killing rats

@xris,

So what did you do in the end xris?

@Jose phil,

Jose wrote:

So what did you do in the end xris?

I thought i said, i shot them..

@xris,

Oh ok. Might've missed it. I've a habit of just skimming through. Especially those long and verbose posts. It gives me a headache reading them.

@Jose phil,

Jose wrote:

Oh ok. Might've missed it. I've a habit of just skimming through. Especially those long and verbose posts. It gives me a headache reading them.

It was not long or verbose...well i dont think so..

@xris,

Nah, it wasn't. It's become a habit to skim.

@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..

Get a cat. Let it outside. You'll be amazed how quickly that works.

When I was a kid, I had a housecat that was very good at killing mice. Not so good at eating them, though.

@hammersklavier,

hammersklavier wrote:

Get a cat. Let it outside. You'll be amazed how quickly that works.

When I was a kid, I had a housecat that was very good at killing mice. Not so good at eating them, though.

These rats are as big.... my cat ,sadly she died, did kill the smaller ones.Ive had it with cats and dogs, im of the age where they might out live me..No im going to have to damage my karma and kill the little baaaaa...

@xris,

xris wrote:

I thought i said, i shot them..

Please don't kill the rats Xris. Think about their families. wife , kids and such. They're just looking for something to bring home to their families for dinner. Maybe if you were to set out a care package for them, they would not mess with your garden. You know, a block of cheese, some peanut butter or a package of bologna. I'm sure they would not be very particular. They would probably be grateful and thank you. My uncle use to have some pet rats years ago. He trained them just like you would a dog. They would wag their tails and play with him just like a dog would. Poor ole rats. Just trying to get through life the best they can. Don't shoot the rats Xris. Make friends with them.

@Elmud,

Look, the fact of the matter is that if an organism is causing problems for a person then that person has the right to kill that organism. I'm not suggesting torture - just a quick kill. We create rights, and organisms do not have the same rights as persons because we can't expect from them what we expect from each other. A non-personal organism's actions are guided by pure instinct, not by significant sentience, volition or reason, and so we cannot expect them to uphold any of the morals that we assign to persons.

@hammersklavier,

hammersklavier wrote:

Get a cat. Let it outside. You'll be amazed how quickly that works.

When I was a kid, I had a housecat that was very good at killing mice. Not so good at eating them, though.

Yeah, I had that problem with my girlfriends cat. They kill their prey and then bring it back to you. Like its a present. It was cute for a second, until we found a pair of robins underneath the sheets of the bed. not so good.:Not-Impressed:

@Elmud,

Elmud wrote:

Please don't kill the rats Xris. Think about their families. wife , kids and such. They're just looking for something to bring home to their families for dinner. Maybe if you were to set out a care package for them, they would not mess with your garden. You know, a block of cheese, some peanut butter or a package of bologna. I'm sure they would not be very particular. They would probably be grateful and thank you. My uncle use to have some pet rats years ago. He trained them just like you would a dog. They would wag their tails and play with him just like a dog would. Poor ole rats. Just trying to get through life the best they can. Don't shoot the rats Xris. Make friends with them.

No Kill kill them.To be honest Rats are the only animal i cant stand they give me the creeps.A women locally died from rat urine going into a cut ,a dog i had died from a rat bite.Kill Kill them.Ive convinced myself i hate them...

@xris,

Animal Planet :: News :: Rats Careful Deliberators

Some new science about rats might change some minds here. They may have the precursor to rational thinking (metacognition)

Metacognition in the Rat : The Frontal Cortex

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bclee/laughpapers.txt

Studies Show Rats Enjoy Tickling - ABC News

@GoshisDead,

GoshisDead wrote:

Animal Planet :: News :: Rats Careful Deliberators

Some new science about rats might change some minds here. They may have the precursor to rational thinking (metacognition)

Metacognition in the Rat : The Frontal Cortex

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bclee/laughpapers.txt

Studies Show Rats Enjoy Tickling - ABC News

Listen, I don't give a damn. A precursor to rational thinking is not rational thinking. Non-personal organisms are not afforded the same rights as persons because we cannot expect them to understand and uphold morals. So what if they enjoy tickling. I bet they enjoy sex as well.

I'm not saying that non-personal organisms shouldn't have any rights, such as the right against torture and the right against extinction. I am only saying that they shouldn't have the same rights as persons.

@xris,

They carry disease and it is only natural for man to protect his own by what ever means necessary.

@Caroline,

Caroline wrote:

They carry disease and it is only natural for man to protect his own by what ever means necessary.

Caroline. Yes. Many rats carry disease. Health care in the rat community is sorely lacking. Most rats are homeless and cannot afford quality health care. They don't mean to spread disease. They can't help it. I think all the domestic pet rats should get together and help their homeless brother and sister rats. They're not bad folks those ole rats. Its just that nobody gives them a chance .

@xris,

Rats need "universal heathcare". Seriously.

Don't just kill them...If we do that, we might one day regret when we hear that rats is now an endangered species.

@Jose phil,

The sailors of old when plagued with rats new if a ship was on fie the rats would desert the ship.So to make the rats think the ship was on fire would catch two to three rats, soak them in inflammable liquid and set them on fire.The screams ,terrible screams, would convince the ships rats to jump overboard.Those sailors would think our concerns almost juvenile, how times change.Observe respect but protect your own.

@Caroline,

Caroline wrote:

Kill them thery're disgusting.

Can I help it if I felt inspired? Really can not resist dropping this here...

It is quite fine when you're a swine
It's even big when you're a pig
We deeply bow for every cow
And we wish luck to every duck
There is much worse than be a horse
That little mouse can have our house
Those itchy lice are almost nice
And every bee is great to see
It happens that if you're a cat
Even a dog takes off his hat
But it's so sad when you are bad
And you are dead when you're a rat!

@Catchabula,

Rat and cat i thought might have made an appearance.Kill and thrill should not be associated.i take my hat of to the rat his persistence to life is noticed by all who seek his elimination.

@GoshisDead,

GoshisDead wrote:

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.

Empathy is a valuable emotion, but like all emotions it should be balanced with rationality.

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