Guest guest Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 Message: 10 Re: not worth fighting > Thu, 9 Dec 2004 18:28:12 -0600 > " CJsMonnie " <cjshssahm > RE: choices > > The " God put the animals on this earth for us to > eat " has gotten to me > as of > late. Like everyone else, I too have had pointless arguments with people. I tend to avoid arguments, because I don't feel the need to justify my vegetarianism to anyone. When asked about it, I usually just say " I don't like meat " and leave it at that, refusing to get drawn in, no matter how hard they try. However, I've had to sit back on mulitple occasions and watch someone deliberately trying to corner me and pin me into an argument - completely unprovoked! For example, I was the only one eating a vegetarian meal at my cousin's wedding. The person next to me - with whom I'd passed not a single word about anything, least of all dietary matters - started trying to put stupid arguments to me, such as " what about pest animals, like kangaroos? They need to be culled anyway, why not eat them? " and so on, so forth. I realised very early on that many meat eaters assume vegetarians to be self righteous, preachy types who spend all their time acting superior to meat eaters. I don't know anybody like this, but I certainly do not fit that bill myself, and do not appreciate being treated like I do. But one of the worst arguments came to me one night at a party, again unprovoked. I had a workmate and my boss sitting beside me. I mentioned in conversation that the new housing development near my place had caused all the mice from the fields to infest the local houses, including ours. I mentioned that I had traps set, and had barely finished my sentence before my workmate and boss had virtually jumped on me with this statement: " oh so you won't eat meat, but it's okay to kill mice? " . Then I was accused of having double standards, and " changing matters whenever it suits you " . So what did they expect me to do? Leave my house to be infested with mice? Spreading disease and pooping everywhere? Is that what I HAVE to do because - gasp - I'm a VEGETARIAN??!!! And what would they say about me then, if they knew my house was filled with wild mice? Could I win in this conversation, no matter what I did or said? NO!!! Pointless, pointless arguments. From stupid, stupid people. Regards Louise South Australia DogsBody Hydrobath aussie_bullbreeds/ www.edba.org.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 > >But one of the worst arguments came to me one night at a party, again >unprovoked. I had a workmate and my boss sitting beside me. I mentioned in >conversation that the new housing development near my place had caused all >the mice from the fields to infest the local houses, including ours. If you ever have mice in your home again, the most effective way of dealing with them is not the lethal one. An article from our rescue: " Help I'm Being Invaded! " While we love rodents, we also understand that you don't want to invite the wildlife to take over your home. There are effective, humane options to keep critters out of your home or barn. Lethal methods are not as effective as one might think. Rats are extremely intelligent and live in sophisticated social groups. Traps: Since rats are very adept at learning by watching each other, you might catch one or two, but the colony will continue to thrive as the other rats learn that the traps are dangerous and stop tripping them. They may even teach each other to steal the bait! Poisons: The drawbacks to these are twofold. First, rat colonies tend to have a " taster " rat who eats before the others. If this rat becomes ill, the others won't take the food. Second, even if you do fool some of the rats, the ones who survive will live to breed. Since rats breed very rapidly (they go into heat every 4 days) they also evolve quickly. The ones who have a resistance to the poison will be the ones who reproduce and their strain will be able to eat poisoned feed and live. This has already made many traditional poisons nearly completely ineffective. Shooting, etc.: Killing is a temporary solution to a long-term problem. Without changing the environment another colony will soon replace the previous one. In order to resolve the problem, your best bet is to change the environment. Step one: Clean clean clean. Make sure all food is safely put away in airtight containers or in your refrigerator. Don't leave pet food lying around. Also keep substances like glue out of the way. Step two: Introduce a " predator " . The most feared predator of mice and rats is the ferret. You can purchase ferret scent (you won't smell it, but the mice will) from http://www.mousebgone.com/ or you can take a little ferret litter from a friend who has ferrets and strategically place it. One caveat: don't use this product if you have pet rodents in the house since it will make them stressed and neurotic in most cases. It's not likely to be much trouble if you have pet rodents however since wild ones are usually reluctant to move into an area that already has an active colony. In attic spaces you can often deter unwanted wildlife by carefully placing a few ammonia scented rags near the suspected nest. Wait a few days, then plug the point of entry with steel wool and remove the rags. Ammonia smells much like predator urine. Step three: (if needed) Any stragglers may be able to be removed using humane traps. There are several different designs and these are just a few of the links you can use to purchase them. Just bait them with dog food and a bit of fresh apple (to prevent dehydration) and check the trap frequently. Release the animals far from homes. http://www.abundantearth.com/store/mousetrap1.html http://www.trap-man.com/multi-live-catch-repeating-mouse-trap.htm (not preferred since catching multiple mice could result in carnage inside since mice are extremely territorial.) http://www.pestproducts.com/runway_trap.htm http://www.tomahawklivetrap.com/products/35.html http://www.smithsax.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm (one you can build yourself) http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/p_pest.html Help! My rodent has accidentally been hurt by a pest control device. Snap traps: Release limb and see vet immediately. Glue traps: Lots and lots of vegetable oil, followed by a thorough bath. Be gentle! Don't rip the skin. Poisons: Many rat poisons cause a vitamin K deficiency so administering this vitamin may help. See a vet immediately. Poisons often cause internal hemmoraging. Veronica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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