mic wrote:However, I do have (hypocritical!) qualms about killing some smaller animals such as rodents, which are often considered pests - I was aghast when a Canadian friend admitted to obsessively exterminating squirrels and rabbits, though I wouldn't bat an eyelid about poisoning rats... how's that for inconsistency?
Col. Hans Landa: If a rat were to scamper through your front door right now, would you greet it with hostility?
Perrier LaPadite: I suppose I would.
Col. Hans Landa: Has a rat ever done anything to you to create this animosity you feel towards them?
Perrier LaPadite: Rats spread diseases. They bite people.
Col. Hans Landa: Rats were the cause of the bubonic plague, but that's some time ago. I propose to you, any disease a rat could spread, a squirrel could equally carry. Would you agree?
Perrier LaPadite: Oui.
Col. Hans Landa: Yet I assume you don't share the same animosity with squirrels that you do with rats, do you?
Perrier LaPadite: No.
Col. Hans Landa: But they're both rodents, are they not? And except for the tail, they even rather look alike, don't they?
Perrier LaPadite: It's an interesting thought, Herr Colonel.