Of recent, my mind has been occupied by the tormenting thoughts of how so many Nigerians are irrationally disdainful of our fellow earthlings. What I cannot wrap my head around is why some cowardly nincompoops feel compelled to brag about one animal or the other which they've killed, maimed, burned, slashed, squashed, smashed or exterminated. It is not clear to me if these individuals actually wear their kills as some kind of self-aggrandising badge of honour. What is clear, however, is that such cowardly acts expose you as a weak sadist only able to draw strength from killing helpless beings that are much weaker than yourself. Stop the unnecessary killing of animals just minding their business. Animals are Beautiful People!

Is it that you are incapable of reasoning that, just like you, these animals have communities of theirs? Can you not see that they are playful friends, loving mothers, dutiful neighbours, committed workers and life bearers...just like you? Stop the unnecessary killings of animals just minding their business. Animals are Beautiful People!

Unfortunately, this sick behaviour is as rampant among our supposedly educated, as it is with the uneducated. If you are not hungry, and have no plan to eat it, why kill it? Sadly, some of the moderators on Nairaland are complicit; addicted even, to the glorification of cowardice. How many times have we seen on the front page, people bragging about one unnecessary murder of an innocent animal or the other, as if there's something worthy of praise or attention about such ignominious acts. Stop the unnecessary killing of animals just minding their business. Animals are Beautiful People!

Nairaland is a wonderful platform through which we all rub minds, learn new things and express ourselves and many times, shout each other down. It is also a place where many people desperate for attention do all sorts of despicable things to make front page. I hate to prescribe to people how to run their things, but I can say from observation, that the most respected social fora are ones in which the moderators and owners take a strong stand on ethical subjects. I hope Seun et al. will take a strong stand against these coward humans who inexplicably believe the earth belongs to them only! You may not be able to stop people from unnecessarily killing other earthlings, but you can purposefully deny them that attention they are so desperate for.

Animals are Beautiful People!!

I totally agree. It's really distasteful how we Nigerians kill animals(especially endangered ones) and gloat like its some sort of achievement! Very disappointing!

If you see cobra in your kids room, please don't kill , rather have a bed for him.

HomoSapiien:
If you see cobra in your kids room, please don't kill , rather have a bed for him.

It has just occurred to me that all those "Look what I just killed" topics on the front page were about cobras in kids' rooms. I'm blind as a bat!

AgentofAllah;

when you make a blanket statement like "All animals are beautiful"; it is easy to deride your argument with examples.

Most of the topics which hit FP pages concerning animals are usually snakes; and snakes, well, have a significant number of poisonous species in them.


I dig that animal killings should stop but it's one of the evils of today's mordernization.

SirWere:
AgentofAllah;
when you make a blanket statement like "All animals are beautiful"; it is easy to deride your argument with examples.

Please, go ahead, deride my argument with examples! For every example you give, I'll pull out 10 examples of humans committing atrocious crimes against animals...so I dare you, present your examples.

Most of the topics which hit FP pages concerning animals are usually snakes; and snakes, well, have a significant number of poisonous species in them.

Actually, there are only two know species of poisonous snakes; Keelback and Garter snakes which are endemic to Australia and the Americas respectively. But I think you meant venomous (not poisonous). Still, only about 25% of species are venomous. The vast majority (75%) of species are neither poisonous nor venomous.
Besides, snakes just want to be left alone. They only strike when threatened! So as long as they aren't invading your living space, and you aren't invading theirs, everyone can go about living their lives, including snakes.

I dig that animal killings should stop but it's one of the evils of today's mordernization.

Modernisation has afforded us an unprecedented opportunity to educate ourselves about our environment and our fellow earthlings. Let's not waste this opportunity by succumbing to irrational fear of our neighbours.

AgentOfAllah:
Please, go ahead, deride my argument with examples! For every example you give, I'll pull out 10 examples of humans committing atrocious crimes against animals...so I dare you, present your examples.

Whether man performs "atrocities" on animals or not is not the point. We still share biological urges, however repressed, to view animals with "the prey and predator lens"
Animals have attacked humans lots of times; without provocation!
If you grew up in a semi-urban Nigeria; I'm sure you would have heard of many instances where snakes attacked bricklayers working in uncompleted buildings

Actually, there are only two know species of poisonous snakes; Keelback and Garter snakes which are endemic to Australia and the Americas respectively. But I think you meant venomous (not poisonous). Still, only about 25% of species are venomous. The vast majority (75%) of species are neither poisonous nor venomous.

Facts and figures are all right when calmly discussing it. But in the face of danger, rational thinking, probabilities and statistics fly away from a person's mind.
Movies and other media do not help too also.
We have been preconditioned to think that snakes are always venomous (I don't understand the differences, to be honest) and must be struck down! Anywhere, wherever they are!!

Children who take excursion to bushes are usually threatened with "a snake will bite you if you wander off" or words to that effect and that strengthens the belief further that "All snakes are a dangerous breed".

Nat Geo wild actually does more harm than good but I'll skip that here.

Anyways, the point is : due to preconcieved beliefs, stories and what have you; a Nigerian man/woman's first reaction when seeing a snake is to hunt it down and kill it!
Whether that is good or bad is debatable.

Besides, snakes just want to be left alone. They only strike when threatened! So as long as they aren't invading your living space, and you aren't invading theirs, everyone can go about living their lives, including snakes.

Sorry, you're tripping here.
Having been opportuned to live in a somewhat rural environment, I can tell you that no one goes hunting for snakes or enters a snake's "habitat". No... It's the snakes themselves that invade barns, walls, roofs and other enclosed areas.
Snakes swallow chicken eggs; will bite the chicken then escape.

Any poultry farmer will attest to this.

So no; Snakes are the invaders, not vice-versa

Modernisation has afforded us an unprecedented opportunity to educate ourselves about our environment and our fellow earthlings. Let's not waste this opportunity by succumbing to irrational fear of our neighbours.

That I agree.
But, even so, we're social beings, malleable only to a certain degree when it comes to individualism.
Convincing a man that he should not attack snakes right now will be like using a hand fan to redirect the wind.

The African man today don't value life as long as it doesn't belong to him, that is why you see the wanton destruction of life be It animal or humans, the only difference is animals don't have who will fight for them.

@SirWere take a look at it from this angle, before the over expansion of the human population, most of the vast lands human occupies today were natural habitat of these animals, and scientifically it is a known fact that these animals requires vast space to hunt and fend for themselves.

In nature, there should always be a balance. science and technology has tilt the balance in favor of man, hence over Increase in population, and decrease in population of other organisms and even extinction for many more.

So the best we can do for them is to co-live with them until another big stone from space wipe the slate clean and write something new

Blakjewelry:
The African man today don't value life as long as it doesn't belong to him, that is why you see the wanton destruction of life be It animal or humans, the only difference is animals don't have who will fight for them.
@SirWere take a look at it from this angle, before the over expansion of the human population, most of the vast lands human occupies today were natural habitat of these animals, and scientifically it is a known fact that these animals requires vast space to hunt and fend for themselves.

I get that.
Honestly I'm sometimes saddened when I see beautiful animals killed without a second thought.

However, this things are more covoluted than they appear.
As a species, humanity sole aim is to dominate and conquer the enivornment, to tame the wild.
Evidences of such are littered throughout history; in religious texts, in the stories we tell ourselves.

Mordernization/Industrialization = Destruction of animal's natural habitat.

And we all want an industrialized africa.

Yet we still want to preserve the huge spaces of land (which can be used for farming or what have you) for wildlife animals at the same time



You can't eat your cake and have it.........

SirWere:

Whether man performs "atrocities" on animals or not is not the point. We still share biological urges, however repressed, to view animals with "the prey and predator lens"
Animals have attacked humans lots of times; without provocation!
If you grew up in a semi-urban Nigeria; I'm sure you would have heard of many instances where snakes attacked bricklayers working in uncompleted buildings

But that is exactly the point, my dear sir! I suggest you read my post again if you haven't realised this yet.

Facts and figures are all right when calmly discussing it. But in the face of danger, rational thinking, probabilities and statistics fly away from a person's mind.
Movies and other media do not help too also.
We have been preconditioned to think that snakes are always venomous (I don't understand the differences, to be honest) and must be struck down! Anywhere, wherever they are!!

I understand this point. Facts and figures are supposed to deepen our understanding of things. We can afterwards, chose to apply this understanding, even against our primal instincts. And in the event that your primal instincts overcome your best efforts at self-refinement, the least you can do is become sober and reflective. What you shouldn't do is go about glorifying your weakness all over the internet.

Children who take excursion to bushes are usually threatened with "a snake will bite you if you wander off" or words to that effect and that strengthens the belief further that "All snakes are a dangerous breed".

I understand that it's not all the time we have the patience to point out the nuances between dangerous and harmless snakes. Although, it may be argued that taking children on excursion to bushes entails informing them correctly about bushes. I fail to see the point of an excursion in which participants are misinformed about things related to it.

Anyways, the point is : due to preconcieved beliefs, stories and what have you; a Nigerian man/woman's first reaction when seeing a snake is to hunt it down and kill it!
Whether that is good or bad is debatable.

Yes, this is what I'm lamenting, although, my lamentation isn't limited to just snakes.

Sorry, you're tripping here.
Having been opportuned to live in a somewhat rural environment, I can tell you that no one goes hunting for snakes or enters a snake's "habitat". No... It's the snakes themselves that invade barns, walls, roofs and other enclosed areas.
Snakes swallow chicken eggs; will bite the chicken then escape.

Any poultry farmer will attest to this.

So no; Snakes are the invaders, not vice-versa

The word "unnecessarily" was thoughtfully used in both the title and body of my post. I believe cases in which snakes steal your chickens, eggs or living space don't fall under the category of "unnecessary". That said, there are also many cases where snakes have helped us to combat rodents that carry and spread deadly pathogens. I'm by no means advocating dumb pacifism, however, when you think up the right response, note that snakes do unwittingly sway into our farms/houses much as we sway, unwittingly, into their habitats during our "bush excursions".

That I agree.
But, even so, we're social beings, malleable only to a certain degree when it comes to individualism.
Convincing a man that he should not attack snakes right now will be like using a hand fan to redirect the wind.

Convincing comes one (wo)man at a time my friend. I once harboured irrational fear for exotic animals too, but here I am; a living proof that not all (wo)men are completely hopeless.

AgentOfAllah:
Please, go ahead, deride my argument with examples! For every example you give, I'll pull out 10 examples of humans committing atrocious crimes against animals...so I dare you, present your examples.

Actually, there are only two know species of poisonous snakes; Keelback and Garter snakes which are endemic to Australia and the Americas respectively. But I think you meant venomous (not poisonous). Still, only about 25% of species are venomous. The vast majority (75%) of species are neither poisonous nor venomous.
Besides, snakes just want to be left alone. They only strike when threatened! So as long as they aren't invading your living space, and you aren't invading theirs, everyone can go about living their lives, including snakes.

Modernisation has afforded us an unprecedented opportunity to educate ourselves about our environment and our fellow earthlings. Let's not waste this opportunity by succumbing to irrational fear of our neighbours.

NatGeo Wild!