We are the same with rabbits, we don't eat ours, but enjoy eating other peoples!

Tom

Oha! Don't make it less disturbing though Yes, I'm a pansy, but I can't imagine anyone eating my Fluffy!

I would not object to anyone eating any type of animal as long as it is treated humanely and not endangered.

The acceptance of eating particular animals is a cultural/religious matter that varies around the world.

I think that it is more important to campaign against cruelty to animals than to try to stop the eating of a particular species.

Yeh I´ll go with that.

I think a big part of why certain species were domesticated for food has to do with the rate of reproduction and maturation. Elephants and Rhinos reproduce very slowly. Goats, Cows and Pigs on the other hand reproduce much more quickly (as do dogs and cats). But for those arguements we should raise rats for food, too! (a new generation of rats every 28 days)

Actually, I eat whale almost every time I go to Norway!

Tom

Hei, I know I am surrounded by anorexics, but hell, I can't imagine a rat stake to satisfy me or anyone else... I've eaten my share on wild foul, and I could only find bones...

Tom, you nasty boy! We talking about Switzerland! (But I ate some awwwwwwwwwesome fish in Norway, I have to agree with that!)

Well, think of a rabbit as a very large rat! (they probably taste the same, my Boa would eat either no problem, as well as Guinea Pigs)

Tom

well if he is a vegetarian then he would not be a hipocrit right?
Why are we always so quick to judge, whatever his reasons are, they are his and he just asked whether we knew anything about an organization not whether we thought it was a good idea to join... another day at EF I guess

In fact one thing I like about Swiss politics is that it's not moralised nearly as much as in other Western democracies, despite what you might expect re: tyranny of the masses. We don't condone or cherish suicide, we just don't outlaw it. We don't like drug abuse, but we don't have to criminalise it (much). We don't encourage everyone to become gay or without a religion, but we certainly don't mind our lesbian atheist president in Zürich.
And trust me, we have our fair share of horse lovers just as much as we have our share of pig haters or tree huggers, but nobody has tried to outlaw the consumption or sale of any meat as far as I know, and I'm pretty happy about that.

Rats are rased for food in most parts of asia, and if you like Cuy-Cuy or rabbit there is no problem.
True elephants and Rhinos reproduce slowly but shurely proper husbandry should be able to compensate (at least to be economicaly feasable) with a good breeding programm.

Hey we are having a great and interesting discussion, nobody has ripped the OP a new one, yet.

I'd quite happily eat (farmed) rat, though I'm not sure there'd be much meat on one.

I don't understand the sqeamishness.


Woohoo!

Oh. Bear. Damn!

Now you tell me, now that I've already sent Fluffy to the abbatoir

Seeing as I once went out with a girl who called something else Fluffy (more feline than canine ) I had to do a double take there

You dirty mind, you!

Now that you mentioned, I do notice it was not the wisest choice of words...

Thanks goodness it wasn't your ... cat

Treverus I'd be quite happy to campaign against the eating of shark fin- because as I understand it, the animals are maimed and thrown back to sea to die of a slow and painful death. Would join campaigns to stop the huge and inhumane travelling distances animals have to endure so that they can be slaughtered 'fresh' where they are wanted. The ships loads of sheep sent from New Zealand to Egypt or Africa, in the most disgusting conditions. (remember the reason why several people were eaten by sharks in Egypt last year, as sheep carcasses of the animals that had died along the way were thrown overboard near the shore) - or the terrible journeys undertaken by horses or calves from the UK to Italy, to be then re-exported to Europe. ETC. Any meat, yes- but as long as husbandry, short transport and quick humane slaughter.

I still have quite a bit of veal in my freezer, raised by my great neighbour and farmer, and killed locally. I won't touch veal normally.

A lot of vension is farmed these days, but there is still a sizeable portion of it that is hunted. Hunting of deer is a necessary part of the managment of wildlife and forestry. So although in terms of yield per area of land, wild venison isn't as efficient as farmed venison, in view of the broader benefits, it's a good thing to support and in fact it would be a pity if that meat went to waste because nobody wanted to eat it.

The great wildlife parks in Africa also need to be managed, and in the areas where poachers can be kept out, there are actually more elephants than the land can support and this is leading to an excessive destruction of trees etc. Therefore selling the meat of culled animals might actually be a positive contribution toards the sustainable managment of these parks. Many of the countries in which these parks are located are very poor and any extra income would strengthen the case for protecting these parks.

Moving back to the European forests, I have heard that the reason the indigenous oak is being driven back and supplanted by lighter trees is that the deer eat too many oak saplings while sparing the beeches. Horses on the other hand love to eat beech saplings. So maybe thee is a case for wild horses?

Personally it all comes down to this:

Its dead. Im hungry. Im eating it whatever it is


Mostly

Oops.

No I haven't, small kitchen and all.