Kangaroos forced to box

[marts1]

Hey, it's only fair that I'm not the only one answering questions here, lol. Meat eating is not a weakness. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that humans are naturally omnivorous, so our bodies are meant to have both meat and vegetable matter. This also makes sense in light of what the the Word of Wisdom has to say about meat eating, too.

Philosophically I would like to live a vegetarian lifestyle, but practically, going without meat makes me anaemic and sickly. So I eat some meat, mostly fish or chicken, a few times a week. I once read a book by David Suzuki where he made the point that if we are going to eat meat, we should do so with thanksgiving to the animal that has lost its life. If anyone makes the mistake of looking at slaughterhouse footage, it becomes abundantly clear that animals that are killed for meat live their final moments in fear. With that in mind, I think it's utterly selfish of us to mindlessly shovel meat (especially the fast food kind) into our mouths when a living animal suffered a fearful death so we could eat it.

Ethically, I try to be responsible when it comes to animal products. I buy only organic, free range eggs, beef and chicken. I'm also careful with the fish I purchase, since, for example, you can buy large, delicious fillets of Nile Perch quite cheaply. Unfortunately the Nile Perch comes from Lake Victoria in Africa where the people have sold their environment for a 'mess of pottage' to be frank. The Nile Perch is a huge predator fish that has eaten almost everything in what was once a thriving lake environment...the time will come when the local people can't farm the Nile Perch any longer and they'll be left with nothing but a devastated environment and dire poverty to show for a short-term economic boost. I also don't buy beauty or chemical products that are not labelled 'cruelty free' or 'not tested on animals'. Nevertheless I know there are probably many areas I can improve in this area.

Spiritually, I think the WoW makes it clear eating meat is ok as long as it's done sparingly and with thanksgiving. That's the approach that I take, but I know others interpret the same scriptures differently.

Did I answer the question? lol

You might also see what it says in DC 89:12-13 and DC 89:14-15 which is why I still think I should try harder to not eat meat, even if at all. I did enjoy reading your answer btw.:)

[MsQwerty]

You might also see what it says in DC 89:12-13 and DC 89:14-15 which is why I still think I should try harder to not eat meat, even if at all. I did enjoy reading your answer btw.:)

Oh, I totally agree with your interpretation of those verses. I feel quite conflicted about even the small amount of meat I do eat. As I said, philosophically I'm a vegetarian, but practially it's quite bad for my health. My former bishop had a similar health conflict with the WoW as he discovered he was gluten intolerant when Section 89 specifically states that wheat is for man.

On a bit of a tangent...I often wonder how church members reconcile terrible, wasteful and gluttonous eating habits with the principles and spirit of the WoW. Sure, as a people we don't drink alcohol, smoke tobacco or drink tea/coffee...but the prevalence of seriously overweight church members is an indication that we are not as health conscious as we could be. I personally think the over-consumption of meat, fast-food and the mormon drug of choice - cola - has a lot to do with it. Abstinence from liquor, tobacco and tea/coffee alone is not going to help our health and longevity much if we are eating ourselves into oblivion instead. <end tangent - sorry>

Edited March 20, 2010 by MsQwerty
typo queen

[MsQwerty]

I'm mainly referring to all the contribution Steve Irwin has made to the research in the preservation, care, transport, etc. of crocodiles. His TV Show is jut a way to fund that and get the people educated on crocs, etc. Without the research facilities, equipment, expertise, etc. of the Australian Zoo, his research could not have gone as far as it did. Educating people cannot start unless somebody has done all the research necessary to know everything there is to know about crocs!

The thing about it is - it takes money to do all this research. It takes money to educate people. Setting up observation posts in the middle of the northeast pacific basin to research killer whales, for example, is cost prohibitive - more so than having a killer whale in a tank at Sea World where you can have a controlled environment. Sea World's main purpose is not the theme park. The theme park funds all the things that happen inside of Sea World and provides an education outlet. This guy who used to work with me, for example, houses bird rescues for Sea World in his backyard. Nobody gets to see those birds except those he invites to his home. He does it all for free. He incurs all the cost for housing, feeding, and caring. Sea World provides medical treatment costs and training.

The bulk of Sea World's work is behind-the-scenes. Advancements in the understanding of animal's genetics, habitats, behaviors, physiology, psychology, etc., etc., does not happen on the Shamu show. All this research serves but one purpose - to preserve Killer Whales and provide an environment of balance. If we think about that instead of just the poor Shamu stuck in a tank, we will learn to gain an appreciation for these methods. We can then sift through everything that is happening in animal care and be more knowledgeable when fighting against abuse so that we are fighting the "truly" bad guys.

Animal testing, for instance... I hear this all the time - oh, it is so cruel to test on animals. Okay, you have a product - say, a brand new medicine that is supposed to cure cancer. You know it can kill cancer cells but you don't know how a body would react to it. There is only so much you can do on the computer. You will have to put that product into a body to test it. What do you do - put the product in a human being without knowing what reaction you are going to get? Or put the product on a monkey that has a similar physiology as a human? Even though I am an animal activist, I do not blanketly condemn animal-testing, not when it's use has made a big contribution to the advancement of medicine.

Another one - backyard breeders. It's almost like saying the F-word in the animal activist circles. This is another one of those that need much thought before condemnation. There are puppy mills and there are backyard breeders - 2 totally different things. Breeding a dog in a certified backyard would be preferrable than commercially mass-breeding a dog, in my opinion. People who breed in their backyards are much more attuned to their pets and have the ability to provide the "pack" care more so than the big breeders. So, one might think - oh, but these people just care about the money... hah, maybe at first. But one will soon find out that unless you truly care about dogs, the effort and cost required to breed dogs (or any pet for that matter) is not worth the measley paycheck it makes. So, in this case, going through a certification process to get a license to breed pets in your backyard would be enough to discourage the quick-cash types.

On a personal note, yesterday, I was talking to a friend and we happened to start talking about snakes. I mentioned I have a ball python. And she said - Are you crazy? Snakes are "poisonous"! Oh, and those get so big they will end up eating your kids! They have it on the news all the time! Sigh.

Your friend probably has fresh memories like I do of this shocking death of a two year old toddler that was in the news last year: 911 Call: Python Kills Toddler - ABC News

Your former co-worker who rescues birds sounds like a great human being!

I understand that commercial enterprises like Seaworld and Australia Zoo have research going on behind the scenes, they make that pretty clear whenever you visit one of their establishments. I still don't think we 'need' to know certain information about animals that can't be collected from natural observations - large animals should not be in enclosures imo. As for animal experiments, I've been round and round on that one, and at this stage I'm probably a bit like you in that I can just barely tolerate the thought of animals being tested to cure disease, but see no justification for it in the beauty industry. If my mascara has to be tipped into the eye of a rabbit just to see if it's 'safe' then I don't want to wear it - there are plenty of alternatives out there. What do you think of cosmetics testing on animals?

[MsQwerty]

Hi, MsQwerty.

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P.S. I don't think I would be interested enough to see a kangaroo boxing event, anyway; so, even though I'm not morally opposed to it, they wouldn't be getting any support from me. That ought to make you happy. :)

P.P.S. I've seen redback spiders in a zoo before. We have black widows here (same genus, and just as dangerous). And, yeah, Australia's pretty famous for its bugs. At least, in my professional circles it is. :)

P.P.P.S. I was recently educated about the way to make a smiley with its tongue sticking out. Even though the smilies legend on the right says to use a capital 'P', you have to use a lower-case 'p' on this web-site. Like this:

PS.Yeah, I think anyone who would actually go out of their way to see a kangaroo boxing in a freak show is a dumb<insert posterier expletive here> but who am I to judge

PPS. If you ever visit Australia, the Queensland Museum has an excellent collection of bugs - I suspect you would like it very much. We also have awesomely huge cockroaches :)

PPPS: You might be interested, since you are a biologist, in the fact that a rare species of snail found in far North Queensland has just been named in honour of Stever Irwin - scientists have named it "Crikey stevirwinis", lol. Queensland Museum - Media Room - Rare species discovery honours wildlife campaigner Steve Irwin

PPPPS. Can't you just click on the smily you want? Mine is already there in picture format and I can just click on it

[Finrock]

Good afternoon MsQwerty. It is a pleasure to meet you! :)

PS.Yeah, I think anyone who would actually go out of their way to see a kangaroo boxing in a freak show is a dumb<insert posterier expletive here> but who am I to judge

It would appear that I am one of those dumb donkeys that you are referring to.

Regards,

Finrock

[Snow]

[Guest]

What do you think of cosmetics testing on animals?

All my cosmetic products are from arbonne. You should look into it.

[Guest]

You might also see what it says in DC 89:12-13 and DC 89:14-15 which is why I still think I should try harder to not eat meat, even if at all. I did enjoy reading your answer btw.:)

D&C 12-13 - only in time of winter.

In the days of old, there was no refrigeration available. Sparingly + summer = spoiled meat.

[Dravin]

D&C 12-13 - only in time of winter.

In the days of old, there was no refrigeration available. Sparingly + summer = spoiled meat.

This comes up a lot, but there are methods of preserving meat beyond refrigeration. Namely smoking, salting and drying.

[marts1]

I could be more comfortable and lean on DC 49:18-19.:)

[MsQwerty]

Good afternoon MsQwerty. It is a pleasure to meet you! :)

It would appear that I am one of those dumb donkeys that you are referring to.

Regards,

Finrock

Good evening Finrock, nice to meet you too!

I'm sorry for your lapse in judgement regarding the kangaroo - I'm sure you have many wonderful qualities otherwise :)

[MsQwerty]

All my cosmetic products are from arbonne. You should look into it.

Thanks, arbonne is available here but I've never tried it. Are you a distributor? I use products from a few local companies you probably haven't heard of.