OT: I'm livid and mad as hell!!!

Wow, that is some of the most horrible news I've heard! What kind of men are these who would do this sort of thing? I will also write to everyone I can think of and to be honest, any plans to visit France have been totally ended. Between what I've been hearing in email and now this, it's not good.

I didn't look at the article for fear there's be an actual photo of such a disgusting thing, but thanks for giving the alert.

I am completely horrified.

I am hugging my new little stray kitten Petaline very, very tightly right now. :(

Okay I told hubby about this and he went to snopes.com to confirm/deny the shark bait thing. You can read what they have to say about it (and an official reply from the French embassy) here:

sounds like it is not a widespread practice (thank god!) but the act of a few sick individuals. Well I hate to be ethnocentric and say "sick individuals". I mean for all we know the natives of Reunion have been taught since birth that the proper thing to do is to use live dogs and cats as shark bait. I doubt it though. For the sake of the dogs and cats, I hope they put a complete stop to it (and start a spay/neuter program on the island to take care of the overpopulation).

Yeah, I know it's just a pipe dream. I used to live in a nice middle class suburb of Atlanta. I was shocked to learn that the local humane society wound up having to euthanize thousands (!!!) of stray kittens each summer because they could not find them homes and could not afford to feed/house them. Ever since then I have become a fan of spaying/neutering all pets. It seems that is an ongoing problem everywhere, but I guess it just appears much more out of control on a small island.

The Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan promotes a program that fliles vets and students from the veterinary college in Saskatoon to remote northern communities to spay and neuter dogs. It is good experience for the students and a real help to the communities, which have neither the money or the facilities. Otherwise dogs have to be shot. It is not just a matter of sentiment about the dogs--they are a danger to people and other animals when they begin to run in packs. Maybe there are sufficient vets in the world who could do a Veterinarians without Borders sort of thing. Dawne

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They could, but will they? Despite pleas to lower the cost of neuter and spaying, they don't. I had to accompany my last dog for her ops, because she flipped as soon as she woke if I wasn't there, so I used to sit watching the vet and remain with her. In the time he attended to my dog, the vet at the next table did about 5 spays, he did the cutting out, the girl did the rest. So basically, one is paying for the anasthetic which can't amount to over $100, it's a money maker. I say most vets contribute to the stray population, it's inexcusable. I argued it with my vet and he had no reasonable argument he could come up with!

I had a similar conversation with my Vet when I took Puff to be neutered. He had no good answer but to his credit told me that he does do most of the neutering for our local humane society for a minimal fee.

I have a feeling he makes up for the low fee to neuter strays by overcharging people like me.

Lucille

A few of the responses to my first post are a bit off track. This not about the ways and means of dealing with a multitude of stray dogs and cats. That is a matter that can be dealt with in an intelligent matter.

My rage is about the use of LIVE DOGS and CATS as bait and the minor penalty for doing so. I just got another e-mail about the subject and the practice is still going on ( a sack with five live cats in sack were found in a boat that was docked ). Surely there is another way to harvest the sea than this.

The minor fines will not stop it. WHY??? Simple. DEAD dogs and cats aren't the best bait. They don't thrash around in the water and attract sharks. They don't bark and meow and attract sharks. They don't bleed enough to attract sharks. How to stop it?? Simple. Throw the diabolical excuses for a human being (the fishermen) into the slammer at hard labor for twenty years.

I must congratulate National Geographic for no printing the pictures of the LIVE DOGS and CATS that had fish hooks inserted through their front paws. At least National Geographic left them with a little dignity. Apparently these rescued creatures will heal from their injuries and be adopted out.

Dogs and cats have very very sensitive paws and being subject to such cruelty is so mind boggling that I couldn't even tell my DW or DS. Geeeeeeesh when I have gone fishing I didn't even use live minnows or live worms for bait.

Now that we have a newly elected government every member of the legislature is going to get a letter and a photo. Here is hoping that it is revolting enough for them to act.

Then to fight with $$ and the pen/internet. First an e-mail to Christian Dior France. I will not buy Christian Dior men's cologne or other Christian Dior products until your government smartens up and what I had on hand has already gone into the garbage.

Next step, is to write to all the food chains - I will not buy anything that comes from France until the French government smartens up.

I might fail in my efforts but someone has to light a candle for those poor animals.

Fred

Fred wrote

I think maybe because the matter discussed in your original post was almost too horrifying to encompass, at least for me. I have a dog and three cats, all of which were either shelter strays or rescues, and I did not want to wrap my mind around the thought of such cruelty being visited on them. (I can't even bait a hook with a worm myself) I applaud your efforts, Fred, and hope that other people will make their voices heard. I think here in Canada the new minister of Foreign Affairs should hear from us, and the Canadian ambassador to France Dawne

FYI the international spca website:

snip

I worked for a veterinarian for 12 years (15 years ago) who worked closely with a group called "SOCKS" (Save our Cats and Kittens). He spayed/neutered/treated most of their animals for free or at cost. The overhead still had to be paid (staff time for cleaning & sterilizing surgical packs, lights, water, rent/mortgage, etc. While neuters are relatively quick, a spay is (at least was at that time) still a major surgery involving opening up the abdominal cavity, even though an experienced doctor seems to zip them out as if an assembly line were going by. The facts of life are that even veterinarians are in business & that those businesses have bills to pay like the rest of us. Unfortunately, we couldn't go around telling people about the "donated" work or we would have had every stray cat dropped off on our doorstep assuming that we would treat it or "fix" it for free. Many veterinarians DO donate their services at local spay/neuter clinics or work closely with local humane societies to do subsidised work on animals adopted from shelters. Many a senior citizen living on Social Security has had their veterinary work subsidised by the veterinary office itself, without ever knowing about it. Having said that, though, I know very well that there are also veterinarians out there who are just in it for the money and are charging as much as their clients can bear. They put the profession in a bad light, as do those large animal veterinarians who no longer make farm calls.

No one seems to bat an eye at the fact that many plastic surgeons use the money they charge for face lifts & liposuctions to subsidise the life changing surgieries for those with cleft palates or other disfiguring problems who cannot afford to pay. Liz from Humbug

Just so you know, I really like and trust Puff's Veterinarian. He's a very nice guy, a very good doctor and a charitable person. I still think that some of the charges are a bit high, but as with most other things, I can choose to pay his set fees or look for something cheaper. It's my choice and like with most other things, I choose what's best for my pet over saving money.

Lucille

I thank you very much for the link.

Fred