Aspies For Freedom

As an animal lover, I hate, hate, hate PETA with a burning passion. I am against animal cruelty (like I'm sure most people are), but PETA goes beyond that - they seek to end all human interaction with animals. Take a look at their forums if you don't believe me... They are against the idea of people keeping animals as pets (they liken it to slavery or Nazi Germany). There is so much I want to say about them and there ideals at the moment that I can't possibly say it all coherently, so I'm not going to make an attempt right now.

I'll be back in a few hours after class and maybe continue with subject.

I completely agree. It is true that PETA wants all domesticated animals to "peacefully" go extinct. Anyone who has a basic understanding of animal cognition will know that the primary goal of animals (including humans) is to produce more of themselves, and that if animals could understand (it is not actually possible) what PETA wants to do to them, they would object to it.

The subject of "human evolution" encompasses a broad range of animal species, not just humans. Humans, wolves, cattle, camels, guineafowl, etc., all evolved together to form mutualistic relationships. Even though we eat many of the animals we domesticated, it is still a beneficial relationship to the domesticated animal because they have greater protection from illness and predators than their wild counterparts.

The thing that probably pisses me off the most about PETA is how they ignore important similarities between humans and the animals we interact with, while at the same time creating false similarities between us and the other animals.

First and foremost, humans are animals! PETA does not seem to realize this and insists on creating some imaginary behavioral boundary between us and every single other species on the planet! There is not a single animal on this planet that does not interact with other species of animals, and humans are no exception. It is impossible for humans to not interact with animals... Even if we did away with all of our pets and livestock, we would still be displacing millions of animals every day to grow crops and construct buildings.

Second, they act like human interaction with other animals is unnatural... Why? Humans evolved over thousands of years to interact with certain species of animals, just as ants evolved to "farm" aphids for honeydew, how oxpeckers evolved to pick parasites off large ungulates, etc. How are these relationships any more natural than the ones that evolved between humans and other species?

Third, they insist on anthropomorphizing all kinds of animals to appeal to other human's emotions, ignoring scientific facts about their issues. While it is true that many kinds of animals are highly intelligent and have at least rudimentary language capabilities, this does not mean their brains work the same way and that doesn't mean they are capable of human emotions. Some animals are indeed capable of just about every emotion that humans are, but PETA acts like this applies to all animals... I've seen them describe chickens as "intelligent and caring" creatures! I cared for and showed chickens for years, and as far as birds go, they don't score too many points in either of those categories! Hell, they would probably say I shouldn't keep my captive bred snakes, because they are depressed about not living in the wild (snakes are relatively unintelligent and basically capable of only two emotions - "afraid" and "not afraid").

Fourth, PETA thinks that certain kinds of life is more intrinsically "valuable" than other kinds of life - namely, that animals' lives are always worth more than plants' lives. How is a plant any less alive than an animal? Because it does not have a nervous system? Many types of animals (sponges, corals, jellyfish, bryozoans, etc.) do not have nervous systems, and are therefore unconscious and incapable of feeling pain as we know it... But you don't see vegans walking around eating jellyfish sushi. Why not? Why is an animal that is incapable of consciousness any more "valuable" than a plant that is incapable of consciousness?

I could continue with more of this type of stuff, but I am not going to because I don't want to bore anyone too much. Congratulations if you survived my disorganized and largely incoherant attempt to materialize a small portion of what is going on in my brain into text on a screen. To fully explain everything that my brain is yelling at me to write down here would take several hours and several pages of text, which I cannot do because of time restaints. I just have a couple more things I want to mention...

Around here we have four species of deer - native Black-Tailed Deer, native and endangered Tule Elk, invasive Axis Deer, and invasive Fallow Deer. The Axis and Fallow Deer have been increasing in number since they were introduced by a landowner in the early twentieth century before Point Reyes National Park was established. These non-native deer destroy fragile ecosystems and outcompete our native deer.

Recently, Fish and Game began a program that would have the non-native deer completely eliminated in like ten years or something, by shooting a certain number of them (I think a couple hundred out of a couple thousand of them) every year. The local humane society and animal rights activists are having temper tantrums over this! These non-native species are destroying the local environment, and they are okay with that! I personally would rather see a healthy ecosystem with native elk when I go hiking rather than trampled, over-grazed grassland with giant herds of scraggly, severely-inbred invasive deer any day, but I guess other people don't feel that way...

Speaking of invasive species... I remember reading a story in the news about how some animal rights activists in England broke into a mink farm and released all the minks into the countryside, not even giving a single thought to what they could do to the local environment. Mink are not native to the British Isles, and when they were released they began preying on native bird species, enraging the twitchers in that area (and for good reason). What idiots! I swear, it seems like most animal rights activists rely more on their emotions than on intelligence and rational thought when making decisions.

OK, I think I'll force myself to stop typing now. My brain still feels like it's about to explode because there is so much more I could say about the issue, and it is difficult deciding what is important enough to write down and what is not. I don't know how successful I've been with that, looking over this post. I just get extremely fired up about stuff like this because animals are my life and I don't know what I would do if I couldn't be around them all the time (in particular my cats, snakes, and fish).

Yes, those are a few of my snakes. The fatter ones are Kenyan Sand Boas and the black-and-white one is a Rosy Boa.

Yeah, most Erycine boas, the group that Sand and Rosy Boas belong to, are considered to be "cute" by humans, because they are fossorial (they burrow) and have therefore evolved short faces and "grinning" mouths to help them survive underground. These characteristics are commonly perceived by humans as cute. I also have some other snakes that aren't as adorable.



(Mexican Black Kingsnake)

As a vegetarian, I treat it like my own personal choice, and respect other people's dietary choices as I would have them respect mine.  I'm quite aware of the risks, but I am willing to take those risks for myself and not insist that others take them.  The worst thing a vegetarian can do is go around trying to evangelize it to others.  People don't like being told what to do, and it only pisses people off.

That said, one of my duties at the animal sanctuary I volunteer at, is to transfer about 500 pounds of meat at a time from the deep-freeze to the cooler where it thaws.  I have absolutely no problem doing that, because the animals at this sanctuary are some of the biggest predators that walk on land.  Though humans can adapt to vegetarianism, there is no way those animals can do that and remain healthy, so it's parts of other animals for them.

The notion of "liberating" housecats is absolutely ridiculous to me.  Here's how I got my three:

cat #1:  Boss walked up to me at work one morning and begged me to take this cat, who wasn't getting along with their other cats.  Called a no-kill shelter but it was full.  If I didn't take him, he would have ended up in the pound that night.  This is a cat that some college students had tried to keep in a dorm room, until their R.A. found out.

cat #2:  Stopped by the mailboxes at the front of the apartment complex and heard a noise coming from the bushes.  At first I thought it was a bird, but I recognized it as the sound of a kitten.  Homed in on the source of the sound and found a four-week-old kitten hiding in the landscaping grass, cold and hungry.  The close proximity of a six-lane street and the prospect of seeing her in it dead the next day influenced me to take this one in.

cat #3:  A couple had tried to adopt a cat and realized the hard way they were allergic, so a neighbor sent them to me.  Called every "cat person" I knew and nobody had space.  With their allergic reactions getting worse by the minute, this couple was so desperate to get away from that cat that they threatened to just leave him outside.

None of those three would be alive now if I didn't take them.  They've destroyed the carpet and I've had to replace mini-blinds several times, so when I move out I don't think I'll be getting the security deposit back.  Still, I am glad to have them.  I've had to turn some away.  I hate to do that, but it wouldn't do my three any good if I started hoarding.

Additionally, there's a stray colony outside my place.  I've seen stray cats come and go over the past few years.  There's one that's been here longer than I have, and has had countless litters of kittens.  I've been able to help find homes for some of those kittens, but most weren't so lucky.  It is not pleasant to witness all that and know you can't help them all.  That's the reality for "liberated" housecats, and I can tell you that in terms of evolution, they are very far removed from even their closest relative of wild cat species.

I wouldn't say much to them. It is fairly easy to tell real fur from fake fur even from a distance of several feet.

Yep, Rosy Boas are one of the most docile snakes you can find, but isn't too uncommon for them to be snappy when they are young (most snakes are like this). Savannah Monitors are pretty cool as well... They sort of look like dinosaurs. It's just too bad that they are sold so cheaply in every pet store - they, along with other giant reptiles like Green Iguanas and Reticulated Pythons, are among the most difficult reptiles to care for. I'd say that 99.9% of the population does not have enough time or money to devote to the proper care of these species. For the people who are willing to put in the effort, though, they can be extremely rewarding.

More than ten I believe.

Carrots are a biennial vegetable - in their first year they store the nutrients they gather in a stout orange root, intending to pump all it up again the following year into an effloresence, setting the seeds that will carry their line, their proud heritage, forward into the future.

Then some cruel vegetarian rips them from the ground and, because they don't have big puppy eyes, thinks it's acceptable to them. :O

I weep for the injustices meted out to the vegetable community.

Edit button, Gareth...

I mentioned being a vegetarian earlier in this thread.

Where I draw the line is in protecting myself, my home, and my cats from vermin.  I've got no problem smashing cockroaches and vacuuming up fleas.  (I live in a 24-unit apartment building, so if even one neighbor is a slob, the ants and roaches move between units inside the walls.)

I'll admit I am biased.  Though I'll quickly stomp a cockroach, if I find a ladybug, a gecko, or even a spider, I'll carefully scoop it up and put it outside.  I once had a swarm of ladybugs winter in the doorjamb of my storeroom (one of those balcony storerooms that opens to the outside).  While they were there, I opened that door only when absolutely necessary and made sure there weren't any ladybugs in pinch-spot before closing it again.

The emissions of livestock and the emissions of SUVs differ in one important way, however: the methane and CO2 produced by livestock is not introducing more carbon into the ecosystem, as burning fossil fuels is. Livestock metabolize nutrients from living plants; this is where the carbon-based gases they produce come from.

Combustion of fossil fuels, on the other hand, is reintroducing huge amounts of carbon back into ecosystems that has been "locked away" for many millions of years, carbon that would not have been reintroduced so rapidly if it weren't for humans. The net amount of usable carbon in the world increases, unlike with agriculturally-produced carbon gases.

Additionally, the emissions produced by livestock can be a renewable replacement for fossil fuels. Around here where organic farming is very popular, many cattle farms have waste collection ponds that are covered with tent-like structures. As the waste decays, it produces large amounts of methane gas. The tents collect this gas so it can be used to power the farm's machinery, creating a self-sustaining, carbon-neutral facility.

If we found a way to completely rid ourselves of livestock and the methane/CO2 they produce, but still used fossil fuels, we would still be fucked because we would still be increasing the net amount of accessible carbon in the world. Over all, carbon emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels are much more harmful than emissions from agriculture.

At least humans can (partially) digest plant matter. I feel bad for the mushrooms people eat... Since all of their individual cells are surrounded by indigestible chitin, the same carbohydrate that forms the exoskeletons of insects, very little of their nutrients actually get used by the person that eats them. Save the mushrooms!

On an unrelated note, have you ever tried growing Amanitas?

No, the only mushrooms I have grown are the ones living next to my shower, and I'm not doing that on purpose.

While PETA is pretty bad, the Center for Consumer Freedom wasn't formed by saints either. It is created and run by various tabacco and meat companies, and they really don't give a shit about animal cruelty. If there were laws passed that would help protect livestock and other captive animals from cruelty but would cost more for the meat industry, they would most certainly campaign against it. It is necessary to read information from both of these radical organizations very skepically.