3 ms·

Enough context is lacking. That's kind of what makes it all absurd. Take the cat vs. lobsters. Did you know felis catus is responsible for the extinction of som

Enough context is lacking. That's kind of what makes it all absurd. Take the cat vs. lobsters. Did you know felis catus is responsible for the extinction of some 37 species of birds world wide mostly due to colonization. They're not indigenous predators to the North Americas and enjoy the protections and long life afforded by their proximity to humans while killing for entertainment. Lobsters on the other hand? Useful in their natural environments, have not become an invasive apex predator, could go on and feed many people too if properly managed and allowed to live their lives. Yet the majority of people saved the cat thinking it's a "higher life form." A bit absurd. Also the idea of trolleys without brakes and levers and cats that can't move off the track in the face of on-coming danger.

com2kid 4y ago
If the lobsters are tied to a trolley track, they aren't long for this world anyway. Trolley tracks aren't exactly a lobster's native habitat. Untie the cat and it'll, likely, be a-ok.
- agentultra 4y ago
  Take out the cat though and you have dinner for 5 families!
  - I-M-S 4y ago
    Having dinner is precisely why I took out the lobsters (well, depending they're not too mangled after being run over by a trolley).
323 4y ago
If we are to judge ethically, one particular cat should not be punished for the sins of the cat species. As far as we know this particular cat didn't do nothing. Then we need to talk about criminal liability. In the sense that a cat can't stop itself from killing birds. We don't punish toddlers if they kill a bird, because they don't understand that they shouldn't. Also, the whole idea of "native species" is highly subjective. What is "native species" today maybe it was an "invasive species" yesterday.
- agentultra 4y ago
  You're probably doing the local fauna a favour by eliminating the cat. The cat will kill other animals purely for amusement (by killing it and not eating it). It enjoys a longer lifespan than most local predators due to their proximity to humans that care about their well-fare, enabling them to kill more and for longer than any local predator. Stray cats are estimated to be the largest contributor to declining bird and mammal populations [0]. Also, in the city I live in, outdoor cats are illegal regardless of registration (which is also required). The lobsters on the other hand, if you live near a coastal city to their native habitat, could be reintroduced and improve the local ecosystem. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380 https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
  - 323 4y ago
    > You're probably doing the local fauna a favour by eliminating the cat. One could have said the same thing when mammals appeared. Not to mention humans: "These human species will ruin the ecosystem. We better eliminate it now before it spreads". Said otherwise, you are thinking about the narrow interest of the day, without considering if the ideology makes sense in itself. > Nativism is the political policy of promoting or protecting the interests of native or indigenous inhabitants over those of immigrants, including the support of immigration-restriction measures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativism_(politics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativism_(politics)
    - agentultra 4y ago
      We're talking about cats here and ecology not human politics. You're mistaking natural movements of species into new ecological systems with humans literally transplanting cats across the globe. It's a fact that on some islands we settled, when we brought cats with us, those cats literally drove entire species of birds native to that island into extinction. The cats didn't walk across water or build ships to get there. They were brought there by humans and did what cats do. This conversation is starting to get a bit absurd.

com2kid 4y ago

If the lobsters are tied to a trolley track, they aren't long for this world anyway. Trolley tracks aren't exactly a lobster's native habitat. Untie the cat and it'll, likely, be a-ok.

agentultra 4y ago
Take out the cat though and you have dinner for 5 families!
- I-M-S 4y ago
  Having dinner is precisely why I took out the lobsters (well, depending they're not too mangled after being run over by a trolley).

323 4y ago

If we are to judge ethically, one particular cat should not be punished for the sins of the cat species. As far as we know this particular cat didn't do nothing. Then we need to talk about criminal liability. In the sense that a cat can't stop itself from killing birds. We don't punish toddlers if they kill a bird, because they don't understand that they shouldn't. Also, the whole idea of "native species" is highly subjective. What is "native species" today maybe it was an "invasive species" yesterday.

agentultra 4y ago
You're probably doing the local fauna a favour by eliminating the cat. The cat will kill other animals purely for amusement (by killing it and not eating it). It enjoys a longer lifespan than most local predators due to their proximity to humans that care about their well-fare, enabling them to kill more and for longer than any local predator. Stray cats are estimated to be the largest contributor to declining bird and mammal populations [0]. Also, in the city I live in, outdoor cats are illegal regardless of registration (which is also required). The lobsters on the other hand, if you live near a coastal city to their native habitat, could be reintroduced and improve the local ecosystem. [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380 https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
- 323 4y ago
  > You're probably doing the local fauna a favour by eliminating the cat. One could have said the same thing when mammals appeared. Not to mention humans: "These human species will ruin the ecosystem. We better eliminate it now before it spreads". Said otherwise, you are thinking about the narrow interest of the day, without considering if the ideology makes sense in itself. > Nativism is the political policy of promoting or protecting the interests of native or indigenous inhabitants over those of immigrants, including the support of immigration-restriction measures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativism_(politics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativism_(politics)
  - agentultra 4y ago
    We're talking about cats here and ecology not human politics. You're mistaking natural movements of species into new ecological systems with humans literally transplanting cats across the globe. It's a fact that on some islands we settled, when we brought cats with us, those cats literally drove entire species of birds native to that island into extinction. The cats didn't walk across water or build ships to get there. They were brought there by humans and did what cats do. This conversation is starting to get a bit absurd.