Killing One to Save Another

[woodchip]

Don't exactly know where I stand on this as I can see the sense of it. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans on shooting some 3600 Barred Owls to help save the smaller Spotted Owl from extinction. Read the particulars here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07 ... d-owls-in/

Now if killing one animal to save another is ethical, then why don't we do the same for things like feral cats. Feral cats arguably kill and destroy more species of wild life than any other animal. So ethics wise, what do you all think about killing one species of animal to save another?

[Will Robinson]

I guess if we created the imbalance by logging but now that the logging has been scaled down to where the balance should be restored except the Barred Owl has overpopulated then culling the BarredOwl population to represent the restored balance makes sense.

How long before we start applying these same scientific principles to the sub groups of homosapien? One of the justifications for abortion is right in line with it, maybe it isn't that much of a step beyond.

AP 2036 The Sasha Obama Administration announced today that the 'culling of the herd' in the Bible Belt regions are neccessary to ensure proper social harmony for the human race.

[Spidey]

Probably end up run over with rodents…

[Sergeant Thorne]

Sounds like something needs to be done, but I don't think I agree with just killing them. You could trap them and give them to zoos, relocate them, ... Does anyone here know if owls are "good eating"? Owl season! Hunting would be fine, but I think wholesale slaughter is unethical. I say if killing them is the best they can come up with, they're not really doing their job.

[callmeslick]

ethically, I'm ok with it, but I always get leery when man tries to intervene to 'assist' nature. Although trained as a biologist, and having worked in the field for years, I'm always reminded that what we don't know still outweighs all we've learned.

[Tunnelcat]

We usually royally screw things up. Look at all the invasive species we've "accidentally" brought into some area, which then promptly took over the whole ecosystem and made the natives go extinct. The Spotted Owl is also a resident of old growth forest, of which most are gone in the Pacific Northwest, so it's natural that it's disappearing. The Barred Owl is a native however, so our meddling may result in some unintended consequence, like being overrun with voles, mice and shrews, since Spotted Owls typically like woodrats and squirrels. Either way, we'll be overrun with some type of rodents.

[callmeslick]

same thing happened in PA in the middle of the 20th century, when they tried to eliminate rattlesnakes from the central highlands. Within a few years, most grain stores were overrun with rats.

[Will Robinson]

We usually royally screw things up. Look at all the invasive species we've "accidentally" brought into some area, which then promptly took over the whole ecosystem and made the natives go extinct....

Reminds me of Detroit.

[snoopy]

I think that my general solution is to do as little as possible. I get the argument that we should try to fix problems that we cause... but I also think that there are usually unintended/unanticipated consequences. The aquarist hobby is a lot into conservatism, so I've been exposed to it quite a bit, and I think I've concluded that the best thing to do is a little as possible. My conclusion, then, is that we should try to minimize our impact as much as possible by touching/changing as little as possible while still letting the course of technology proceed. When we encounter a particular problem that we've caused, take reasonable step to stop the impact that we're having, but let nature take care of "restoring the balance." Unfortunately, in the process species are going to be lost... but in the grand scale of thing that's par for the course. So, I say don't do it and let nature take its course... even with humans as part of the evolutionary force driving nature.

[Tunnelcat]

We usually royally screw things up. Look at all the invasive species we've "accidentally" brought into some area, which then promptly took over the whole ecosystem and made the natives go extinct....

Reminds me of Detroit.

You mean those Republicans and their "experiment" with despots, I mean emergency managers? I see that's working out just grand, especially if you work, or used to work, for the city.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... t-no-money

[Spidey]

I’d love to hear a solution from you tc.

[Will Robinson]

We usually royally screw things up. Look at all the invasive species we've "accidentally" brought into some area, which then promptly took over the whole ecosystem and made the natives go extinct....

Reminds me of Detroit.

You mean those Republicans and their "experiment" with despots, I mean emergency managers? I see that's working out just grand, especially if you work, or used to work, for the city.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... t-no-money

No, I was thinking of the many decades of experimentation that led up to creating the carrion those 'vultures' you spotted had a carcass to fight over....

Whenever there is any discussion that might put blame on your beloved party you simply walk it backwards until you can find an opportunity to single out a politically right leaning contribution to the problem and then stand there shouting 'See! They did it! Right there, there is the bad guy in all of this!!'

You really think Detroit's problems started there?

[Heretic]

Wow Fifty years of Democrats running Detroit but it's the Republicans fault that it's bankrupt?

[Duper]

wait... they're shooting owls and that why detroit is going bankrupt?

[callmeslick]

wow, Woody posts an ethical question over animal life, and it has to turn into political tit for tat? Really?

[Will Robinson]

wow, Woody posts an ethical question over animal life, and it has to turn into political tit for tat? Really?

Just an off the wall analogy/observation that seemed timely. Didn't know I was going to hit TC's knee jerk bone and spur her to go into full on party-defense mode. I guess I should have known better.

[Tunnelcat]

You're the one who first derailed the thread by saying: "Reminds me of Detroit". I hadn't mentioned anything about politics up until then. So who's focused on politics?