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killing rats

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I have rats in my garden,they come from the fields surrounding me.I have a love for nature but i hate rats..They bring disease and death and i kill them.I still have empathy with them for they only desire to survive and reproduce.How do i resolve this contradiction ? I killed three rats with my gun today because its cleaner than poison..I enjoyed the kill but hated my enjoyment..conudrum..conudrum.. I can only kill if I hate them ..conudrummmmmm..

@xris,

Kill them thery're disgusting.

@Caroline,

Buy a large pet snake feed the rats to it. Or set up an Animal Cruelty market so you can buy rat killing credits from a greenpeace worker. These are the ways to offset you "PETA Footprint".

@Caroline,

Caroline wrote:

Kill them thery're disgusting.

But i admire life, i think its sacred..I will kill them tomorrow but i wish i did not have to..I was a soldier and the fear of killing can be more fearful than dying..I will not kill an ant if i can avoid the act, i will take a spider in my hands and put it somewhere safe rather than kill it..KILL is a big word..

---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------

GoshisDead wrote:

Buy a large pet snake feed the rats to it. Or set up an Animal Cruelty market so you can buy rat killing credits from a greenpeace worker. These are the ways to offset you "PETA Footprint".

I dont like snakes, credits for killing them ? that novel..

@xris,

Yeah but rats are different, they carry diseaseand they breed......fast!

@xris,

cute little squirrels carry disease
dogs carry disease
deer carry disease
but most of all, humans spread disease like craaaazy... isnt it something crazy like 1 in 5 humans have herpes or something... lets not decide that killing is appropriate based on the capacity to carry disease...

territory... rats invading your territory... prolly gettin into your food supply... survival of the richest... i mean... uh... fittest.

@Caroline,

Caroline wrote:

Yeah but rats are different, they carry diseaseand they breed......fast!

But so do we..we have more humans than rats and we carry more diseases..so should i shoot a few neighbours??? One rat i shot in the head but it was twitching in pain so i hit it with an axe and the blood flew everywhere.should i feel compassion?

---------- Post added at 04:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------

sarathustrah wrote:

cute little squirrels carry disease
dogs carry disease
deer carry disease
but most of all, humans spread disease like craaaazy... isnt it something crazy like 1 in 5 humans have herpes or something... lets not decide that killing is appropriate based on the capacity to carry disease...

territory... rats invading your territory... prolly gettin into your food supply... survival of the richest... i mean... uh... fittest.

Your getting my drift..

---------- Post added at 04:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------

Actions are a result of reality ,reality requires we consider our actions..I do certain actions by necessity but as a human i must consider my actions..

@xris,

Good, good question; and an honest real-life one (from how it sounds).

Resolve to kill them (and find your own justification for it) or don't. I know this sounds simplistic, but I think most people simply just 'turn away' from such 'smaller' ethical issues in their day-to-day lives. The authentic ethical life is one where your values match your behavior.

To me, animal life should be respected and cherished; but not nearly as much as human life. What I'm getting at is this: I can't kill animals indiscriminately but I will (and I have) when the reason I want them gone surpasses the amount of respect I think that life form deserves. I don't cry when I mow my grass (foilage murder) but I wouldn't take a lawn mower to a dog unless I had a really, really good reason to do so. All things - I think - should be weighed.

If you're feeling regret for killing them; you probably should stop (maybe find another solution). The fact that you're feeling guilt tells me its likely this might be your best solution.

Good luck.

@xris,

xris wrote:

I have rats in my garden,they come from the fields surrounding me.I have a love for nature but i hate rats..They bring disease and death and i kill them.I still have empathy with them for they only desire to survive and reproduce.How do i resolve this contradiction ? I killed three rats with my gun today because its cleaner than poison..I enjoyed the kill but hated my enjoyment..conudrum..conudrum.. I can only kill if I hate them ..conudrummmmmm..

I have been told that if you sprinkle cayenne pepper in your garden, it will repel mouses, rats and other pests that would damage your garden.

@GoshisDead,

GoshisDead wrote:

Buy a large pet snake feed the rats to it. Or set up an Animal Cruelty market so you can buy rat killing credits from a greenpeace worker. These are the ways to offset you "PETA Footprint".

I was simply sarcastically pointing some things out as it pertains to environmental ethics, which categor i thing this falls.

As animals it is our nature to displace other species for food, territory or whatever reason. Even though we have "rational thought", why would we act all that different from other animals when confronted with such visceral matters.

As rational animals we tend to match our consciences with the current cultural model. In the last generation or two we have been saturated with pro-envirnomnetal , for the lack of a better word, and I'm not using this in the prejorative, Propoganda. We have also gone so far as a world culture to set up environmental abuse rationalizations like the carbon market.

So, I think its totally natural to feel guilty for killing the rats, and i can empathize with the cognitive discord it promotes.

@xris,

xris wrote:

But so do we..we have more humans than rats and we carry more diseases..so should i shoot a few neighbours??? One rat i shot in the head but it was twitching in pain so i hit it with an axe and the blood flew everywhere.should i feel compassion?

---------- Post added at 04:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------

That's pretty gross, i would feel the need to get away.

---------- Post added at 05:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------

Elmud wrote:

I have been told that if you sprinkle cayenne pepper in your garden, it will repel mouses, rats and other pests that would damage your garden.

That's a good way of doing it, if it works because it's kinder.

@Caroline,

Rat burgers anyone? :oyyyy:

@xris,

xris wrote:

I have rats in my garden,they come from the fields surrounding me.I have a love for nature but i hate rats..They bring disease and death and i kill them.I still have empathy with them for they only desire to survive and reproduce.How do i resolve this contradiction ? I killed three rats with my gun today because its cleaner than poison..I enjoyed the kill but hated my enjoyment..conudrum..conudrum.. I can only kill if I hate them ..conudrummmmmm..

Just kill the little bastards and get over it.

@xris,

although beware... that ol sayin about killing animals for fun is indicative of mental dysfunction or whatever...

taking care of a pest is one thing... but enjoying it might be as unhealthy as over sympathizing its death... like throwing it a funeral...

although i do adore the sensitivity cultures like native americans showed by like having a little moment of appreciation for an animals sacrifice when they killed it...

thats a bit different though... thats hunting... not pest control lol

@xris,

If you feel that guilty about killing the rats, just catch them and throw them over to your neighbour's garden.

@xris,

Introduce some well behaved rats into the local population to act as role models.

@Dave Allen,

The rats in question never did me any harm its only the threat of disease that drove me to kill them.I have grandchildren that play there and i know their urine can kill.Cayenne pepper appears ok but i would need a quite few pounds of it every week.I might try the high pitched anti rat contraption but i fear that might harm my hedgehogs..Well Il face that problem the next time they show up.Thanks for all the advice Xris..

@Jose phil,

Jose wrote:

If you feel that guilty about killing the rats, just catch them and throw them over to your neighbour's garden.

lol. Now that's wrong.

@xris,

Why the fuss over rats?

I suppose you'd kill cockroaches without a blink of an eye, so why so much bother over another house pest?

@Jose phil,

Jose wrote:

Why the fuss over rats?

I suppose you'd kill cockroaches without a blink of an eye, so why so much bother over another house pest?

Either from over-philosophizing, or from being overly sensitive.

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