a ethical Q about pets?

[chamitch]

im saying there isnt a bond liek a child. and my point was if you belive herps can have bond of sorts, then it is unethical to keep/sell and breed them for that purpose. seeing as your at this site im sure you have some herps. and therefore your beliefs are inconsistent.


elephants, chimps and soem monkeysand other mammals are the only animals to have seperation anxiety or any problems caused by bond. if you left teh herp in teh same spot as he was for 60 years there woudl be no change in its behavior just becaues someone isnt there.

this does not make them more primative. infact i think it is better for survival not to have bonds.

[Oliverian]

Bloody freaking hell! I just typed this message four times and it told me I wasnt logged in each time! I'll type it later if I get a chance. Jeez! It was a good one, too.

-TammyR

[Oliverian]

Sure... that time it worked.....

-TammyR

[Matt.B]

A bond is formed between a herp and its keeper after a long time. It could stress the herp out for the simple fact of feeding. If yu are the one that feeds it and It is seperated from you it may think that it is seperated from its food source.
Matt

[damzookeeper]

Well, I don't have any animals that would outlive me if I lived a long and healthy life, but I do have a plan for their future if anything were to happen to me.

[Jeff Hathaway]

There are many other animals that can outlive keepers; in the pet world, how about parrots? They often outlive their owners. Elephants in zoos outlive their keepers (sometimes these unethical people even retire); are you saying that they shouldn't be kept because of this?

I would side firmly with those who say as long as you plan for the animal's care after your demise (which should be done even with short-lived animals, and this has been covered in several threads already), than it is just fine. There is nothing that I can see that is unethical about having a ball python that might outlive you, or a tortoise that almost certainly will.

And, I personally don't think these animals form much of a bond with their owners. Perhaps my turtles will outlive me, but I think they'll bond just fine with whomever takes over feeding them!

It IS better for survival to have parental care and associated 'bonds'. That is how animals that do so can persist despite having only a few offspring (or even one) at a time. Animals which don't typically have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of offspring at once. Obviously, these don't all survive; the odds are seriously against them.

Trevor, why won't you be keeping snakes when you're 60?

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[chamitch]

i say as long as people plan on the care after they die it is fine. but im sure alot of people dont. buy a turtle at the store, and nto think about that. i think more people need to be aware of that.

peace