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Should cats be eradicated from Australia? |
Yes |
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No |
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[ 10 ] |
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Total Votes : 23 |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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luvdids wrote: | WTF has this thread become? ... This place is out of control. |
Never fear: How cats endanger humans is still firmly on the agenda, even if the scenic route has been taken to get there. |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda
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stui magpie wrote: | David wrote: | Slightly different meaning, I think – “engaging” in the contemporary military jargon sense seems to mean shooting/killing (in the traditional sense it would mean something more like exchanging fire).
See definition 2 here:
https://www.militaryfactory.com/dictionary/military-terms-defined.asp?term_id=1901
And some more examples of the phenomenon here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distancing_language
Fair point on euthanasia, but I’m quite serious when I say that we would do better not to tiptoe around the subject of death so much. And there’s also a big difference between euphemisms designed to ease the pain of grieving people and euphemisms used to minimise the severity of an act. The latter obviously has a political dimension that the former lacks. |
nice ninja editing there.
Without looking at your links, the term engage comes from the military jargon to engage the enemy in battle, which goes back to spears and swords days which makes your dislike of the term somewhat redundant.
back when two armies carrying swords would face each other across the plain, someone would give a signal and both sides would run forward and engage in battle. It pre dates shoot at each other by thousands of years. |
That’s obviously where the term originates, but it has since developed a secondary, euphemistic meaning in the military. No point in arguing it further if you can’t see it – in any case, there are plenty of other examples to draw on that make the same point, which is why I added the Wikipedia link. _________________ All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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think positive wrote: | ...
K yes all cats are supposed to be chipped and registered but it’s harder to police than dogs. The council go around house by house and check if a dog is there, most bark when someone knocks, harder to do with cats. Shutting down pet mills and stopping pet shops selling anything but rescue animals is a good start.
Now they need even stricter controls on breeders. |
I think they should consider trying to track down the killers, i.e. which cat is responsible for a particular corpse. I don't know how easy this is, though. It could be expensive, but that can be accounted for in the fine for the responsible owner. If the cat drags the corpse home, it may be difficult. (I'm just thinking this, because apparently there have been cases of authorities tracking down poo to the responsible dog and dog owner...) |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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David wrote: | I’m against all such euphemisms. People should have the guts to stand behind their policies with clear language ... |
Does your opposition to euphemisms include examples in this thread like "cats have complex personalities"? |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda
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No – that might be an imprecise term, but I wouldn’t consider it a euphemism. _________________ All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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Ah, but for what is it really a substitute?
"Cats have selfish and violent personalities." |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda
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Ah, I see – that was a joke. Sorry I missed it the first time! _________________ All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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K wrote: | ... This is astonishing. A billion birds slaughtered by cats in less than 3 years. |
stui magpie wrote: | ^ Not to mention the numbers of reptiles, amphibians and small mammals |
In the US, the CATastrophic carnage is even worse, apparently
"1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually":
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380.pdf
"Projects to manage free-ranging cats, such as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) colonies, are potentially harmful to wildlife populations, but are implemented across the United States without widespread public knowledge, consideration of scientific evidence or the environmental review processes typically required for actions with harmful environmental consequences."
"Threatened and endangered wildlife species on islands are most susceptible to the effects of cat predation, and this may also be true for vulnerable species in localized mainland areas because small numbers of fatalities could cause significant population declines. Threatened species in close proximity to cat colonies—including managed TNR colonies—face an especially high level of risk; therefore, cat colonies in such locations comprise a wildlife management priority. Claims that TNR colonies are effective in reducing cat populations, and, therefore, wildlife mortality, are not supported by peer-reviewed scientific studies." |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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swoop42 wrote: | ...
This thread is proof enough that those who lean to the left are more likely to have a special place in there hearts for cats and those who lean right prefer dogs.
... |
Actually, those with the strongest political leanings in the VPT seem to have either not posted here or posted sit-on-the-fence posts.
I've noticed that AFL players are overwhelmingly dog people. My guess is the only ones with cats are those with a whole zoo of animals, including dogs (e.g. Cloke, Reid --- err..., these are examples of zoo owners, not zoo animals). I'd be very surprised if the AFL players as a group lean strongly right politically. Of course, you could claim there's some stronger link that overwhelms the pet-politics link among sportsmen. |
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Mugwump
Joined: 28 Jul 2007 Location: Between London and Melbourne
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I’d suspect AFL players would lean right, after correcting for the tendency of youth to lean left generally.
AFL players believe strongly in competition, they are aspirational, not-yet-wealthy high earners in a very meritocratic system, with a certain amount of hierarchy governing a lot of testosterone. Those all tend to drive toward the right, I’d imagine.
The strong collaboration and self-sacrifice involved in putting team before self might suggest leftishness, but I doubt that is driven by altruism. It’s more of a military-style ethic, I’d imagine. No way to know, of course, unless there has been research on it. _________________ Two more flags before I die! |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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Uh. What? |
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think positive
Side By Side
Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: somewhere
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K wrote: | swoop42 wrote: | ...
This thread is proof enough that those who lean to the left are more likely to have a special place in there hearts for cats and those who lean right prefer dogs.
... |
Actually, those with the strongest political leanings in the VPT seem to have either not posted here or posted sit-on-the-fence posts.
I've noticed that AFL players are overwhelmingly dog people. My guess is the only ones with cats are those with a whole zoo of animals, including dogs (e.g. Cloke, Reid --- err..., these are examples of zoo owners, not zoo animals). I'd be very surprised if the AFL players as a group lean strongly right politically. Of course, you could claim there's some stronger link that overwhelms the pet-politics link among sportsmen. |
Maybe they are bird people
I had a bull terrier that used to sit on the kitchen windowsill and watch the world go by over the fence. Someone knocked on the door one day and said did you know there is a bull terrier on your windowsill? Gee, no I didn’t notice a 25kg ball of muscle sitting there! Man She was the best dog! So sweet. _________________ You cant fix stupid, turns out you cant quarantine it either! |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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Jamie's & JdG's dogs are gorgeous. |
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K
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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Cats endanger this:
[Photo: Brent Cizek] |
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Mugwump
Joined: 28 Jul 2007 Location: Between London and Melbourne
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^ anything that breeds at that rate might need a predator. _________________ Two more flags before I die! |
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