Live food...why? Honestly & with facts!

[WingedWolfPsion]

I think it's a huge mistake to claim that intent is what makes something cruel. That's silly.
Intent is, and always has been, utterly irrelevant. We do not live in a world where 'thought crimes' are valid.
If the animal suffers excessively, then it is cruel. If it does not, then it's not cruel. This isn't about what the human is thinking, it's about what the animal is feeling, and NOTHING else is important.

In a typical situation, the python will grab the animal, which causes a surge of adrenalin. Adrenalin increases heart rate, and dulls pain reception, and dumps endorphins into the animal's system, making the grab less painful. It will then constrict the animal tightly. Within seconds, the rodent loses consciousness, and its ordeal is over. This is a relatively humane way to dispatch a rodent.

I'm not sure where the idea comes that one good scare is a cruel thing. We humans seek out scares deliberately, because they're addictive. That's what amusement parks are all about. It may not be pleasant, but it's not painful, and it's not cruel. It is not an ongoing bout of fear, it's all over with very quickly.

A domesticated rodent placed into a snake bin shows some signs of anxiety and nervousness, but absolutely doesn't show signs of terror. They simply don't have the experience or instincts to truly be frightened, which is why they often walk straight up to the snake and sniff its face.

Is this AS humane as CO2 euthanasia? Probably not...usually, at least. But it is not so horrible as to be considered cruel, either, at least not by me. Honestly, if I were personally given the choice of these methods for my own death, I would choose death by snake. Perhaps your choice would be different.

Occasionally, things don't go perfectly--that's true when slaughtering animals, as well. We do the best we can. In the end, the animal dies, and doesn't take an excessively long time to do so, either way. Whether it's a good hit over with in seconds, or a bad one over with in a minute or two, it's still a short period of time. For me, that's good enough. I don't feel that feeding live is unecessarily cruel.

I also think that if you do not understand why humans identify with predators, and do not understand that humans absolutely do not control their own instincts, that you do not understand human behavior at all. Your use of the example of rape is just absurd. The vast majority of humans do not have any compulsion to commit such acts at all, and that is why they don't do it. The fact that the term exists is enough to prove that the few who do are not controlling their instincts or compulsions.
When I watch a predator/prey interaction, I personally identify with the predator. What the prey is feeling is simply not something that I consider at that moment. I'm capable of it, sure, but it's not where my focus is.
I don't dwell on the pain my food feels, or the pain my pets' food feels, because I don't see much point in doing so.

While snakes are occasionally injured by rodents, the VAST majority of the time, this occurs when a rodent is left unattended with a snake, not when a rodent is introduced to a snake's cage, and removed a few minutes later if it hasn't been eaten. So, I maintain, it's like forcing your dog to wear shoes, to worry about that rare incident where a snake might receive a bad bite from being fed live in a responsible fashion. I have never had a snake injured that way. I have had a few get a nick or scratch, but no worse than I've gotten myself while chopping vegetables. I consider that an acceptable part of being alive.

I also find that the vast majority of my snakes have a stronger feeding response when fed live, which suggests they prefer it. I actually take that into consideration.

On the other hand, if we move away from our reliable local supply of live rodents, I will go back to feeding mainly FT with live being given only to those snakes that won't accept it, because I don't like raising rodents, so prefer to raise as few as possible.

I know you're very attached to the idea that humans are different from other animals, but there is no evidence to suggest that it's true, and there's no reason why they should be held to unrealistic standards of conduct. I'm also not sure how to explain to you what it means to have empathy for predatory behavior, if you can't grasp the idea, but rest assured, your inability to identify with predators is not the norm for human beings.

I have explained to you that rooting for the lion to take down the gazelle has absolutely nothing to do with wanting the gazelle to experience pain, or enjoying its suffering. The reason people like to watch their snakes hunt live prey has nothing to do with sadism in the vast majority of cases. if you do not understand how this can be so, then your empathy is terribly one-sided.

My opinion remains this: It doesn't matter one bit to me, from an ethical standpoint, whether a rodent is killed by someone else, by me, or by my snakes. I do my best to make sure their deaths are as humane as is practical, given that they are going to be eaten. I personally feel that death is death, and a small moment of pain at the moment of death is no worse than a moment of pain at any other time. (People routinely neuter cats and dogs, for example, which involves days of intense pain and weeks of aches, during recovery--it is a very unpleasant procedure for the animal, yet, oddly, we do not consider it cruel. Since more pain is caused by this than by a snake constricting a rat, I consider feeding live to be perfectly fine). I feel no guilt over this.

You are welcome to your opinion, but I do not think your argument is valid enough for me to change my opinion. You're merely looking at it from a different perspective. That's ok, but it doesn't make me wrong, and you right--or vice versa, for that matter.

Everyone has to set their own boundaries, and come to their own conclusions.