Like most things... it depends.

If you live in an apartment and have to keep animals inside or in a small yard, then you might have a strong point.

If, like me, you live in the country then pets can serve a useful role and earn their keep. We have 6 cats which are all excellent at pest control: killing rats, mice and rabbits. We don't have any cat litter problems as the cats just use outside. They occasionally kill a few introduced birds, but seldom native birds.

Bought pet food does take some processing but is typically made from stuff that would otherwise be waste or used as input to fish farming etc.

Sure, most things we do have a downside, or potential downside. It is not about curbing our habits completely but about living withing the planet's recovery zone.

Written in July 2008

"They use up all the resources, and won't make bitchy replies to blog post questions."

Actually, that should have been:

"Kids use up a lot of resources and then go on to make bitchy replies to blog post questions."

Written in July 2008

"I love cats and dogs, but think the responsible approach is to neuter all animals that are not working animals (i.e. seeing eye dogs, farm dogs and cats etc.), and maintain a small and highly regulated breeder population of non-native species for these purposes."

Wow. Well said (and not just 'cause I agree). Pets can come in all kinds of species, not just dogs and cats, but it does depend on where you live, especially if feral cats or dogs aren't native to your area to begin with.

For the record (or CD) my pets are neutered and I'm hoping my resuced goldfish will never figure out how to breed. :-0

Written in July 2008

"Mmm...still, it would be sad not to enjoy a new puppy!" Stewed or fried? Yum :-).

With regards to neutering: Yes, neuter all pets. Working dogs should be neutered too (unless they are specifically breeding animals). Nothing worse than a seeing eye dog or sheep dog taking off after a bitch on heat!

Seriously though, one of the principles of permaculture is that everything should serve multiple purposes, and pets can too.
For example:
A cat can be a pet as well as pest control.
A dog can be a pet as well as security. Long haired ones can provide "wool".
A sheep can be a pet, weed control, lawn mowing, milk and wool source.
A hen can be a pet as well as an egg source, bug killer weed control and compost processor.

If they're earning their keep that takes them off the luxury item column in Andrew's balance sheet.

Written in July 2008

Hey Rena. Another balanced and eloquent post from you.

Should rover go? I will have to disagree with the consensus and say no. No to petocide, and no to neutering. Putting aside my own personal bias (like dogs, hate cats, and I just don't get pet fish), I would like to see the market sort out this problem. All items necessary for running a pet should be priced according to their real environmental impact, and if this can't be established, then remove the product from the market.

Would you want a cat in an apartment if you had to pay the price of litter including the cost of making the entire supply chain renewable and carbon neutral? Or worse, without litter at all?

Now I think about it, you could probably extrapolate this argument to most walks of life... umm... including the internet.

Written in July 2008