Friday, February 04, 2011

The Perfect Solution for Animal Shelters

Animal shelters everywhere are overcrowded, costly, and always having to put animals down. It's sad, yes, but more than anything, wasteful. But I have a great way to fix it. Shoot the animals and eat them.



It's that simple. And I'm not joking around. Think about it this way: bullets don't cost as much as any of the chemicals used to euthanize the dogs and cats, it's not poison so it's environmentally friendly, and if you sell the meat, you make a profit, so while the animals are in the shelter, they can eat and live better.

Now, I know there are some people out there saying, "But that's just mean and cruel! How can you do that? It's unclean!" We deer hunt, we hunt turkey, we eat cow, we eat pork, why not shoot and eat dogs and cats? If lead bullets still allow wild game to be eaten, they should allow domestic animals to be eaten. If we eat cows that are knee deep in their own feces and chickens that get no sunlight for their entire lives, why not dogs and cats that are in at least decently cleaned cages and get to go outside and play for a little while eat day?

And of course, others are saying to themselves, "They're pets! You want me to eat my dog/cat [insert name here]?!" No, no I do not. I want you to eat the strays, cast outs, and other unwanted animals. They sit in a cage for a long time, then get put down. It's a miserable life. Yes, there's a slim chance at adoption, and I still think that they should be adopted, but at least it's not a waste of meat and a drain on the funds of the shelter. You're not eating a pet. You're eating an animal that no one else wants. There is a distinct difference. You're not killing Fluffy or Snookums, you're eating their cousin that is about to be euthanized.

It works out for everyone. The animal shelter kills the animal for almost nothing, and then butchers them into the different cuts of meat. The meat is then sold cheaply (because there are so many animals in the shelter, law of supply and demand dictates there will be low prices) to consumers, who through their purchases support the shelter, allowing them to increase the quality of living conditions for the animals and help more of them find homes. With the cheapness of the meat, more low income homes can afford meat, allowing them to have a better diet and thus live at least a little better.

An additional benefit: less stray animals on the streets. In order to keep up with demand for the meat, efforts will be improved to catch more animals, reducing animal attacks and the spread of diseases (We must euthanize the sick ones as normal, of course. With increases in animal captures, more sick ones will be caught, and that's how disease will be reduced). Also, more jobs will be created to capture, maintain, butcher, and distribute the meat.

This is not a new or unique idea. Asian and Middle Eastern countries eat dogs and cats all the time. I'm just advocating importing that custom over here to America. What harm can possibly come because of it?

Agree? Disagree? Got a critique? Leave a comment or contact me to let me know.

*Edit 1* I am not saying that we should stop trying to adopt out animals. I think they should be given the chance for adoption still. Most of my pets we rescued from a pound or on their way to a pound. I'm just saying quit wasting the meat.

*Edit 2* Not to be confused with puppy mills (though those could be raided for more meat), puppy farms could be created to keep up for demand should it get to that point. But I think the effort should start in the shelters and pounds.

10 comments:

Kurtty said...

replace the word cat/dog with inmates/criminals then re-read this. Animals in the pound are pretty much the same as inmates, except they are there because they have no choice and are just trying to live. Yet most inmates are there because of their choices, so if we should eat strays/pound animals then should we not do the same w/ inmates/homeless people? I mean it would save us more money, and free up space in jails? Yeah we hunt turkey/deer/rabbit/etc. but most of the crap that gets hunted I don't eat, I would rather eat cow/pig/chicken from a farm rather than some creature that is roaming around behind my house. I have no desire to eat cats/dogs, or even people, and probably never will. Infact if I had to die, I think I would want to starve to death, since I throw up almost daily anyways.

Aesop said...

d'awwwwwww

Leaf said...

I think this is actually a good idea, I mean why not? You could just opt to put your pet to sleep or *gasp* shoot it

Glaucon said...

I am 100% behind this idea, rofl

Neuro said...

Not sure i agree with this haha but people should at least be open minded enough to consider it

Anonymous said...

yes yes yes so true, animals have just as much value on this earth as humans and any other species

fadedline17 said...

Definitely an interesting proposal. Reminds me a lot of A Modest Proposal by Johnathan Swift. :P

Forrest Stump said...

My grandmother says cats tastes like chicken

10swords said...

@Kurty: Cannibalism is just a bit too far... As for eating them, I was just trying to find a solution that benefited the most people.

@Leaf: Exactly :)

@Neuro: Thank you. Open mindedness is something very few people have nowadays.

Anonymous said...

Would not work because:
1 In US virtually no one would buy the meat of cats. Rumors that cat meat was served have driven many chinese restaurants out of business.
2 Never get USDA approval for sale - unless you've raised them yourself you don't know whether they are carrying diseases, including cat scratch fever, rabies, yersinia pestis, salmonellosis, and toxoplasmosis.
3 Opposition to use of cats as food from PETA and many others.