Comments on: Urgently required: one goose by Friday morning

By: Meerkat :)

Meerkat :) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:31:52 +0000

Hey Daph,

Should I remove the smiley next to my name then? I hate to think I am giving you indigestion.

[Daphne – No, it’s part of your name. I’m used to it.]

By: Kenneth Cassar

Kenneth Cassar — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:31:07 +0000

@ David:

I try not to be judgemental. I’m not perfect – I’m a smoking addict, for instance – so I shouldn’t expect anyone to be perfect. Nobody is. On vegetarianism we’ll have to agree to disagree. Am I right, or are you? We both think we are right, so let’s leave it at that. I’m glad that you make an effort to avoid products that involve cruelty, and that you care enough to adopt dogs from sanctuaries. We don’t have to agree on everything (although to be honest, I wish we could).

By: Kenneth Cassar

Kenneth Cassar — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:21:22 +0000

@ Daphne: Regarding smilies, I find them useful since on internet blogs one cannot see facial expressions which sometimes show a different meaning (or intent) to a sentence. But it’s your blog – your policy, and I’ll respect that.

I’ll try to remember not to use them anymore.

By: David Buttigieg

David Buttigieg — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:12:47 +0000

@Kenneth,

I am 4 square behind regarding cruelty to animals, for example I refuse to eat veal or lamb, and all eggs are free range. I have two dogs and both are adopted mutts as I also refuse to buy a dog when there are so many adorable strays on the loose and in sanctuaries. However I do eat meat, and am not sure I agree with you about kids needing it but anyway!

By: Kenneth Cassar

Kenneth Cassar — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:00:54 +0000

@ Meerkat: I was only “teasing” you…hence the winking smiley.

[Daphne – I don’t approve of smilies. I wipe them out where I notice them….]

By: Meerkat :)

Meerkat :) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:17:45 +0000

@ Ken

There you go again…

By: Kenneth Cassar

Kenneth Cassar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:18:01 +0000

@ Meerkat:

“You just love to be right” – true, who doesn’t…but I do admit when I’m wrong (or at least half wrong) ;)

By: Kenneth Cassar

Kenneth Cassar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:15:35 +0000

@ Moggy:

I never said that the emotional effect of a mother cow is comparatively equal to that of a human mother.
A cow does remember, but not for as long as the human does. We shouldn’t exaggerate non-human animal emotions, but we shouldn’t dismiss them either.

By: Moggy

Moggy — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:03:18 +0000

[Kenneth Cassar – One short comment regarding memory:
The brain compartmentalizes information, and selects memories to keep and memories to discard. The memories the brain discards are the ones it “thinks” will not be useful in the future.
The bigger the brain, the less information needs to be discarded – the smaller the brain, the more information needs to be discarded. Hence the possible reason why non-human animals might forget all about their offspring after some time (following the reasons supplied in my previous post). It’s not very different from computers: the larger the “memory”, the less programs or files we need to delete or uninstall.]

Very well explained. It proves my point that removing the offspring from a non-human mother does not bring about the devastating emotional effects which it brings on a human mother. If you cannot remember something, you cannot be emotionally upset that it has gone missing. Demented people react in exactly the same way. They cannot remember, so they cannot mourn a loss properly, as we would expect humans to do.

By: Moggy

Moggy — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:45:35 +0000

[Kenneth Cassar – If it is brains you choose, fair enough, in that case most humans are superior to most non-humans.]

What else? It is the brain which makes us all (animals included) what we are. However, I think you’re misunderstanding me, somewhat. Rest assured that I am not in favour of cruelty to animals. I abhor an action which inflicts pain on any animal. However I think that saying that a cow will pine away, and suffer untold emotional harm because her calf has been taken away, is taking things a bit too far.