I stumbled across a video years ago of some guys putting their big boa in with a goat and sitting back to watch as if they'd rented a movie. The possibilities were several: the goat would kill or badly injure the boa; the boa might kill the goat; if the boa tried to eat the goat it would die trying. The idiots' excitement and conversation was chilling. They didn't seem to put more value on either animal's life or well being than they would have on a roach.

It's one thing to eat meat from an animal you'd value as a pet under other circumstances. The way some people enjoy viewing the constrictor feeding process is sometimes very different. I still cringe when i see young kids buying feeder mice and barely able to wait til they get home to watch the spectacle. Watching it as a reminder of how our animals live (and die) in the wild is one thing. There's a different sort of pleasure and excitement some people get from watching, and it's spooky. When I'm aware enough to think about it, when I'm eating meat, I try to remember an animal gave its life for the meal, and there's a little bit of sadness in that (though I'm admittedly usually not thinking on that level). I more often felt that way putting 50 or 100 rat or mouse fuzzies into cages when I had my collection. Maybe it's the difference between feeding frozen rodents when possible, and feeding live, or between asking how your frozen rodents are put down, or not caring. Does that make any sense?

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• More reasons the big snakes are......... - vichris, Sun Dec 27 10:54:31 2009
• RE: More reasons the big snakes are......... - Aaron, Sun Dec 27 11:54:23 2009
• BINGO!!!!!! n/p - DMong, Sun Dec 27 12:26:02 2009
• RE: More reasons the big snakes are......... - varanid, Sun Dec 27 17:39:55 2009
• also... - varanid, Sun Dec 27 17:45:43 2009
• RE: also... - rtdunham, Sun Dec 27 19:20:36 2009
• RE: also... - varanid, Sun Dec 27 21:08:57 2009
• RE: also... - antelope, Mon Dec 28 12:11:58 2009
• RE: also... - DMong, Mon Dec 28 12:37:20 2009
• RE: also... - antelope, Mon Dec 28 12:54:59 2009
• RE: also... - DMong, Mon Dec 28 14:44:14 2009
• oops!, meant "weed-out"! - DMong, Mon Dec 28 14:44:52 2009
• RE: oops!, meant "weed-out"! - antelope, Tue Dec 29 13:12:49 2009
• RE: oops!, meant "weed-out"! - DMong, Tue Dec 29 13:26:55 2009
• RE: oops!, meant "weed-out"! - rtdunham, Wed Dec 30 11:42:53 2009
• RE: oops!, meant "weed-out"! - antelope, Wed Dec 30 12:40:37 2009
• RE: oops!, meant "weed-out"! - DMong, Wed Dec 30 13:43:33 2009
• RE: also... - RandyWhittington, Wed Dec 30 15:40:59 2009
• RE: also... - antelope, Wed Dec 30 19:55:44 2009