LOL!
Matthew's dad (and I use that term loosely) is a cop. My brother has given Matthew some type of pig for EVERY holiday since birth, even Valentine's day, St. Patty's day......we have at least 60 pigs. He also calls Matthew "porkchop."

I just can't help but like your brother.

Okay. My logic, and yours can coexist.

I grew up in the home of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, the biggest of all poisonous snakes. I've seen some huge ones!! I've seen probably 20, or so, in the forest. (There were probably many more that I never saw.) In the forrest, I'd watch them, at a safe distance, till I got bored, then moved on. I am fascinated by such amazing creatures. I couldn't believe how slow they moved, then how blindingly fast they could attack. The ultra-slow flicking toungue was neat too. I'd never have dreamed of killing one, in the forest.

I've also seen several (along with Florida Cottonmouths, Pigmy Rattlesnakes, and Coral Snakes) in my yard. I killed every one of those, except for the coral snakes. Coral snakes were so small, they were easy enough to safely catch and release somewhere else. Pigmys are small too, but my grandmother was bitten by one, in her yard, and lost her big toe. I hate those little buggers. Anyway I killed these guys in my yard, because I didn't want to get out of the car at night and walk upon a killer. I'm not scared of snakes, I love them. I've kept them as pets for most of my life, but my own safety is a million times more important to me than any animal, no matter how admirable they are.

So, I'd never dream of killing one in the wild, but in my own living space, I'd kill them without a doubt. Nonpoisonous snakes were always welcome guests. I often would capture an Indigo, Yellow or Red Rat Snake, even the mean little black racers (no matter how much you gently handle one they will never tame completely), take them home and let them go in the woods near my house. I kept some as pets too.

To attempt to exterminate the species of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes would be unacceptible to me. But to kill one, when you see it in your living area, is probably a good idea.

My logic about a wolf eating my livestock would be about the same.

Your whole post reminds me of a much simpler time around the area you live now. All in all, I believe we agree on this.


KRW

Come on T, That deserves more than an okay. MA, like me, has an appretiation for the world in the wild. All predators get a bad rap, but there is a reason for them.



KRW

Definitely.

Definitely.

That's more like it. Not! :p

Okay. My logic, and yours can coexist.

I grew up in the home of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, the biggest of all poisonous snakes. I've seen some huge ones!! I've seen probably 20, or so, in the forest. (There were probably many more that I never saw.) In the forrest, I'd watch them, at a safe distance, till I got bored, then moved on. I am fascinated by such amazing creatures. I couldn't believe how slow they moved, then how blindingly fast they could attack. The ultra-slow flicking toungue was neat too. I'd never have dreamed of killing one, in the forest.

I've also seen several (along with Florida Cottonmouths, Pigmy Rattlesnakes, and Coral Snakes) in my yard. I killed every one of those, except for the coral snakes. Coral snakes were so small, they were easy enough to safely catch and release somewhere else. Pigmys are small too, but my grandmother was bitten by one, in her yard, and lost her big toe. I hate those little buggers. Anyway I killed these guys in my yard, because I didn't want to get out of the car at night and walk upon a killer. I'm not scared of snakes, I love them. I've kept them as pets for most of my life, but my own safety is a million times more important to me than any animal, no matter how admirable they are.

So, I'd never dream of killing one in the wild, but in my own living space, I'd kill them without a doubt. Nonpoisonous snakes were always welcome guests. I often would capture an Indigo, Yellow or Red Rat Snake, even the mean little black racers (no matter how much you gently handle one they will never tame completely), take them home and let them go in the woods near my house. I kept some as pets too.

To attempt to exterminate the species of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes would be unacceptible to me. But to kill one, when you see it in your living area, is probably a good idea.

My logic about a wolf eating my livestock would be about the same.

Well T4 we don't disagree on the way we would handle predators or wild life threathening our lives/homes/families even just a little. I would do the exact same if it was a situation like you describe (and I have done, I live in the real mountains where killing is a part of life sometimes...just the way it has to be).

I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a wolf if it was in any way threatening my or my families ability to exist where we choose to live. But I really believe that will never ever happen.

My problem with the way the wolves were exterminated and the mindset of so many people about wolves now is that it was done on a huge level when the vast majority of the wolves killed were not infringing on any sort of human developement or threathening livestock.

Guess in my ranting I didn't make that point clear. My real pet peeve is the continued "monsterizing" (for lack of a better term) of the wolf as an animal as most of that perception comes from the time when the great deep thinkers decided they all must die because they were big bad scary wolf.

I am not an enviromentalis by any means but when it comes to this kind of stuff (and the same happened to the Grizzly bear in the lower 48) it just really sets wrong with me.