mnp13 wrote:babyreba wrote:Well I guess what I was getting at is that, if I take responsibility for a life, by either breeding puppies or by taking them on from an animal shelter, is it right for me to discard those lives when they are no longer convenient?
I don't think this is a matter of 'convienience'.
In the case of the shelter, if the dogs are gonig to be kenneled long term or put to sleep, yes, I think they should be put to sleep. Life in a cage is not a life.
I think this will be my last post on this topic because I think after this I'll just be saying stuff that other people have already said.
But I wanted to point out that I wasn't talking about "life in a cage." What I'm saying is, is it right for me to actively go to a shelter, take animals into my foster program and after figuring out which I liked best, put the rest to sleep? I personally don't think it is. But I equate that to the rescue version of what breeder culling is about. Like POP said, if you can't provide for a life you bring into the world, you shouldn't bring it into the world. Likewise, I do think if this were a different circumstance and a rescue org. posted a litter of pups they picked up and told everyone that they were only going to adopt out the cute ones and PTS the rest, the entire board would be in uproard. Not that this topic didn't create uproar where it was posted, but still . . . I'm not naive, but I am a bit surprised how accepting people are of this practice.
And like Red said, at this point a breeder concerned about overpopulation ought to not breed or breed so selectively that they are prepared to place responsibly all the lives they bring into the world. Not just the pretty ones that'll earn ribbons and weight-pull trophies or whatever.
And now that I know how prevalent culling is, I have one more reason to feel more strongly about personally not buying from a breeder . . . and I'm not, at this point, judging Midnight Sun for her actions only. Next time I have any reason to ask a breeder what their practices are, I'll know to ask about culling and consider that when deciding whether to recommend them to other people. So basically, I'm judging all breeders who, in this modern day and age, cull based on looks and conformation.
But whatev, there are dogs and pups dying everywhere and there always will be in my lifetime. I know I'm not in any place to stop 99.999999999 percent of it, no matter what I do.