Cyprus-Forum.com

[cyprusgrump]

I can only imagine that those of you who have talked of the magnificent feral cats of Cyprus, protecting us from snakes and rats have never seen the reality that faces many of them...?

Diseased, undernourished creatures, riddled with fleas, ticks and worms... destined to breed and pass the diseases onto their infants...

...not roaming the wide open spaces catching vermin but living out of bins in towns and cities only to have their life cut short on the motorway...

I think it is great that people like the OP and other organisations in Cyprus spend time addressing the obvious issues caused by the overpopulation of these creatures.

Off topic I know but some of the comments on this thread are way over the top - imagine what a new poster would think if they found the forum today and read through this lot as their first post...?

The government should conduct obligatory blood tests on all British expats and at the slightest impurity found they should be euthanized or have their genitals cut off (you choose which option democratically).

You agree with that Grumpy?

Excellent idea...

In fact, we should make your comments sticky so they can remain a welcoming message for forum users in the future...

[Tim Drayton]

You can't show off by saying how much you care for animal welfare and gloat about your cat that comes and goes!

You are right there, and I sense that hypocrisy every month when I put the stuff to kill fleas on my cats (killing one species of creature in the interests of caring for another!), but I consider myself to be the victim of fate. I was incapable of walking past and leaving a 12-centimetre-long, two-week-old orphaned kitten that was squealing for help to die.

[GreekIslandGirl]

Completely agree with your line of thinking GR!. The animal world is full of hazards for humans, but the human world is more full of hazards for humans (as well as other animals).

But without doubt, if we are to learn anything from Darwin's Theory of Evolution (stolen from Aristotle) then we should leave well alone because this is how the species becomes stronger. As soon as we interfere and decide to terminate a member of the species, we remove the selection mechanism and impose greater long-term harmful effects on the surviving members of the species.

The Brits may (secondhand) claim "evolution" - but they have NEVER really understood it!

I also agree with most of what you posted, apart from one minor matter.

Aristotle's Great Chain of Being has nothing to do with Darwin's Natural Selection.

I don't care whether you agree; because there is more than enough evidence, still left after 2,5000 years, to show how influential Aristotle (and his predecessors) were to the generation of what we now know about evolution. Even Darwin had to finally acknowledge that this postulate was not entirely his alone ...

The great Darwin proponents have all but made Wallace's name be left out too.

[GreekIslandGirl]

You can't show off by saying how much you care for animal welfare and gloat about your cat that comes and goes!

You are right there, and I sense that hypocrisy every month when I put the stuff to kill fleas on my cats (killing one species of creature in the interests of caring for another!), but I consider myself to be the victim of fate. I was incapable of walking past and leaving a 12-centimetre-long, two-week-old orphaned kitten that was squealing for help to die.

It's really important that we do not turn a blind eye to the suffering around us.

[Paphitis]

Completely agree with your line of thinking GR!. The animal world is full of hazards for humans, but the human world is more full of hazards for humans (as well as other animals).

But without doubt, if we are to learn anything from Darwin's Theory of Evolution (stolen from Aristotle) then we should leave well alone because this is how the species becomes stronger. As soon as we interfere and decide to terminate a member of the species, we remove the selection mechanism and impose greater long-term harmful effects on the surviving members of the species.

The Brits may (secondhand) claim "evolution" - but they have NEVER really understood it!

I also agree with most of what you posted, apart from one minor matter.

Aristotle's Great Chain of Being has nothing to do with Darwin's Natural Selection.

I don't care whether you agree; because there is more than enough evidence, still left after 2,5000 years, to show how influential Aristotle (and his predecessors) were to the generation of what we now know about evolution. Even Darwin had to finally acknowledge that this postulate was not entirely his alone ...

The great Darwin proponents have all but made Wallace's name be left out too.

I am not a Darwin proponent and recognise that Wallace deserves more credit!

I once again am intrigued how Darwin stole from Aristotle! Care to quantify exactly what he stole?

[Paphitis]

You can't show off by saying how much you care for animal welfare and gloat about your cat that comes and goes!

You are right there, and I sense that hypocrisy every month when I put the stuff to kill fleas on my cats (killing one species of creature in the interests of caring for another!), but I consider myself to be the victim of fate. I was incapable of walking past and leaving a 12-centimetre-long, two-week-old orphaned kitten that was squealing for help to die.

Tim, it's fine! I wouldn't walk past either!

[Tim Drayton]

You can't show off by saying how much you care for animal welfare and gloat about your cat that comes and goes!

You are right there, and I sense that hypocrisy every month when I put the stuff to kill fleas on my cats (killing one species of creature in the interests of caring for another!), but I consider myself to be the victim of fate. I was incapable of walking past and leaving a 12-centimetre-long, two-week-old orphaned kitten that was squealing for help to die.

Tim, it's fine! I wouldn't walk past either!

All eight kilos are sitting in my lap purring right now.

[Tim Drayton]

You can't show off by saying how much you care for animal welfare and gloat about your cat that comes and goes!

You are right there, and I sense that hypocrisy every month when I put the stuff to kill fleas on my cats (killing one species of creature in the interests of caring for another!), but I consider myself to be the victim of fate. I was incapable of walking past and leaving a 12-centimetre-long, two-week-old orphaned kitten that was squealing for help to die.

It's really important that we do not turn a blind eye to the suffering around us.

You have to bring human psychology into the equation. We are unwilling actors in the bigger picture, too. We are driven to 'help' some creatures and eliminate others. I well recall de-ticking by hand a little puppy that I found years ago out in the open country and which I saw three years ago as an adult living in the Paphiakos shelter, where I took it, and thinking that ticks must be the most revolting creatures in existence.

[GreekIslandGirl]

You can't show off by saying how much you care for animal welfare and gloat about your cat that comes and goes!

You are right there, and I sense that hypocrisy every month when I put the stuff to kill fleas on my cats (killing one species of creature in the interests of caring for another!), but I consider myself to be the victim of fate. I was incapable of walking past and leaving a 12-centimetre-long, two-week-old orphaned kitten that was squealing for help to die.

It's really important that we do not turn a blind eye to the suffering around us.

You have to bring human psychology into the equation. We are unwilling actors in the bigger picture, too. We are driven to 'help' some creatures and eliminate others. I well recall de-ticking by hand a little puppy that I found years ago out in the open country and which I saw three years ago as an adult living in the Paphiakos shelter, where I took it, and thinking that ticks must be the most revolting creatures in existence.

Absolutely. We have to use our discretion, reason and appraise each encounter on an individual basis. The hardest bit is to decide when something is done just to make ourselves feel better or if it is truly for long-term good to the other (hard to judge when all factors can never be considered). We live in an anthropocentric world.

[Tim Drayton]

The point I am making is that we, too, are part of nature and are the unwilling slaves of greater forces.