Firsty, I think you are all admirable people for choosing to abstain from animal products entirely.
But I want to know,
Where do vegans draw the line?
Do you kill household pests such as flies /ants & cockaroaches etc?
Do you kill fleas on your dogs, intestinal worms and nits in your childrens hair? :S
I know alot of omni's probably ask you this as a point of argument but please don't take offence I am asking because I genuinely don't know and would like to be more informed.
Firsty, I think you are all admirable people for choosing to abstain from animal products entirely.
But I want to know,
Where do vegans draw the line?
Do you kill household pests such as flies /ants & cockaroaches etc?
Do you kill fleas on your dogs, intestinal worms and nits in your childrens hair? :S
I know alot of omni's probably ask you this as a point of argument but please don't take offence I am asking because I genuinely don't know and would like to be more informed.
Hey, it's all good!
I draw the line at where it's impossible.
I don't kill any insects as much as possible. I know insects die if I walk on the grass and to produce my food but if I have insects in my house I set them "free" outdoors (same for mice/rats) and I stop to let insects pass on the street; will pull leaves off trees to give to ants caught in the rain; will move worms of the footpath after rain etc.
I have a cat and I have a vegan flea shampoo that after my cat has been washed I can comb out all the fleas (assuming that he has any); put them in a bucket and then put them outside without having to kill them.
So yeah... That's where I draw the line.
Generally I think most vegans would rather put pests/spiders/etc outside as opposed to killing them, but you really can't lump everyone together in one big group. If you are vegan, you're still human, and an individual. It's really about doing as much as you can, and on that point I would hope that most people (vegan or not) would spare as many lives as they can.
Nits and fleas etc, are parasites and are detrimental to you and your companion animal's health, I would kill them.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal choice as to where you draw the line. I try to avoid killing insects- I catch and free spiders, don't use lethal mousetraps, etc.
That said, I'm not going to go nuts and spiral into depression if I buy veggies from a company that uses the occasional pesticide. Making vegan life hard for myself makes it look hard to others, and that's not at all encouraging. Nobody can live 100% cruelty free. We just make our own choices as to what way is the most cruelty free we can manage.
I have never liked killing insects, when it's just as easy (and a whole lot less messy) to simply 'rehome' them outside! I was like this when I was a meat eater, and a vegetarian, and guess what, also as a vegan today
I agree it's a personal decision. But, you don't need to be vegan to want to save insects, mice etc. Lots of meat-eaters are the same.
It's a little more difficult for someone like myself who is arachnophobic. I've never liked killing anything before being vegan and especially now, but in a moment of panic it is a really hard call. If my fiance is around then I usually get him to bundle them up and release them outside. If i'm alone then a glass will usually do the trick until he gets home - or until i've calmed down enough (depending on the insect and size etc..) to close my eyes and do it myself. I definitely make more of an effort not to kill now that we're vegan - it just doesn't seem right.
Making vegan life hard for myself makes it look hard to others, and that's not at all encouraging. Nobody can live 100% cruelty free. We just make our own choices as to what way is the most cruelty free we can manage.
My thoughts exactly.
I do love ants - total respect for the little fellas. If I happen to see an ant on the footpath before I step on him, then I'll try to avoid him and let him go happily about his business. But I don't spend hours with a microscope inspecting the territory every time I need to put my foot down. I do what I can to reduce unnecessary cruelty and deaths. But sadly, accidents happen.
Sorry ants, if you were just a bit bigger it would be easier to keep out of your way!
Firsty, I think you are all admirable people for choosing to abstain from animal products entirely.
But I want to know,
Where do vegans draw the line?
Do you kill household pests such as flies /ants & cockaroaches etc?
Do you kill fleas on your dogs, intestinal worms and nits in your childrens hair? :S
I know alot of omni's probably ask you this as a point of argument but please don't take offence I am asking because I genuinely don't know and would like to be more informed.
I don't kill ants, etc. on purpose! I feel bad if I do. I try to save them if they're drowning etc. but it's quite hard to sometimes. I don't have a dog but when I had a cat he had fleas and I just picked them off and flicked them away. Same with headlice. I try not to squash them or anything but chances are they're going to die anyway because they can only live for like 24 hrs off hair. I do't know whether they feel pain. It all depends on the person, there's not really a 'rule' for vegans or anything. Basically I try my best to not make any animal feel pain or suffer.
Making vegan life hard for myself makes it look hard to others, and that's not at all encouraging. Nobody can live 100% cruelty free. We just make our own choices as to what way is the most cruelty free we can manage.
My thoughts exactly.
I do love ants - total respect for the little fellas. If I happen to see an ant on the footpath before I step on him, then I'll try to avoid him and let him go happily about his business. But I don't spend hours with a microscope inspecting the territory every time I need to put my foot down. I do what I can to reduce unnecessary cruelty and deaths. But sadly, accidents happen.
Sorry ants, if you were just a bit bigger it would be easier to keep out of your way!
What Tarkine said!
I draw the line where my companion animals health is placed at risk if I do nothing about what would otherwise harm them. eg. mosquitos to the bunnies, intestinal worms to the horses.
Nits, fleas and worms are nasties and to be honest I don't see them as worthy of saving. My dogs don't get fleas so I guess I don't have that problem...
Insects - flies seriously bug me, and my dog Storm (she gets fly bite bad in summer [yes I use repellent but it doesn't last all day]) so I have traps to catch them. Mozzies - I have rabbits and therefore am very careful with having mozzies hanging around to ensure they can't pass on anything nasty to my darlings (possibly fatal nasties). Spiders - ugh. I hate spiders. But I am getting better and quite proud of myself that I don't kill them anymore... But if I find a nest in or near my rabbits housing I do kill them - I'm sorry but I put my rabbits lives above anything else.
I did find a monster centipede on my block on the weekend, I was more in awe than anything, but shortly after I threw him over the fence LOL (this thing was MASSIVE his pincers alone were 1cm long).
Each person draws their own line. You have to do what is comfortable to you.
It all depends on the person, there's not really a 'rule' for vegans or anything. Basically I try my best to not make any animal feel pain or suffer. 
