Eremita said:
Ty - Chris - I hope I can clear this up a bit, but I fear it may be hopeless (not directed to you specifically). Nonetheless:
Let us say you are in the habit, be it hobby, business, or whatnot, of encouraging creatures to reproduce. Presumably, you do this for a reason. Maybe the reason is that they are a staple food source for something else that you have, or that other people have. Maybe you hope to make money. Maybe you want to be considered cool by other people; it doesn't matter. What matters is that your goal provides some fulfillment to those involved, or at least does not harm them. Raising mice in a good environment is a fine thing; the mice benefit. The babies are needed for your purpose, so you feel a pang of sadness at their early demise - not their demise, but the fact that they have enjoyed none of the life they may have had - but you realize that they are themselves helping others (their predators), so you are doing what you have to do.
Now let's say you are creating creatures with a mind towards taking the best ones and killing the rest. The purpose, your purpose, in accordance with your ethics, of creating these creatures is to kill them. What you do with them after that decision is irrelevant. You are not creating a little ecosystem: you are creating a death factory, and perhaps others are benefiting from this but that is not pertinent to your true plan. Your intention behind your actions is what matters for ethical considerations, and if your intention in a breeding plan is to weed out what you don't like, then your ethics are found to be wanting.
There is a fine line here that cannot be determined from the outside; people who lie about their motives get away scott-free unless they are outed as liars in some other way. But, as far as ethics go, it is an important line nonetheless.
:cheers:
-Sean
I completely understand what you're saying.
Let's define this statement though, because I feel there are more "lines" than one, and the definition is important:
Now let's say you are creating creatures with a mind towards taking the best ones and killing the rest. The purpose, your purpose, in accordance with your ethics, of creating these creatures is to kill them.
What am I trying to create, and what is the definition of "best"? I think those are important distinctions that should be made. Am I creating an entirely new hybrid with the hopes that the offspring will be desireable and saleable, such as my above reposne to Blutengel? Am I breeding an existing morph just so I can have a couple for myself? Am I line-breeding for a "locality look"? Am I breeding a known hybrid and culling only pure-looking offspring?
To be honest...if I am breeding hybrids, than I feel that there does need to be some sort of control over which animals are sellable to the general public, and this criteria *should* use appearance and physical traits as an impacting factor. Also...if I am attempting to put together a NEW hybrid that has never been seen(again, reference my above reply), and the
idea is to produce desireable offspring, but the offspring are not sellable for whatever reason, than the justification is in the question...I am seeking the answer to a genetics equation, and the answer may not be what was expected...it's a justifiable loss...once.
But if I am line-breeding Okeetees, I need to be sure I have an outlet for the "lesser" offspring such as a pet store or pet keeper. If I am breeding for a specific morph, I need to be sure that I have an outlet for the offspring that I don't want to keep for myself, or I am being irresponsible.
In other words, the only time I can "condone" the culling of
healthy animals is for food, or to protect pureblood from being "polluted" from pure-looking hybrids. I DO believe that culling of pure-looking hybrid offspring is ONE possible solution to the ethical question of hybrids. I am sure there are others, and should I decide to ever breed hybrids, I will certainly TRY to find a different way to deal with pure-looking offspring. However, I do believe it is better to cull pure-looking offspring than it is to allow them to be sold and possibly be bred as purebloods in the future. It is the lesser of two evils, in this instance, and my opinion. Is there a better way to protect the bloodlines? Possibly...but I can't come up with one off the top of my head.
You may wonder how I differentiate these examples, and I will try to explain.
If I am breeding for a specific morph, or I am line-breeding for a specific look, there is no doubt BEFORE BREEDING BEGINS that I will DEFINITELY produce offspring that will not look exactly as I want them to. It is also GUARANTEED that I will produce more offspring than I am capable of keeping for myself. Responsibility dictates that I have an outlet for those offspring(NOT culling), before I begin breeding.
If I am breeding hybrids...even known hybrids...there is only a small CHANCE that I will produce pure-looking offspring, and it is a slim chance at that. Should the pairing produce 1 or 2 pure looking offspring, through
no fault of my own, I feel that culling those are a responsible action to protect the bloodlines from possibly being contaminated either through ignorance or dishonesty.
Now, you may say, "Than simply don't breed hybrids, and you don't have that chance.", and I agree with you. But hybrids are a viable market, a desireable product, and viable animals. I see no reason why they should be "shunned" because they are unnatural, and I see no reason why the possibility of a very small percentage of the offspring being culled should prevent me from breeding them, just as I don't allow the chance of unhealthy offspring prevent me from breeding purebloods.
