02-17-2019, 05:51 PM
An Australian politician, Bob Katter, has the idea of arming children with rifles and having them kill Cane Toads.
https://www.9news.com.au/2019/01/11/12/2...d-politics
It seems unbelievable to us that someone would come up with an idea like this. Bob Katter is an elected MP so a lot of people must agree with his ideas. Not only is it cruelty to animals and very dangerous, I think it qualifies as a form of child abuse.
Children being pushed into killing animals are going to be traumatized by the experience. Those that are not traumatized, who actually enjoy the killing, would be sent in the direction of becoming killers. We know there is a link between animal abuse and human abuse and even serial killing. Even if they succeeded in eradicating the cane toads they may actually create a much bigger problem with the children and the effect on them. There could be hundreds of children with serious problems.
If they want to reduce the toads numbers and even get rid of them they need to work with biologists and determine a way that works. Finding something that will make the toads less fertile or the eggs less likely to hatch is probably the way to go.
For the feral cat situations in many cities, it has worked to neuter the adults so there are no more feral kittens. Neutering the toads isn't the solution, but making them infertile might help. Preventing the tadpoles from maturing might be an answer.
There are reasonable possibilities. Giving guns to children is not a reasonable solution. I hope no one actually takes the suggestion seriously and acts on it.
https://www.9news.com.au/2019/01/11/12/2...d-politics
It seems unbelievable to us that someone would come up with an idea like this. Bob Katter is an elected MP so a lot of people must agree with his ideas. Not only is it cruelty to animals and very dangerous, I think it qualifies as a form of child abuse.
Children being pushed into killing animals are going to be traumatized by the experience. Those that are not traumatized, who actually enjoy the killing, would be sent in the direction of becoming killers. We know there is a link between animal abuse and human abuse and even serial killing. Even if they succeeded in eradicating the cane toads they may actually create a much bigger problem with the children and the effect on them. There could be hundreds of children with serious problems.
If they want to reduce the toads numbers and even get rid of them they need to work with biologists and determine a way that works. Finding something that will make the toads less fertile or the eggs less likely to hatch is probably the way to go.
For the feral cat situations in many cities, it has worked to neuter the adults so there are no more feral kittens. Neutering the toads isn't the solution, but making them infertile might help. Preventing the tadpoles from maturing might be an answer.
There are reasonable possibilities. Giving guns to children is not a reasonable solution. I hope no one actually takes the suggestion seriously and acts on it.
![[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rtQnRVnpHuw/Upv4HXYM20I/AAAAAAAAAqo/K5MmSTvkZdA/w296-h229-p-no/IMG_9091.JPG)
Catherine
