Yesterday (memorial day '98) was kind of significant. Committed to the survival and security of myself and family, I did something for the first time. I have been raising rabbits for a few months now. You feed them, give them enough room, and presto more bunnys. I have had this always in mind as a more "controlled" food source. Healthier, etc. Yesterday with the guidance of a family friend, (who happens to be a world class big game hunter, trapper, fisherman, survivalist-period.) I harvested my first pair for the dinner table. This was after much "research" and inquiring from various sources, including our spritual advisor. I can imagine the oppinions this posting will provoke, however I made this decision based upon careful consideration. I believe it is the nature of this existence that all life continues by the consumption of other life. Whether Carnivore, Herbivore or Omnivore. Buying your "food" saran wrapped on a styrafoam tray in the supermarket only shifts the burden of the "kill" to someone else. I have enough land, with natural vegetation to support these critters, and I intend to have lots of feed stored as a suppliment. I was saddened by the cesation of life by my hand, but I stand by this thought: If things get even half as crazy as I think they may, when the canned goods are gone and the dehydrated food is gone, then it comes down to this: do you have the skill to kill an animal, dress it and butcher it for your family's continued existence? And more importantly... do you have the stomach to do this? Along with this plan, we are also starting a large garden. I am constantly expanding my knowledge to be as self reliant as possible. This includes learning about "wormory" for the elimination of our organic waste. (I don't expect the garbage men to be working if everything else goes down.) I'm curious if anyone else shares some of these sentiments, and more importantly I am always interested in new information. Perhaps a thread on this subject could be continued.

-- lou (theknowzone@mindspring.com), May 26, 1998

Answers

You are a sensitive and spiritual person, Lou. Personally, I believe the taking of life should never be done lightly. But the Bible does say that God placed man on this earth with power and a responsibility over all the animals. I see that as a bit of a "gamekeeper" or zoo keeper role. You care for them lovingly, and on occasions you may kill them to eat or to put them out of their misery. But it is done with full responsibility and knowledge. I have friends who are vegetarian, even Vegan (no animal or dairy products), but I think that is as extreme as people who eat only meat. Rabbit meat is very good to eat; the only thing to beware of is that there is almost no fat in rabbit meat, and in a survival situation lack of fat can kill you. (I believe such cases were reported by the Hudsons Bay company, where trappers with ample rabbit eventually died because they had no fat in their diet.) By the way, I saw a posted article on breeding Cavies (guinea pigs) for meat, as is done in various south americn countries. It is informative.

-- David Harvey (David_Harvey@mercantilemutual.com.au), May 26, 1998.

It with practice will come a lot easier ,I have spoke to people who would rather die than kill an animal, so you are on the right step .

-- ron (rjcash@fred.net), May 29, 1998.

I LOVE rabbit- bacon wrapped rabbit filet served medium rare over a bed of wilted arugula and balsamic vinegar is amazing- but that is not the point. Having grown up on a farm I am quite used to slaughtering cows in the abstract- I have never killed anything but a quail...once. But I agree, we will all have to do things we find distasteful, even though they are things we support every time we eat steak at Outback Steakhouse.

-- Richard Dale Fitzgerald 2 (Daledoe@bnoc.net), June 04, 1998.