Sunday, February 1, 2009

Who cares about being humane?


Loggerhead Shrike
Originally uploaded by Laura Erickson
I'm as tenderhearted as the next ruthless predator, but who cares what pet store mice think about anything? Yes, they get eaten. So cry me a river.

But living here in Florida where I do, I know a lot about the horrible problems associated with letting exotic animals and plants loose in the wild. Sure, owls virtually always catch those mice people release. But when they swallow and digest them, guess what can come out the other end? Or into the owl? Nasty stuff, like the hanta virus, hemorragic fever with renal syndrome, lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV)--YUCK! Sure it's rare, but the Centers for Disease Control, which cares way more about humans than it does about us wild birds, STRONGLY recommends never releasing ANY domesticated animals to the wild. Once you let one of these Pandora's boxes out, you can't get it back in. And if you don't believe me, just come visit my neck of the woods and see what your friggin' releases have wrought.

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