>http://platosbeard.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/alternet-reviews-singers-latest/
>
> > But now even the moral high ground of a vegetarian lifestyle isn't
>> good enough. Singer's new book, The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices
>> Matter argues that, all things considered, only a vegan lifestyle
> > will do.
>
>
>Let the flaming begin!
Singer is just too silly to raise a flame, but I'll do what I can.
For the first time in several years, my ducks managed to breed a few young this year. Well, one did anyhow, the last one, the sole surviving duck. I had to get a replacement drake to go with it. You see, I have a bit of a problem with Quolls (Tiger Cats, in the local vernacular, but they are marsupial carnivores, related to the Devil.) Lucky for the duck, she hatched her 12 ducklings and was off the nest barely a couple of days before the Quoll made its first appearance this year, promptly killing every broody bantam that didn't get off its nest quick enough. The first visit also left about two dozen dead guinea pigs scattered across the paddock. Quolls love to kill, they don't just kill what the can eat, they kill everything small enough and slow enough that they can sink their fangs into and they kill quickly and efficiently, usually a single bite to the head or neck. A sitting duck is, well a sitting duck.
A young duck is also a sitting duck, I've lost dozens of them to quolls over the years. Even a full-grown duck is prey if it isn't smart and ducks are so dumb that they make sheep look clever. The ducks I keep these days are a small breed called Decoys, a bit bigger than a wild Mallard and I keep them because they can fly out of trouble. They can also head for refuge near the dog kennel, where Rusty the family Beagle will protect them.
Nevertheless, their numbers dwindle. This year, in an effort to avoid imminent extinction of the line, I took the young ducklings in hand and raised them under intensive protection. In a large travelling weldmesh shelter. I had to keep them like this for over three months, until their wings had fully developed and they could actually fly, even then I was quite nervous about letting them out.
By that time they had started to get their breeding plumage. Unfortunately, there were 8 drakes and only 4 ducks, which can be a bit tough on the hens. So I pretty soon had to lock up most of the drakes again. (A duck that can fly is not going to endure being raped 10 times a day forever, they are dumb, but not that dumb.)
About a week ago I killed most of the drakes for eating. (Did I mention that roast duck is one of my favourite dishes?) Now I'm back to a nice comfortable trio of decoys trotting around the yard and occasionally flying majestically over whatever fence obstructs them. The Quolls have returned now, I can hear the hound howling with frenzy some nights and the bantams refuse to sleep in sheds, but perch high over the netted raspberries.
Clearly, our urban expert on animal welfare Peter Singer wouldn't approve of any of this. Personally, I suspect that Peter Singer wouldn't know if a drake was up him. What the hell does to silly twit think I should do with all those extra drakes anyhow? I can't keep them caged up forever and he wouldn't approve of that either.
Of course he's correct to have finally worked out that the logical conclusion of the animal liberation philosophy is veganism, any foods from animals are going to involve culling at the very least and usually intensive farming as well. The natural environment is a hostile place and intensive farming is designed to overcome things like weather and Quolls. What he doesn't acknowledge is that the next logical step would have to involve some kind of Final Solution, the extermination or "putting to sleep" of many of the animal breeds formerly used for that purpose. You couldn't just let them go free to starve to death.
Once you start down the road of pretending that animals are humans, there is only one other alternative, extermination of humans. So its all madness, clearly animals are not humans, no more than soy beans and lettuces are humans. The only people who don't understand this are people who have been brought up without any contact with animals, except as pets. People who live in cities, people who believe, in their heart of hearts, that cartoon animals as realistic depictions of the personalities and feelings of actual animals.
Walt Disney has a lot to answer for. If I had my way, he'd be de-frosted and fed to the quolls. Hopefully, the poor deluded Peter Singer won't have anywhere near as much influence.
That being said, I have to say that my liking for meat, especially duck, might be an undue influence on my philosophy. I don't especially enjoy killing the creatures so I can eat them, but its the only way. (commercially-bred poultry is tasteless rubbish in comparison.) Its worth it. If you haven't tried it, you aren't entitled to claim otherwise.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas