was easily deflected. I enjoy getting out in nature, was countered with "go camping". Its not the kill its the hunt, was countered with "shoot it with a camera". In the end with every hunter that I have had this conversation with, they ended up realizing that it really isn't anything but the kill they were after.
I have to believe that there are some out there that do it for the meat, infact, I watched a show that featured a hunter that if he didn't get a deer and an elk during the hunt, didn't eat meat until the next hunt. I have to respect this view. I will kill for the meat that I eat, no one will do it for me, if I can't kill for the meat, then I will not eat meat. I find some sort of honor in that.
"A man without a woman is like a statue without pigeons"
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bugfreezer
- Arthropoda Cryogenicist
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I fish for keeps - forget catch/release!
Since the...gentlemen involved don't eat the bunnies, I wonder what Cal's interest in thinning the jacks is - don't want 'em too populous?
Folks here sweep ground squirrels in pasture areas. Since they are only above ground 2 mos a year...I dunno. Nobody eats the beasties for sure!
Anyway, eat what you kill, and teach them pooches how to quickly dispatch what they catch, IMO...if they can be taught.
Since the...gentlemen involved don't eat the bunnies, I wonder what Cal's interest in thinning the jacks is - don't want 'em too populous?
Folks here sweep ground squirrels in pasture areas. Since they are only above ground 2 mos a year...I dunno. Nobody eats the beasties for sure!
Anyway, eat what you kill, and teach them pooches how to quickly dispatch what they catch, IMO...if they can be taught.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
- Sir Winston Churchill
- Sir Winston Churchill
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Eve
- Aussie Stalker Babe
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If it's all about watching them run, then run them at a greyhound track.
Certainly down here, rabbits are an introduced species and vermin, but I don't believe in inhumane methods of killing any animal. (well except maybe for cockroaches. - I HATE cockroaches - any way you wanna kill them suckers is okay by me).
Certainly down here, rabbits are an introduced species and vermin, but I don't believe in inhumane methods of killing any animal. (well except maybe for cockroaches. - I HATE cockroaches - any way you wanna kill them suckers is okay by me).
Locked in a room with you, 2 tigers and a gun with 2 bullets, I'd shoot you twice.
Grumpy Old Woman.
Grumpy Old Woman.
