BS: Animal Terrorists

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 06 Feb 06 - 07:39 PM

so....   How long after invading can a species still be said to NOT be native?

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Cluin
Date: 06 Feb 06 - 08:18 PM

The winners write the history books.

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Gervase
Date: 07 Feb 06 - 07:23 AM

To move away from cats (Do americans really remove the claws from their cats? Please tell me this is some sort of ironic joke?!) and back to animal rights in general.

smiler seems to have toddled off again, but I'd be interested to see his/her reaction to

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Gervase
Date: 07 Feb 06 - 07:30 AM

...and, if work carried out on animals really has no relevance to humans, why exactly are we worrying about Avian Flu?

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Raptor
Date: 07 Feb 06 - 08:27 AM

Little Hawk this thread was going good untill you had to bring up the wierd things you do with your plastic whatnot.
Now I feel sick
Thanks a hell of a lot!

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Feb 06 - 10:39 AM

"Do americans really remove the claws from their cats?"
Americans are not the only ones....

Raptor... don't feed the idiot troll...

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Gervase
Date: 07 Feb 06 - 10:53 AM

Idiot troll me arse!
It's just that, as a Brit, I've never heard of such a thing, and would imagine that most vets this side of the pond would refuse to carry out such a procedure.
At the moment we have a law going through which will make it illegal to dock dogs' tails, so cat declawing would be right out of order, I would think.
Is the whole claw actually removed? Front and hind legs? How does it affect the cat's ability to climb, and its general behaviour (given that scratching is such a part of a cat's make-up)?
If pulling out cats' claws is the norm, what would be the reaction to someone wanting to remove or file the teeth from dogs in case they bite?

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Feb 06 - 11:35 AM

"Idiot troll me arse!"
No no no... not you Gervase...

"Is the whole claw actually removed?"
Yes... the common practice is front claws only...

"How does it affect the cat's ability to climb, and its general behaviour"
If you do it when they're kittens (The same time you spay 'em) they'll grow up never knowing the difference....   I've seen declawed cats that can climb like fkn squirrels... And as far as scratching behaviour goes, that has more to do with scent marking, and a declawed cat will still do it... only they won't wreck the sofa while they're at it....

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Feb 06 - 02:14 PM

"How long after invading can a species still be said to NOT be native?"

That's strictly matter of opinion, and there's no way of proving who has the final opinion on it.

As regards human beings, my opinion is that you're automatically native to any area of land you happen to be born on. People are people, and they're all native to the land they are born upon.

As regards introduced animal species, imported insects, plants, etc...well, that's a bit trickier. You have to consider how they'll react with the local flora and fauna.

People did no favors to Hawaii, for example, when they brought dogs, cats, pigs, rats, mongooses, and mosquitos...all of which proved disastrous and reproduced uncontrollably. They did no favors to Australia either when they introduced rabbits.

But who ever thought ahead about it back in those days? They only found out afterward.

Raptor, you're welcome. I just expanded the borders of the topic a little, didn't I?

It's true that an adult cat does not remember having its claws removed in infancy. Neither does a human being remember its fingernails and its sexual parts being removed in infancy. Maybe we should start doing that too, and keep people indoors all the time where they won't kill things. Think how the natural environment would benefit as time went by...

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 02:18 PM

Bill Caddick once wrote a song about somebody who hanged a pig. Apparently they used to try animals who had done bad things and then hang them.

never happened up my street.

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Cluin
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 05:11 PM

Domestic cats and dogs wouldn't exist today without the alterations arrogant mankind has impinged on them through breeding, confinement, association, etc. Talk about closing the barn door if you wish, but the horse left a long time ago. If a cat is going to live in my house, with furniture and drapes and my thigh and little kids around who don't know not to "ask for it", I will have them declawed. The dog will learn to go outside to pee and poo and shut up when I tell him to.

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 05:45 PM

We need you HERE, Cluin! These dogs will not shut up no matter who tells them to. ;-)

As for the cats...pfui! It's a tempest in a teapot. Tom Sawyer managed to survive and grow up unmaimed and happy in the company of clawed house cats, and so did I. Mark Twain would laugh at the ridiculous stiff people worry about nowadays.

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Cluin
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 07:17 PM

Mine doesn't either, LH. At least not until I go pick him up and carry him away from the front window and pet him till he calms down.

Hey, wait! I'm probably reinforcing his behaviour.

Whattaya gonna do?

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 07:32 PM

It ain't easy...

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Janie
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 07:34 PM

I once lived with an animal terrorist--a big psychotic cat named Harry who would lurk on top of the refrigerator, waiting to pounce--claws extended, teeth biting. He could trash a whole room in 15 seconds flat when he really got worked up, and really was known to do some serious damage to humanoids. Finally told the cat and his mistress they had to move on.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 07:39 PM

Harry represents a long and proud feline tradition that has not been affected in the least by globalization...

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Janie
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 07:42 PM

Just proves that pride goeth before the fall--I think he finally had to be euthanized as a menace to society.

J.

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 07:46 PM

No! Say it isn't so! (*sob*) Another hero has fallen in the long, but unremitting struggle which shall finally end with cats achieving total victory and running everything and doing exactly what they want ALL the time...

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Cluin
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 08:35 PM

Of course you've seen this.

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 08:49 PM

Yeah. LOL! I love it.

Subject: RE: BS: Animal Terrorists
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 08 Feb 06 - 10:49 PM

1 blender
1 cat
1 tray of ice cubes
1 tumbler of Vodka
Blend on high for 50 seconds.

Makes Catatonic for four.