Animal Rights Activists Demand Death of Bearcub:

[Guest]

"We want this baby polar bear dead" says animal rights lobby.

Another link.

There's just no pleasing an extremist, regardless of stripe, faction or cause.

[jotabe]

It's pretty ridiculous. Animals have no sense of being humiliated, or dignity (well except great apes, but then again, great apes have self-awareness, so they aren't really animals, imo). As long as an animal is being given an appropriate treatment where he doesn't suffer, and can lead a good life, there is no problem there.

I just wonder, too, who are representing those "animal rights activists". I don't know any "tree-hugger" that would defend such a thing... unless we are talking about the lunatic fringe of environmentalists (those who wish for human extinction, for example, to rid Earth of us). You will find a lunatic fringe in every ideology, but they are hardly representative of anything, but their own idiocy.

Btw, bear cubs are snuggled. By their mothers, and using the tongue mostly. But the affective physical contact is essential for every mammal cub, including human cubs. Saying that it isn't appropriate for a bear cub to be snuggled is both ignorant and downright cruel. Of course, one they grow up, they can't be snuggled... bears aren't pets. But it's stupid to think that you can only hug kitties or doggies.

About the poll... i don't think a zoo-raised bear cub can defend himself released into the wild. It takes a very specialized kind of raising to do that, and i doubt the zoo can offer it.

[Rei]

Jota, in my experience with dogs and cats, they definitely have the sense of being humiliated. Our one dog just sat in the corner with his head down when he had to wear that silly cone on his head. (After it came off his disposition improved considerably, again).

That said, these people are still off their rocker. I have heard of other cases where an animal was brought up by another animal of a completely different species and it has worked out fine. And yes, this even happens in the wild. In terms of animial cruelty, the greater cruelty would be assuming that this bear has to grow up to be a vicious beast or it won't be good enough. It's as though they think that a predator can never be allowed to be fond of humans in a non-dinner-option kind of way. Anyway, if they are so fond of anthropising animals so that they will be humiliated if raised by a different species, they should anthropise far enough to see that killing the creature is not the humane preference.

[Eaquae Legit]

There were two polar bear cubs raised by humans in their zoo here about a decade ago (maybe a bit longer). Once they reached a certain size, the humans had to entirely back off because the polar bear is still a feral animal and they got too big and dangerous. As I recall, the human contact and even snuggling didn't do any harm.

I really just don't get some people. Even though it's an endangered species, kill the bear because it's listening to Elvis.

[Rei]

Another thing I just remembered. My uncle is a bison farmer, and he has been doing so for a number of generations of his bison. But he cannot treat them like cows or expect them to be like cows because they are still wild animals. He may have them in a fence and leave them food, but he can not run the risk of thinking that they are domestic because that could cost someone's life.

[hive_king]

Which activist group is this? Does anyone know?

[jotabe]

That's what i say, too, h_k.

Rei, yes, that might be true... but i wouldn't be sure if it is genuine shame. Mammal pets are well able to mimic, or even to adopt, human emotions, after stablishing affective bond with humans.
While in their natural state, mammals often experiment some genuine emotions (like feeling hurt out of loneliness), shame is quite complex.

[Rei]

The thing was a pretty young puppy. I'm not convinced that when he's getting cooed over that he should believe he should be feeling shame. Maybe if we were reprimanding him, because most dogs don't take long to figure out that they've done something they oughtn't have. But when a dog is getting petted and pampered it isn't likely to pick up that it should be feeling humiliated. Not by the reasoning you are offering, anyway.

[Jebus]

My bet is the dog didn't like having something on it's head.

[Rei]

That probably played into things. I know I wouldn't want that on my head, no matter what the reason.

[Slim]

Animal rights activists want to kill an animal?

What's next, global warming activists polluting more than anyone else?

[jotabe]

Animal rights activists want to kill an animal?

What's next, global warming activists polluting more than anyone else?

errr...

(i am unsure if you knew and were being ironic, of if you didn't know ^_^)

[fawkes]

There were two polar bear cubs raised by humans in their zoo here about a decade ago (maybe a bit longer)...

Were they the cubs at the Denver Zoo? I remember that, too. I don't see how they can expect people to just look the other way while a mother ignores her cubs, ultimately killing them. Isn't the whole point of zoos to rescue and care for animals that otherwise couldn't make it in the wild (either grown up in the zoo, or rescued after injury or some such)?

[Firegirl]

My First Reaction was What The F***?!>!? The polar bear cub should live, it should kept in a zoo or retrained to avoid humans and hunt on it's own. This is nothing more than a misguided attempt to drum up attention for animal rights. I am all for animal rights, but the activists are forgetting the importance of an individual's genotype in maintaining a species genetic diversity. Too many dead polar bears and they will end up like the situation of the Cheetahs, where one disease could wipe out the entire species because of all the individuals being the equivalent of genetic siblings. The activists may have good intents, but they either don't know the science surrounding the issue or they've lost the brain cells that held those memories.

[Sparrowhawk]

My First Reaction was What The F***?!>!?

That was my first reaction too. My second reaction was "AWWW I WANT ONE!!!!111"

[hive_king]

A polar bear's a big responsibility, AB. You've got to remember to feed it, give it water, brush its coat, walk it twice a day, and make sure it doesn't maul your face.

[Slim]

Animal rights activists want to kill an animal?

What's next, global warming activists polluting more than anyone else?

errr...

(i am unsure if you knew and were being ironic, of if you didn't know ^_^)

irony.

[London]

This is idiotic.

"Animal rights activists argue that he should be given a lethal injection rather than brought up suffering the humiliation of being treated as a domestic pet."


Do you think the freaking bear is going to be humiliated? What a bunch of crybabies. If they are putting time and effort into trying to get a bear killed so his pride isn't hurt, then they should disband immediately.

[Jayelle]

Well, this debate's over a year old, London, so it's pretty moot at this point.

[London]

Is it? I just see a topic and post. :s

[Eaquae Legit]

Even though this thread has been around for ages, I saw the resurrected title and read it as "Animal Rights Activists and the Death of Bocaccio."

I think I have a problem.

[Satya]

I want to be be a bear. RAWR.