A somber thought on feeder animals.

All I can say is, as a vegetarian, I feel really glad that the snake I have now not only accepts frozen/thawed mice, but doesn't even require me to bait her with them. I just leave them beside her, go do something else for a bit, and when I return she's eaten them (or is in the process).

I have considered a feeder breeding program, but I would have to build a CO unit as well. There's no way I could hand-kill rodents by striking them or breaking their backs or however else it's done.

It would really bother me to feed live, even though I know the snake is just doing what snakes do. I have no desire to watch it over and over again. I know what it looks like when a snake crushes a small animal to death.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Life feeds on life. The food that nourishes us was once alive. The fact that others do the killing for us changes nothing.

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Reminds me of that song "Disgustipated" by Tool.

Quote:

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And the angel of the lord came unto me, snatching me up from my place of slumber.
And took me on high, and higher still until we moved to the spaces betwixt the air itself.
And he brought me into a vast farmlands of our own midwest.
And as we descended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil.
One thousand, nay a million voices full of fear.
And terror possesed me then.
And I begged,
"Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?"
And the angel said unto me,
"These are the cries of the carrots, the cries of the carrots!
You see, Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day and to them it is the holocaust."
And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat like the tears of one million terrified brothers and roared,
"Hear me now, I have seen the light!
They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul!
Damn you!
Let the rabbits wear glasses!
Save our brothers!"
Can I get an amen?
Can I get a hallelujah?
Thank you Jesus.

This is necessary.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........ This is necessary.
This is necessary.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........
This is necessary.
This is necessary.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........
This is necessary.
This is necessary.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........
This is necessary.
This is necessary.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........
This is necessary.
This is necessary.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........
LIFE!

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WingedWolfPsion already put this very eloquently but I just can't help but post. Obviously your instinct is to feel more guilt when feeding live vs feeding F/T. In my life I try very hard to help my emotions match the logic. In order to do that when I feed live I do not think about how sad it is for the mouse to die. I think about how good the mouse lived being born and raised by me. I think about how the life of a F/T mouse is most likely very different. Its very easy to distance ourselves to the suffering that the animals that sustain us go through in their lives and deaths. By raising my own I get to provide a better life, and a quick death. I then get to make their death worth something. I also buy locally raised/slaughtered and butchered cows and pigs. I think I just found a local supply of chicken as well. It makes me feel good that I can and do, visit the animals that I eat before eating them.

In the end WingedWolfPsion said it best "Life feeds on life." Unless you are a plant your life comes from other life. Some plants even kill and many require nitrogen that comes from fertilizer made from other plants decomposing or waste from animals that ate plants. The best we can do is minimize suffering, treat all life with respect, and give the death we cause worth.