They save them...

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Originally Posted by JLC

I mean...we already see this taking place in SO MANY aspects of our society....such as the 2nd grade choir that can't sing traditional Christmas carols because ONE kid in the class has parents that don't believe in God and decide they're offended.

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Just to correct a misconception here....
Protecting seperation of church and state has nothing to do with being offended. It protects people of ALL beliefs.

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Just to correct a misconception here....
Protecting seperation of church and state has nothing to do with being offended. It protects people of ALL beliefs.

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Maybe. That's a discussion for an entirely different thread...preferably on an entirely different site. ;)

EDIT: BTW...your current avatar just SLAYS me! :D I love it!!

The way I feel about this issue is... I feel like a belief should have a well-thought out and educated premise behind it. If the lady rescues rats, that is her perrogative. It doesn't look like she explicitly said that she thinks snakes are nasty or evil. If she had, I would feel the same way you did, that she's trying to "starve" snakes because she doesn't know anything about them. A friend of mine has seen my snakes, and still wants nothing to do with them, but at least he was willing to experience it for a moment and make up his mind. This lady may or may not have been a huge rat lover, and hated the idea of the species being fed to another. I guess the real test would be -- if someone went to the pet store and bought snakes for their pet (I know this is a pretty unrealistic example, what with rats reproducing as they do, but I think the basis still rings true), you would probably be offended and angry and hurt that someone would want to feed something that you equate to a beloved pet, into food. I know I would anyway. I respect nature but emotions toward animals is part of what makes us human. While I have to say I'd love to encounter an anti-snake person and change their mind, people's different opinons are what makes the world interesting. I just think we should take the time to research and reflect on why we feel the way we do.

One of the facts of "modern" life in countries like the US, Canada, etc. is that most people are completely divorced from any concept of predator and prey. Most of them don't like to think about where that piece of chicken came from - heck I bet there are kids growing up today that really have no concept that their dinner roast beef was ever anything other than meat wrapped in plastic in a grocery store. When you have a society that no longer understands their own eating habits, how can you really expect them to understand a snake's?

I see both sides of the argument in a way.
The lady might have wanted more pet rats and decided to "Save" them from the feeder bin rather than get them from a pet store.
She could believe that snakes are evil, and the people that feed rats to them are evil and love to torture small animals.
I think the discussion here is good to help us all think about what we might do in a similar situation. She should be educated that lots of pets eat animal product. Snakes simply are more direct and honest in their feeding habits. A dog eats innocent cows and lambs and chickens... just in a round-a-about way as the animals are processed into kibble first(in most cases). How many of the general public are against the cat catching a "poor little bird" but have no issue with eating chicken?
I don't advocate vegetarianism, I love meat. I feed my snakes, and breed some of my own rodents for feeders. I take care of all my pets, and that includes my colony of rat breeders. I try not to ever sound like a "evil uncaring feeder of vicious snakes". I try not to tease those who don't understand.
Some will never learn about the relationship of predetor/prey. Some are merely ignorant of it right now. We can't always have a discussion with the person we meet who is against us buying a live rodent to feed our pet snakes. I'd hope that when we DO have that opportunity, we try to educate rather than inflame.
I totally agree too, that people are entirely too removed from their food when it comes to meat. Kids today do NOT equate meat with a live animal. They don't think of a "cool" rabbitskin fur to the cute furry bunny that they pet at the local zoo. They are removed, and they shouldn't be.
I respect others(referring to the rat rescueing lady) opinions, but all too often the opinion in this case is formed from ignorance. I too let people pick out pets from my breeders. I will not promise to not feed any more rats to the snakes. I do understand that some kids are too young to be exposed without a long discussion from the parents. I like rats. But I'll bet too that if a mouse was in that lady's house, she'd probaly grab a trap or poison to kill it. She should see that is true hypocrisy.
Wolfy

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Originally Posted by JLC

EDIT: BTW...your current avatar just SLAYS me! :D I love it!!

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Thanks! Got it in an email the other day and it just cracked me up :lmao:

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Thanks! Got it in an email the other day and it just cracked me up :lmao:

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OK, I have to ask - does Yahoo now own the Mavericks, or did the owner of the Mavericks start Yahoo or something? I've been trying to figure out your signature all week! LOL

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Originally Posted by rabernet

OK, I have to ask - does Yahoo now own the Mavericks, or did the owner of the Mavericks start Yahoo or something? I've been trying to figure out your signature all week! LOL

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Hahaha, it's actually just something someone said, and I thought it was pretty funny. Cuban still owns the Mavs. He did start Broadcast.com, which he sold to Yahoo for billions of dollars in stock.

With all this, my question would be, oh? and how MANY < DO > you have???? It's all well and good to rescue, but if they're cramped, smelly, can't play or are ignored /overcrowded, she's not rescuing, she's hoarding and/or abusing.

I'm at the point where we have enough room for two more cages of rats and four more snakes and that's the limit. (Unless I get another rack ;) ).


I hope she realizes it's not a rescue if they're being neglected. :(