The idea of contraceptives for deer has been around for some 10 years. Today, this is not a laughing matter. The idea has been grasped AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO HUNTING by the anti-hunting groups. The one truism that the various animal rights groups have never been able to answer is what will happen to wildlife populations if all hunting were abolished. As any farmer can tell you, if you put a bull and a cow together in a pasture and let nature take it's course, it's just a matter of time before you have too many cattle. If you don't remove some from the pasture, the food source first becomes over-browsed and then disappears intirely. Diseases develope because of the animals lowered body condition and sooner or later you will find yourself with dead and dying animals. That very scenario of events would take place if hunting were abolished, and THE ANTI-HUNTING GROUPS KNOW IT. In recent years the anti-hunting groups have proclaimed that the "deer pill" will once for all solve the problem of growing deer populations. Their reasoning is that hunting will then be unnecessary. There are three methods that biologists have developed to inhibit deer conception. Each has it's pluses and minuses. The first is surgical sterlization in the field. This one is the most fool-proof, but because you have to physically have the animal in hand to perform the "surgery", it's also cost prohibitive. Another method is sterlization via either ingested or or implanted synthetic hormones. These horomones basically block any stimulation from the brain to the ovaries. If the hormone is implanted, you're back to having to physically secure the animal. If the hormone is ingested, there is always the possibility of other species, or even humans, becoming infected. The third method is known as immuno-contraception. It is basically a vaccine that stimulates the deer's immune system to produce antibodies against certain protiens involved in the fertilization process. According to the biologists, this method has the best potential of the three. Syringes in the form of darts are filled with a contraceptive drug, then fired into the an animals body by a special "gun". That's the most foolproof method so far to administer the drug. What about missed shots that aren't recovered ? Children are curious by nature and I'm sure parents would have grave doubts about the possible spreading of a "virus" to their children from a found dart. Although the drugs themselves are fairly inexpensive, can you imagine the time and expense involved to administer the drug to the animal, what ever the method ? Keep in mind, the animals would have to be "reimmunized" at least every two years. Even with their coffers overflowing with funds gained by hysterical rantings against hunting, and with "birth control" for wildlife seemingly their salvation where credibility is concerned, the antis DO NOT financially support contraceptive research in any way. Mother Nature has a plan for everything. In virtually single case where man has tried to alter that plan, we have regretted it. That will be the case with deer contraception. SMILE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY
Out on the West Coast we literally have a larger problem. It's also a lot smellier. You see, hunting whales is not allowed. They're an endangered species, supposedly. Because we cannot hunt the whales, their growth continues unchecked. Whales just don't have many predators. More whales tend to use up whale-related resources, such as plankton and what-not. Eventually they begin starving to death. They respond to this by searching for plankton or alternative food sources in places not normally on their migrating paths. They either starve in the process or else they get beached and die. Either way, the West Coast has tons of whale carcasses washing ashore. These things present a major health hazard for anybody who encounters one, as well as for the coastal communities nearby. Not only are they a pain in the butt to dispose of, but sometimes they come back!!! They tend to wash up on shore again and again until they decay into stinking mountains of rotting flesh. These magnificent creatures are dying a slow and agonizing death by the hundreds because the predator has been removed from the delicate balance of the predator/prey relationship. I'm not saying we should be allowed to hunt any creature to extinction, but, just as wolves are necessary to regulate deer herds, humans are necessary to regulate whale herds. The deer you spoke of need to be hunted. Not only can hungry people use the meat, but other parts of a deer can be used as well. Any hunter can tell you that. I think the environmentalists need to re-think where humans stand in the ecosystem. We play a role. We are hunters and gatherers even to this day. To take us out of nature's equation is as great a travesty to her plan as taking any other species out. As far as who regulates the "human herd", there are viruses, bacteria and germs a-plenty to handle that job. Even as we learn how to defeat them, new strains show up to keep pharmacies in business for a loooooooong time. [This message has been edited by Oxygen (edited June 18, 2000).]
Oxygen, I know of your problem on the coast. I spent many years in Western Washington. When we were kids we used to get in a boat and follow the whales around to see if they were sick. A sick whale is liable to vomit AMBERGRIS. This is the basic ingredient, or at least one of them, that is used in the making of the more expensive perfumes. We figured that if the whale came into Puget Sound it was probably sick. A lady friend of my parents found a "glob" on the beach, sometime in the late 1930's or early 1940's. She sold it for $80,000, it weighed about 50 lbs. The Coast Guard would post storm warnings when Killer whales came in to the Sound, and we would get off of the water. As I remember it, most older whales have some Ambergris in their stomachs. If they are lying on the beach dead, I'm suprised that someone hasn't cut them open. If you think this is a "story", research it. If some pollution gets in an ocean current it will follow that current for some time. If the whales, or any fish for that matter, swim with or thru that current, they can be made sick by that pollution. A sick whale will head for a beach. Your whale problem and my deer problem are similar in many ways. People insist that something be done when whales litter their beaches. People insist that something be done when deer come into their yards and eat their shrubs. When whales are far out sea, they are forgotten, out of sight, out of mind. When deer are deep in the woods, not causing people any problems, they are forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind SMILE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY
Oxygen That logic is flawed! If man is needed to 'regulate the population' of whales, then I'd like to know what kept the whale population nice and healthy in the times before we started murdering these creatures by the thousands for profit? Another quick point! Dead whales are always gonna get washed ashore. You can't use that as a basis for keeping their numbers down. [This message has been edited by Spadge (edited June 20, 2000).]
Oxygen, I agree with Spadge on this one and I also would like to comment on : These new virusses have little or no impact on the 'human herd' if you look at the population of the herd then you will see it has increased exponentially since the end of the renaissance. We have no predetors and it shows that our population is out of controll. The only thing we have is our intelligence that tells us we will destroy the ecosystem if we don't restrain ourselves. Did you know that humans have already killed more species then the asteriod that killed the dinosaures. It took 10 million years for the planet to regain its former diversity of species. This is the damage we have already done and we didn't even know we were doing it ! Will we be able to repair it ? Will we want to ? ------------------ I err, therefore I exist !
Spadge, You could be right about the Sperm whales being the only whale with ambergrist. I always thought "all whales" had ambergrist in their stomach. Even the Killer Whales. I'll have to look into that. Oxygen, I think your "germs" are lying down on the job, a quick look at the population clock will show you that. Where would the human race be had it not been for the wars in the past one hundred years ? But that is another subject. That the humans have killed off more species is a fallacy. Scientists will tell you that new species come and go almost daily, without man's intervention. HA HA SHE CRIED,SHOOK HER WOODEN LEG AND DIED.
What other natural predators do whales have? I'm no marine biologist, but the food chain suggests that everything is hunted by something else. Besides us, what hunts whales? There aren't enough giant squids out there to keep things in balance, so what fills the gap? I am aware of the population clock. It shows how fast people are being born into the world. It doesn't adjust for how many are dropping dead. The germs are not lying down on the job. They're picking their fights. East Africa is suffering from more than starvation. PS: Ozarky-The dead whales have been harvested when they are not too far decayed. One resourceful teacher even took his class out to one and had them cut it up for removal in order to better teach them about whale biology. PPS: The condition of the fresh whales suggests starvation and malnutrition, and few contaminants have been found in their systems. ------------------ I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will fight, kill, and die for your right to say it. [This message has been edited by Oxygen (edited June 21, 2000).]
Hi again Oxygen This is not how ecosystems work. Creatures at the top of the food chain, apex predators, don't have anything preying on them. Examples - Great White Shark, Tiger, T Rex ect... [This message has been edited by Spadge (edited June 21, 2000).]
I side with the germs. The only reason we disqualify them from preying on the apex predator is because we regard the behaviors of microorganisms differently from those of animals. After all, micros fed on T. Rex, sharks, &c., &c. The power of microorganisms to affect the course of human endeavor is huge. I submit, on the one hand, HIV; to the other, I give you Africa. HIV is among many invisible predators stalking the human population there. Furthermore, there are parasitic organisms that can destroy whole villages. To remove from direct human interaction one step, a single diseased crop can kill hundreds of thousands the hard way. But specifically, the rats fed on us--well, mostly--after we died in the various plagues throughout Europe. Cholera and other bacteria fed on us while we were alive; they destroyed us. I would like to quote a song from a most excellent Minneapolis band, Boiled in Lead. thanx for putting up with it, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ------------------ We are unutterably alone, essentially, especially in the things most intimate and important to us. (Ranier Maria Rilke) [This message has been edited by tiassa (edited June 21, 2000).]
Hey, that sounded cool! Is that up on Napster? I'd love a recording of it. Maybe I could buy it somewhere?
If you're into online shopping, I'm pretty sure you can get it direct from Omnium Records. ( http://www.omnium.com ) Unfortunately the only record store in Seattle that ever regularly carried Boiled in Lead is run by Hayden Lake Nazis, as I'm advised by former employees. But I'm quite sure just about any online record store can find it for you. Of course, I always recommend Mom & Pop record stores; it's amazing how many extra miles they'll go for you if you ask nicely. Oh ... um, the album's From the Ladle to the Grave, and a demo version of it appears on Alloy, which I highly recommend for its recordings of ... well, I highly recommend it. Imagine it with a quasi-Irish tinge to it. But they've got amazing fiddlers, especially if you're into Baltic and Gypsy scales. The albums go very well with beer. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ------------------ We are unutterably alone, essentially, especially in the things most intimate and important to us. (Ranier Maria Rilke)
Spadge, You were right, AMBERGRIS is only found in Sperm Whales. You're never too old to learn !! Thank you for the tip. SMILE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY
Nice to be back, and nice to see Spadge is still pulling us all in line. Maybe if others researched their subject as much there wouldn't be so much drivel being spouted.
