MORAL ASSISTANCE REQUIRED

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/7/01 3:53:35 PM Pacific Daylight Time, laurahesse writes:

 

 

is it cruel to have reptiles as pets in the 1st place.

 

gawd...i bloody hope not.....

*looks at my children*

 

i look at it this way......humans aren't meant to eat huge slabs o meat....

other critters are.....

you can't make a snake, monitor lizard, crocodile, bobcat or george bush vegetarian

 

fraggle

[Guest guest]

i have just bought a small corn snake today. i was soo excited (like a

little kid with a new toy) and ive been setting up the tank all day. i

finally sat down and relaxed and realised im a vegan and ill have to

feed it small dead baby mice.

 

for the last 2 years i have had my heart set on a snake cos i had one

befor but it died and i was so hear broken and ever since then i wanted

a replacement.

 

ive only been vegan 3 months and i still havnt got rid of some of my old

ways of thinking yet. i am very strict about my diet and check

everything i eat but the thought never crossed my mind about pet diets

and now i feel so guilty for not realising.

i could let my mum take responsibility for it and refuse to feed it

myself. but i want it cos i LOVE snakes so much.

 

i know the vegan way of life is what you believe in and about thinking,

and i should come to a moral conclusion my self but it is soo hard.

should i give it to my mum or take it back to the shop. is it cruel to

have reptiles as pets in the 1st place. if not i could save up for a

tortiose which are vegan.

it is soo hard sometimes being moral. how strict do you want to be? is

it bad to feed dogs horse meat (dog food)? cos i realy want a dog too.

 

i feel more guilty cos i have two rats as well. i dont like mice as much

but it is still a small fury animal. i dont even know how they kill baby

mice cos they cant poisen them so they must gas them or suffocate

them. the more i think about it the more i realise i cant have a snake.

im soo pisssed off cos i have been so happy all day then a big black

cloud floated over when i started to think.

 

people who arnt snake enthusiasts probably wouldnt understand the

problem i have.

 

it cant be fed anything else so i think ill have to give it to my mum. i

think i have answered my own question and im feeling realy unhappy

but moraly good which doesnt make me feel any better.

 

if anybody else has had any moral dilemas like this please share them

to make me feel better.

 

a very upset ex snake owner.

[Guest guest]

but does that mean that we keep the meat-producing industry in jobs just to

provide meat food for our pets? It's like saying, oh I don't eat meat because

I don't want to kill another living thing just to provide myself with a

different flavour in my mouth, but hey, I will gladly go and kill that cow

for my little pet cat....I think that this situation is untenable and that

keeping pets that must eat meat...snakes, cats, lizards, etc is unfortunately

out of bounds for vegans.

Mark

x

[Guest guest]

Right..for starters I personally would`nt have a pet that was required to

stay in a cage or tank however when I was Vegetarian I did have a hamster

(Frank)which lived in the house...I kept his cage open and he would just

wonder off wherever he liked subsequently after two years of having him he

fell in a strangely shaped bottle I left on the kitchen floor whilst I went

camping for 2 days and he died...from suffocation or starvation I think.

 

This was awful and stupidly enough I did get another hamster a month later

(Pigeon)who lived also for 2 years..he died of natural causes.

But as Frank, Pigeon was also let to run free around the house.

 

During the " pigeon years " I came across a stray dog who followed me around

for a whole day and when I went to the police station to report the stray I

was told that the police no longer took strays and I could either inform the

dog home or take responsibility of him myself..I did just that, he lived

with me for 3 months, I put signs up around the village informing the

residents of his whereabouts but no one came to claim him, he had no tag

when I found him so I called him Perry.

Later on during a walk Perry ran off and I never saw him again.

During his stay I fed him vegetarian dog food...it was filled with vitamins

etc and he loved it.

 

So there`s my story, I have`nt had any pets for 3 years now and if I ever

decided to have another " pet " I would have to think very hard on my reasons

for doing so again.

 

I have changed a lot since having pets it`s not a thing anyone should rush

into as you seem to have realized...you really shouldn't feel bad about

taking the snake back after all pet shops are a nasty business and buying

from them only encourages more animals to be bred for our own selfish

reasons...I can only suggest that if you seriously wanted a animal to look

after then get one from the RSPCA or animal shelter as many of them are on

death row (so to speak).

 

 

You must always do what YOU think is right.

 

mertle

 

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[Guest guest]

Hey Laura,

 

I think you've already come to your own conclusions about the snake. I've

come to some difficult decisions too concerning pets. I have riden horses

for eight years but Today I quit helping at a riding school as I am

promoting it to other people. It was exceptionally difficult as I love

spending the time with the animals, outdoors and have now drastically

reduced my friendship group. However I normally ride a horse (owner won't

sell him but doesn't ride herself) but can't currently due to f & m, I justify

this to myself as his situation would worsen if I stopped as he'd be bored,

and have a dull life. I also share my garden with my 5 year old pet rabbit,

he has to live alone as he's an 'entire' male and would kill/mate any

company provided. My justification for this is he has the best life possible

being in the garden or house as much as possible, the garden fence is no

obstical for him as he can jump 5 foot, but he stays contently eating &

playing in the garden. I can't better the situation and like to think he's

happy.

 

 

On the subject of dogs one of the vegans I know has a vegan dog. Initially I

was dubious about it but their vet is really happy with him so it is

possible. They used to feed him expensive calcium supplement, but now feed

him tahini with his food as a calcium source.

 

> " Laura " <laurahesse

>vegan-network

>vegan-network

> MORAL ASSISTANCE REQUIRED

>Sat, 07 Apr 2001 22:53:27 -0000

>

>i have just bought a small corn snake today. i was soo excited (like a

>little kid with a new toy) and ive been setting up the tank all day. i

>finally sat down and relaxed and realised im a vegan and ill have to

>feed it small dead baby mice.

>

>for the last 2 years i have had my heart set on a snake cos i had one

>befor but it died and i was so hear broken and ever since then i wanted

>a replacement.

>

>ive only been vegan 3 months and i still havnt got rid of some of my old

>ways of thinking yet. i am very strict about my diet and check

>everything i eat but the thought never crossed my mind about pet diets

>and now i feel so guilty for not realising.

>i could let my mum take responsibility for it and refuse to feed it

>myself. but i want it cos i LOVE snakes so much.

>

>i know the vegan way of life is what you believe in and about thinking,

>and i should come to a moral conclusion my self but it is soo hard.

>should i give it to my mum or take it back to the shop. is it cruel to

>have reptiles as pets in the 1st place. if not i could save up for a

>tortiose which are vegan.

>it is soo hard sometimes being moral. how strict do you want to be? is

>it bad to feed dogs horse meat (dog food)? cos i realy want a dog too.

>

>i feel more guilty cos i have two rats as well. i dont like mice as much

>but it is still a small fury animal. i dont even know how they kill baby

>mice cos they cant poisen them so they must gas them or suffocate

>them. the more i think about it the more i realise i cant have a snake.

>im soo pisssed off cos i have been so happy all day then a big black

>cloud floated over when i started to think.

>

>people who arnt snake enthusiasts probably wouldnt understand the

>problem i have.

>

>it cant be fed anything else so i think ill have to give it to my mum. i

>think i have answered my own question and im feeling realy unhappy

>but moraly good which doesnt make me feel any better.

>

>if anybody else has had any moral dilemas like this please share them

>to make me feel better.

>

>a very upset ex snake owner.

>

>

>

>

>

 

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[Guest guest]

this seems to be a hot topic with vegans having many different opinions

on the subject.

 

i feel better about the thought of being able to have a vegan dog. i

showed my mum what Anne said and she said its not natural to stop a

dog from having meat and are you going to stop all the ducks from

eating worms? i pointed worms arnt produced in a sloughter house.

 

i hope i dont sound like one of those people who buy puppies for x-mas

and then abandons them. i love animals thats why im doing a zoology

degree (you wouldnt think zoologists actually liked animals with the

amount of dissection they tried to make me do). at home we have

rabbits, dogs, fish, tropical frogs and toads (which eat crickets). so the

topic of pets is realy important to me. even though we buy most of our

pets on impulse we do know how to care for them.

 

 

 

vegan-network, " Anne Grainger " <annejrgrainger@h...> wrote:

> Hey Laura,

>

> I think you've already come to your own conclusions about the snake.

I've

> come to some difficult decisions too concerning pets. I have riden

horses

> for eight years but Today I quit helping at a riding school as I am

> promoting it to other people. It was exceptionally difficult as I love

> spending the time with the animals, outdoors and have now

drastically

> reduced my friendship group. However I normally ride a horse (owner

won't

> sell him but doesn't ride herself) but can't currently due to f & m, I

justify

> this to myself as his situation would worsen if I stopped as he'd be

bored,

> and have a dull life. I also share my garden with my 5 year old pet

rabbit,

> he has to live alone as he's an 'entire' male and would kill/mate any

> company provided. My justification for this is he has the best life

possible

> being in the garden or house as much as possible, the garden fence

is no

> obstical for him as he can jump 5 foot, but he stays contently eating

&

> playing in the garden. I can't better the situation and like to think he's

> happy.

>

>

> On the subject of dogs one of the vegans I know has a vegan dog.

Initially I

> was dubious about it but their vet is really happy with him so it is

> possible. They used to feed him expensive calcium supplement, but

now feed

> him tahini with his food as a calcium source.

>

> > " Laura " <laurahesse@h...>

> >vegan-network

> >vegan-network

> > MORAL ASSISTANCE REQUIRED

> >Sat, 07 Apr 2001 22:53:27 -0000

> >

> >i have just bought a small corn snake today. i was soo excited (like

a

> >little kid with a new toy) and ive been setting up the tank all day. i

> >finally sat down and relaxed and realised im a vegan and ill have to

> >feed it small dead baby mice.

> >

> >for the last 2 years i have had my heart set on a snake cos i had one

> >befor but it died and i was so hear broken and ever since then i

wanted

> >a replacement.

> >

> >ive only been vegan 3 months and i still havnt got rid of some of my

old

> >ways of thinking yet. i am very strict about my diet and check

> >everything i eat but the thought never crossed my mind about pet

diets

> >and now i feel so guilty for not realising.

> >i could let my mum take responsibility for it and refuse to feed it

> >myself. but i want it cos i LOVE snakes so much.

> >

> >i know the vegan way of life is what you believe in and about

thinking,

> >and i should come to a moral conclusion my self but it is soo hard.

> >should i give it to my mum or take it back to the shop. is it cruel to

> >have reptiles as pets in the 1st place. if not i could save up for a

> >tortiose which are vegan.

> >it is soo hard sometimes being moral. how strict do you want to be?

is

> >it bad to feed dogs horse meat (dog food)? cos i realy want a dog

too.

> >

> >i feel more guilty cos i have two rats as well. i dont like mice as

much

> >but it is still a small fury animal. i dont even know how they kill baby

> >mice cos they cant poisen them so they must gas them or suffocate

> >them. the more i think about it the more i realise i cant have a snake.

> >im soo pisssed off cos i have been so happy all day then a big black

> >cloud floated over when i started to think.

> >

> >people who arnt snake enthusiasts probably wouldnt understand the

> >problem i have.

> >

> >it cant be fed anything else so i think ill have to give it to my mum. i

> >think i have answered my own question and im feeling realy unhappy

> >but moraly good which doesnt make me feel any better.

> >

> >if anybody else has had any moral dilemas like this please share

them

> >to make me feel better.

> >

> >a very upset ex snake owner.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

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