Rats!

So you believe and follow everything exactly as written in this translation of the Old Testament - or select the bits you like and disregard the rest? ;-)

I read my footnotes!

Huh well if you're going to shoot the bugger use something that's going to do some real damage

The people who follow those ideas don't. ;-(((

They'd rather live in a nice burrow in a riverbank, or a barn. They carry leptospirosis but this isn't really a problem unless you make a habit of swimming in canals, or a cut hand or foot has direct contact with infected urine in a wet environment. If infection does occur it can normally be treated effectively with antibiotics, and only in rare cases will it develop into full-blown Weils disease (organ failure, meningitis). Once you've had a particular strain of leptospirosis you will develop an immunity to it.

Squirrels can also carry leptospirosis, they're not as adaptable as rats so don't flourish in sewers. If a squirrel can live in a tree then a rat can probably live in a burrow in the roots and not have to go anywhere near a sewer - away from a wet environment the leptospirosis hazard is minimal. If you have a problem with sewer rats get the sewer fixed.

They look even cuter with a cross-hair on their head :oD

Wouldn't leave much of the bird table

Seriously though I can drop a hare at far greater distances with a .22 air rifle than with a twelve bore. (and its not full of bits of lead to get stuck in your teeth when its cooked)

Maybe this one got chucked out of the parental sewer because he's gay, in which case the OP won't have the problem of imminent little ratlets.

Owain

Then I hope it's an FAC-rated air rifle, for the sake of the hare. You must live in an unusual area if there're hares to be taken.

It's a f*cking rat. Why shouldn't I kill it?

Dave

I can think of no reason in your philosophy as long as you don't complain if someone does the same to you.

No, the ones in the red coats that have no morals. :-)

It's just a human, why shouldn't I kill it? How can you be so scared of a tiny furry creature that makes you want to lash out and murder it, lest it comes near you? How paranoid.

False comparison. He didn't object to the rat complaining after he'd killed it.

Grenadier Guards? ;-) But you probably mean Pink rather than red - though technically you mean the red coloured Pink (or grey coloured Pink?) they wear to disguise reality.

Just a country tyke We have hares, partidge, pheasant all of which occupy our fields. We have far too many rabbits which are the main target but we dont eat those (our cats however do).

As long as he doesn't complain when another rat (or someone on behalf of the rat) comes after him with a shotgun. I think his philosophy stinks but that's merely my pov. - but as long as his philosophy is consistent ...

.. all we need is his address and a gun. OK? ;-)

I understand that in your universe rats and people seem to be equally valued, though that is not the case in my universe, or, I suspect, david lang's (if I have the attributions right).

What *you* don't seem to understand is the notion of consistency. David didn't say that the rat hadn't to complain, or anything remotely like that. So if David were to complain, how would his philosophy be inconsistent?

Take a look at the considered justification that went into the decision. It's not my universe - but some people seem to put themselves on the level of a rat (or below).

His decision. His "why shouldn't I". I see no reason why the rat (or anyone else) shouldn't do exactly the same using exactly the same philosophy. If you want to suggest that human beings are somewhat better than that then you need to do some educating of the more stupid members of our species.