Nikitas wrote:GG,
Look up leishman (lesimaniasis) on the web and see what it does to dogs and then you will appreciate my concerns as a dog owner.I do not want my dog to get it. It is carried by sick dogs and passed on to other dogs and humans via gnat bites.
Look up erlichiosis.
Look up hydatid cysts, the symptoms and progression of the disease is similar to cancer. The cycle needs the dog to get to humans. If you can value stray life so much that you are prepared to tolerated this disease then there is no point in talking.
You cannot vaccinate against these diseases, they are protozoic andn ot bacterial or viral.
Refer to my original post, THE WELL FED HOUSE CATS OF BRITAIN KILL OVER ONE HUNDRED MILLION SMALL MAMMALS AND BIRDS in the UK. This was the conclusion of Oxford Univeristy biologists and reported in a US docimentary made by National Geographic. Rare birds are more valuable and more needed from the point of view of biodiversity than neutered stray cats.
Good intentions alone do not save nature.
The solution is a roundup and eradication of surplus animals. Then lcome the icensing of owners and keepers and above all BREEDERS of pets. Owning an animal is a big responsibility and we cannot let people get away with irresponsible behavior.
two of the three diseases you spoke of in this entry do not pose a problem in the USA, which explains why i never heard of them. the thrid one, cause by the tick, is overshadowd by Lymes Disease, wich is also caused my a tick, and is mroe prevelant here.
regardless, killing off the strays is not going to eradicate the disease you listed here. and killing off strays just becuase they might get sick is absurd. it's as stupid as those women who go for double mastectomies just because breast cancer runs in the family.
i have a cat diagnosed with FIP, which can mutate into a deadly form and spread to others. when the cat was first diagnosed, my vet suggested euthenising him. i am so glad i never did that. he is symptom free, and althought i know my other cats will all test positive for FIP, no one has gotten sick and died from it.
ditto with feline HIV. cats they used to euthenise before just because they tested positive are not being put down anymore, and can go on to lead long and normal lives, and not infect other cats. in fact, by getting the cats fixed and re-releasing them is one of the better things you could do. see my prior point about cats not fighting as much, and spreading desease thru bites and scratches, once they are fixed.
if i understand what you are trying to say Nikitas, it sounds more like nazi germany, and lets just kill off all the people that are different.....;.
the most humane method is to fix and release, the population will decrease, yoru precious birds will repopulate, the rodents and snakes will still be taken care of by the strays.
i do totally agree with your final points of licensing all pets, and regulating breeders. pet ownership IS indeed a responsability.
