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Rabbits are Live Lunch at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL

6K views 56 replies 16 participants last post by  imdead-goaway 
#1 ·
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#28 ·
At first I thought, what's it matter they are predators, but if they are "hunting" anything domesticated it defeats the purpose. plus I don't know too much about bobcats but are rabbits even their type prey?
 
#29 ·
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Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

Well, the issue with domesticated rabbits is they aren't hunting them. The rabbits are coming right up to them and getting eaten as surely as if they were a plate of already dead meat.

I think with baited lures they would get more practice chasing things and it would be less cruel. The live animal scenario would make more sense to me if it was a wild rat like syzygy mentioned.
You'd think they would get an animal that would run away anyway. Silly rehabilitation people.
 
#30 ·
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Originally Posted by Rotoshave View Post

Why should humanity get to decide which animals get to live and which get to die?
That's what I'm saying: rehabilitating predators, while feeding them, and re-teaching them how to hunt IS deciding what animals get to live and which ones to die. It's not exactly a natural process. And, I'm not so sure I subscribe to the theory that meat eating is required in order for nature to be harmonious. Earth has a history of carnivorousness, but I don't think it's necessarily bound to that in the future.

Of course, hunting a species to the brink of extinction, because it's perceived as a nuisance, isn't exactly natural either. In the U.S., the "wild lands" (my term,) which are unsuitable for agriculture, have been encroached on, for the purpose of raising slaughter herds- cattle and the like. People have found no other use for it, but have taken over vast tracts of it, for this purpose alone. As long as this is done, I don't see how we can expect much in the way of harmony in the ecosystem. It is people who need to change. When the time comes- God willing- that people give up their carnivorous habits, I have to wonder how much room will be left for the predators- especially the larger, more aggressive ones.

I don't advocate the killing of anything nor helping any species along the road to extinction. But I recognize extinction as part of the natural order, and sometimes wonder, how much time do the big hunters have left?
 
#31 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl View Post

Well, the issue with domesticated rabbits is they aren't hunting them. The rabbits are coming right up to them and getting eaten as surely as if they were a plate of already dead meat.

I think with baited lures they would get more practice chasing things and it would be less cruel. The live animal scenario would make more sense to me if it was a wild rat like syzygy mentioned.
I believe the logic is that first the cats have to learn that live rabbits are food, before they can learn to hunt, chase, and kill their food.
 
#38 ·
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Originally Posted by RabbitLuvr View Post

Apparently, wild bobcats near urban areas sometimes eat house cats and small dogs. Would it be ok to toss a Chihuahua in there?
I think a chihuahua would be a better choice. You could get them from death row anyway, and they might run away.
 
#39 ·
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Originally Posted by RabbitLuvr View Post

I was asking how YOU feel about it.
I would prefer they don't live-feed ANY domestic animals, especially those who have been socialized to not be fearful of the animal they're being fed to.
Seems if the plan is to eventually release the cats, it wouldn't make much sense to teach them to go after human pets. That'd just be asking for trouble down the line. And if, one way or the other, they are going to feed them live prey, why would it be better to put a rabbit through fear and panic before the kill, rather than a rabbit that isn't programmed to go through that fear?
 
#41 ·
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Originally Posted by RabbitLuvr View Post

That's the point. These rabbits are human pets, the same as house cats or Chihuahuas. They are not using wild rabbits, they are using domestic (aka, pet) rabbits. Domestic rabbits are not even the same species as wild rabbits found in North America.
Yea, but they need to know bunnies are food, and they wont know that if they run away from them.

Step one: Get them used to bunnies being food
Step two: Get bunnies that will run away to be food
 
#43 ·
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Originally Posted by RabbitLuvr View Post

That's where lure training comes in. Syzygy's experience indicates that it is effective. No need to live-feed pets of any kind.

There's a big cat place near here, and when a rabbit breeder dropped off three bunnies with upper respiratory infections to be used as food for the cats, the rescue paid for the rabbits to be treated, and one of their volunteers housed the rabbits until we could find homes for the rabbits. This cat place does not live-feed, they don't even use rabbits to feed the cats. The only reason the rabbits were there is because the breeder didn't want to spend the money (less than $50 for all three rabbits) to treat the respiratory infections. The cat place could have tossed the rabbits into a cat pen for "enrichment," but they didn't.
Bobcats eat live animals, yes? Bobcats also eat bunnies, yes? Therefore a bobcat eating a live bunny does not seem too bad to me. That's kinda of just life for animals on the lower food chain.
 
#45 ·
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Originally Posted by RabbitLuvr View Post

Well, what's the point of arguing here about it? You're not going to change my mind. I'm going to be sending Big Cat Rescue letters and emails about how repugnant I find them, and spreading the word to ask others to do the same. If you disagree, fine.

The CEO of BCR is already under investigation for forging power of attorney papers before her husband went missing in 1997. Body never found, she was the sole beneficiary of millions of dollars. BCR has been written up numerous times for violations of the USDA animal welfare rules, and has lost it's accreditation as a charity. They've been found to have purchased and bred animals, and they board cats for Ringling Brothers. Now they're feeding pets to the cats.
Do you hate people that feed rats and mice to snakes? It's just what those animals need to survive.
 
#46 ·
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Originally Posted by syzygy View Post

It is often that people speak from the heart and wish for a world of pure compassion and unending life. Those are very admirable goals and reducing suffering for all life is an important part of a good life that we all should strive for. But it is equally important and essential to realize that life is about balance and cycles. Life and death are entwined and necessary to each other. To make important wildlife management decisions based on our desire for a compassionate perfect world without accepting the reality of the world as it is, is counterproductive to our goal of reducing suffering and supporting Mother Earths overall health and wellbeing.

Without predators the herbivores would eat all the plants and then die of starvation and disease. While this is simplified, it makes the point that the concept of no predators maybe appealing, it is not practical in a healthy balanced environment.
I realize that most herbivores tend to reproduce more than would be ideal if they weren't getting killed off. A species which does not reproduce enough would usually become extinct sooner or later- so most animals have a tendency to overpopulate. What I have in mind is to artificially control the breeding of wild (or semi-wild) herbivores in limited areas. This would not (at this point) be practical large-scale, as it is labor-intensive, involving either regular doses of some sort of contraceptive preparation by injection or feeding, or else surgically sterilizing some of the animals.

Quote:
The Earth seeks balance and part of that balance involves the death and consumption of organisms so that other organisms may live. Predators prey on the sick, weak and infirm. They kill quickly and consume their prey with the purpose of self survival. Without predators, the prey species would suffer from other ailments and issues such as starvation. As an overall species, they would be denied the ability to have only most adapted and strongest carry their traits to the next generation thus producing even better adapted future generations of that species that have an even better chance of a happy, full life in the wild.

This should not be confused with humans who kill the strong, healthy and beautiful for sport and whimsy often only gathering a trophy and sometimes just the choicest bits of flesh. This results in the species having less of some of its best traits in future generations....
Okay. I think some points here are valid. Nonhuman predators, because they cannot "cheat" with a manufactured weapon, tend to kill individuals who are sick or disabled for some reason. However, it's sometimes just the luck of the draw whether an animal is killed by a predator or escapes. Examples: a herd of wildebeests and zebras crossing a river will be picked off largely at random by crocodiles lying in wait. I think studies of African lions have generally not shown lions to prey mostly on sick animals, although if an animal is obviously injured, they will jump at the chance of an easy kill. Still, if I recall correctly, most lion kills appeared to have been of healthy animals.

I'll have to take issue with the commonly-held idea that nonhuman predators kill more quickly and surely than human hunters. Orca whales apparently differ in their prey preference; some populations are primarily fish eaters; others prefer seals or other small warm-blooded animals. Others go after large whales- and those kills are not pleasant to watch.

Judith Rudnai, in her work "The Social Life Of The Lion", described a male lion feeding on a young antelope intermittently for an hour until the antelope died. It is true that some other kills she witnessed were much faster. More recently, lions have been found to kill elephants sometimes, and such a large animal does not die quickly or easily, even with several lions attacking. As for wolves, it's not unusual for them to make intermittent attacks on a large animal over a long time until their injured victim can be killed.
 
#49 ·
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Originally Posted by RabbitLuvr View Post

It is very convenient.

BCR has now stated that the two bobcats that are shown on video eating the live rabbits will NOT be released. But they continue to feed the live rabbits, and broadcast the feedings via webcam (that people have to PAY to watch). They also posted a photo on their facebook page of three volunteers on a golf cart, each with a big smile and a dead, bloody, domestic rabbit. (The photo was left up overnight, then removed the following morning.)

BCR is claiming partial responsibility for making 'hunts' of live foxes and bobcats. The hunts were in pens, where dogs were trained to attack and kill the foxes and bobcats. They decry this as cruel, though they persist in live feeding of domestic rabbits to their bobcats. They keep using the excuse that it's to train the cats to hunt, but now they aren't even going to release them????

There is also a 'vegan' bakery that is making donations to BCR, and mocking people who have asked them to stop the donations in light of the issue with the bunnies.

Disgusting hypocrites, the lot of them.
Wow. What bakery is it?
 
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