• Animal Tracks •

conversation. I asked how the population of raccoons was holding out in the urban areas of animal control officers seated at the table. I mentioned that our rural population seems to be on the upswing although it is really quite small after several years of rabies and other diseases, thinking of the rabid racoon that Anya saw in the last stages of seizures and that I later found dead in one of our pastures. I was being tactful, or so I thought and was genuinely interested in having an informative discussion. Imagine my surprise when the answer to my question of how these "professionals" dispose of problem animals was that they always relocate them. [Most at the table were young women between the ages of 23 and 30something. The one young man in the same age group was equally vehement about non-lethal methods.]

One woman said that she had trapped almost 40 raccoons from her town and relocated them all. Given my understanding of what a racoon's territory is and the size of this officers 'town, I would bet big money that she was trapping the same raccoons over and over. Kind of job security I thought.

ANT BUSY IN WHEAT FIELD

When asked what my practices were I explained that I live on a farm that has over 3000' of common boundary with a National Recreation Area of over 70,000 acres along the Delaware River, and that because of this very large wildlife area I generally eliminate any animal that becomes a nuisance.

I explained that if they are passing through it isn't an issue for me and that I generally enjoy seeing and watching the animals. But, if they decide to hang around and try to make a home, and I can't chase them off, that I kill them. I also explained that my motive was both to protect my family and livestock and to protect against loss and damage. Imagine my surprise when I was attacked by several of these young women as being brutal and barbaric and just killing for fun. I tried to explain that I don't actually go hunting for the animals but that if for instance they 'move in' and begin to eat the products we make [which sometimes is live chickens, or eggs, or crops etc.] I try to discourage them and if they don't leave I kill them. I figure that they are willing to be in such close proximity with humans because the population in the surrounding area is dense enough that they are pushed out of the woods. I reiterated that there are plenty that 'just pass through'. Somehow this comment only antagonized the group. They thought that I was a pathetic example of humanity because I killed the animals and declared how inhumane that is. I then tried to explain that killing, if done well, is very humane because the animals feel nothing. It's not like hurting them...it simply ends their lives. That went over really big. I was then accused of being a callous brute and when I tried to explain that I was very compassionate and therefore very diligent about making certain that no animals suffered, they wouldn't accept that there is a difference between suffering and death.

I suppose that this may seem to be a somewhat morbid subject but it really is a vital part of the balance of all living things. I believe that it is far better to exist with the wild animals around us and have clearly defined boundaries and practices than to try to ignore the wildlife, consume land for homes and other human uses and destroy habitats and increase the incidence of accidental death like the thousands of animals killed by cars or chemicals or other unconsidered causes of death and suffering. The response I got to that statement was predictably a reiteration of the 'fact' that the animals were here first and we should make sacrifices so that they can live a natural life. I tried to explain to this group that humans evolved as top level predators and that I, in fact, understand my role in my biosphere in this context. Didn't work.

By the way, lunch was roast beef, turkey, and ham with sliced cheese and a variety of breads and condiments for making sandwiches. Not one of the animal control officers was a vegetarian nor did they seem to be concerned that the food they were eating came from mainstream conventional agriculture.

When I asked what they would have me do rather than kill a dangerous or nuisance animal, they thought that it was terrible for me to produce plants and raise animals that the wild animals wanted to eat and then kill the wild animals for doing what was natural. They accused me [in my role as a farmer] of baiting the animals to come to my farm and then killing them for coming to the bait.

This discussion was both very dismaying for me and very educational. These folks have no real understanding of where their food comes from, no real interest in what it takes to produce organic food nor interest in the difference between organic and conventional agriculture. They have a very overly simplistic perspective regarding what would be involved in 'fixing' things back to a natural state and I suspect would be very militant about preserving their 'right' to live on their terms although I sincerely doubt that they know or understand what that would mean. Veery

This is always a difficult topic to discuss. We have widely divergent opinions based upon our sensibilities and experiences. Our media and lifestyle has made it very easy to anthropomorphize animals to human traits. In my opinion, that is not really a flattering change for the animals, only so in a very human-centered arrogant way. Life and the sustaining of life is very more complex than we comprehend. Just begin with the bacteria that inhabit our bodies and facilitate the biological functions that sustain our lives. Here on the farm we don't kill the wasps just to get rid of them because we might be stung, or kill the spiders because they make us uncomfortable or snakes or any of the less than pleasant insects and animals because each and every creature here on the farm participates in the ever-shifting reality that we so innocently call 'the balance of nature' and I'm including myself and my family in the whole of that balance.

I do not agree with the confinement of animals and the overlay of industrial management and practices on living systems. I do not in any way condone or practice cruelty. I make every effort to farm sustainably and to be an asset to my biome. I think that I have a very honest and holistic perspective about my role in that biome and I recognize that in nature there is no politics. That is solely a construction of man. Another double edged sword.

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