Is it ethical to kill and eat pet ponies?

[sabertooth]

So I am desperate to find cheap sources of quality meat and I have been searching Craigslist.

There are horses , and ponies for sale.

This one miniature pony is only 125 dollars and looks delicious. I probably wouldn't do it now, but if I were hungry enough I think I would buy it and butcher it for food.

Dose anyone else think its wrong to buy unwanted pets for real cheap and then slaughter them for food?

http://lexington.craigslist.org/grd/2526129030.html

My wife says if I brought it home she wouldn't let me hurt it.

[eveheart]

I don't think it wrong to slaughter an animal for food, if the slaughter is done with the proper gratitude and respect to the source of the food.

If you had asked about what to do if my spouse didn't want me to slaughter the animal, I would advise you to resolve that issue, even if it meant possibly compromising with her by agreeing not to slaughter the animal. OTOH, if you can peacefully persuade her to agree with you, that would be a good outcome, too. Peace at home is a top priority.

[sabertooth]

I had bought two pygmy goats from craigslist a couple of years ago and she helped me cut their throats in the middle of the winter time. So she isnt opposed to slaughter, she only thinks that eating other peoples ex pets is somehow wrong.

Is it wrong to deceive these people into believing that we will give the pony a good home, when in reality it will be going into my belly, one tasty mouthful at a time.

[eveheart]

Are the sellers making a stipulation that the pony must be kept as a pet? (BTW, I'm on your side here. I'm trying to help you clear away possible objections.)

[TylerDurden]

Pets are hardly ideal unless  this involves high quality grassfed meats. I would never dream of eating a dog fed on kibble but a dog fed on a prey-model diet would be fine.

[Projectile Vomit]

I personally would object to the idea of deceiving the current owner as to the animal's purpose. And beyond that I'd be concerned about what the pony was raised on. If largely grain or some sort of manufactured feed, I'd be hesitant to eat it. Also, it seems like pet horses and ponies are supposed to take different types of medicine over the course of the year to alleviate disease and parasites. What sorts of side effects might these have if eaten? I guess I'd have a lot of questions before I would be willing to take a former pet and turn it into food...

[sabertooth]

I asked a woman with an add about wool sheep for sell, and she had a friend with meat sheep. Tomorrow I will be going to a farm to pick out two on hoof for 1.25 per pound.

The farmer has a barn where I can slaughter the two year old male one on the spot and then I can take the  other smaller one home for later use. Great deal

My boss said that if I help him build a fence then he would help me foster a sheep , as long as we can keep it out of the watermelon patch.

This gives me an idea, I know a few people with land that may also help me foster food animals.

[wodgina]

I cracked up at the thought of someone rocking up to buy a minature pony with such blood spilling intention.

[achillezzz]

buy it for your kids dont eat it LOLLLL!!

[TylerDurden]

My mother, as a child, would regularly visit the chickens and other animals kept by her family in a barn, and pet them etc. So, whenever the parents wanted to kill a chicken they would regularly pretend that it had fallen or had an accident, so as to avoid their children bursting into tears.

[eveheart]

I became a vegetarian at age 14 because I realized that our chickens were destined for our consumption. Forty years later, I reconsidered my decision and made my peace with the notion of eating animal flesh, especially that of animals that I had known during their lifetime.

[sabertooth]

So on a related topic.

My wife is furiously adamant about me not taking my four year old son to witness the slaughter. I believe that the slaughter of food animals is part of the paleo life style and should not be hidden or feared and should be embraced as a time to rejoice.

My two little girls love to watch me cut up small animals, and to me its no big deal, but my wife has gone bleeding heart/ crazy ape on me over the issue.

[Modern Primate]

To me ponies and horses are too much like humans to be eaten like that. It's too much like killing one of your own kind. You could also reasonably believe that killing people was part of the paleolithic lifestyle.  

Another perspective on paleo: I think man in the paleolithic era only slaughtered large animals when he was very hungry, which was very rare. I think that it goes against our instinct to kill something that similar to us. So that could be in some ways the opposite of paleo and of natural. This is just my opinion.  

[cherimoya_kid]

To me ponies and horses are too much like humans to be eaten like that. It's too much like killing one of your own kind. You could also reasonably believe that killing people was part of the paleolithic lifestyle.  

Another perspective on paleo: I think man in the paleolithic era only slaughtered large animals when he was very hungry, which was very rare. I think that it goes against our instinct to kill something that similar to us. So that could be in some ways the opposite of paleo and of natural. This is just my opinion.  

There's lots of fossil evidence showing that humans hunted mammoths, etc..  Think about it--when you're hungry, and your wife and children are starving, and there's 8000+ pounds of meat just waiting for you to herd it over a cliff, you'll do that.  Anybody would.

Think about it...kill 2000 lizards, or one mammoth.  Same amount of meat.  The mammoth is a lot less work, particularly for an entire tribe with 15 or more hunters.  You also get the mammoth all at once. It would take months to find and kill that many small animals.   

[Modern Primate]

There's lots of fossil evidence showing that humans hunted mammoths, etc..  Think about it--when you're hungry, and your wife and children are starving, and there's 8000+ pounds of meat just waiting for you to herd it over a cliff, you'll do that.  Anybody would.

Think about it...kill 2000 lizards, or one mammoth.  Same amount of meat.  The mammoth is a lot less work, particularly for an entire tribe with 15 or more hunters.  You also get the mammoth all at once. It would take months to find and kill that many small animals.  

Yeah, when I'm starving maybe. The idea that paleo man was often starving or was ever hungry at all while he still lived in Africa is just something imagined by "civilized" man. We know there are lots of other primates in the wild who almost never know hunger, except when their habitat is encroached upon by humans.  

[wodgina]

Yeah, when I'm starving maybe. The idea that paleo man was often starving or was ever hungry at all while he still lived in Africa is just something imagined by "civilized" man. We know there are lots of other primates in the wild who almost never know hunger, except when their habitat is encroached upon by humans. 

Excellent point Modern Primate.

[sabertooth]

I slaughtered the lamb and everything went gloriously. The farm was everything a small family farm should be and its only a twenty minuet drive from my house. I am so thankful to not have to resort to slaughtering some craigslist pet.

The meat is about the best I have ever tasted from a Romney male born this spring and completely pasture raised. I was able to get a good portion of belly fat. It really seems to be the secret behind my dietary success. I have raved about the lamb fat I get, but I didn't realize until now that the fat I have been eating is the fat that insulates the organs and intestines. It seems so different from suit or other fat trimmings. Its the fat that covers the intestines and is usually thrown out with the awful. This may be an another topic for discussion, because I am fairly convinced of the superior healing qualities of the fat that insulates and nourishes the organs of grass fed sheep.

The blood tasted a little like the ocean and the liver was the cleanest and mildest tasting liver I have ever had. The testicles were most delectable.

I am looking forward to extracting the tongue and brain tomorrow.

[TylerDurden]

So on a related topic.

My wife is furiously adamant about me not taking my four year old son to witness the slaughter. I believe that the slaughter of food animals is part of the paleo life style and should not be hidden or feared and should be embraced as a time to rejoice.

My two little girls love to watch me cut up small animals, and to me its no big deal, but my wife has gone bleeding heart/ crazy ape on me over the issue.

Mothers are always like that. I remember how my Mother would only let us buy toy pistols that made loud noises but didn't fire pellets. It really annoyed me.

[cherimoya_kid]

Yeah, when I'm starving maybe. The idea that paleo man was often starving or was ever hungry at all while he still lived in Africa is just something imagined by "civilized" man. We know there are lots of other primates in the wild who almost never know hunger, except when their habitat is encroached upon by humans.  

Are you seriously saying that Paleo man was fruitarian?  There's mountains of evidence to the contrary.  Or is it like a religious belief to you, and not open to scientific scrutiny?