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[wolfforce58205]

Just Ranting Again

One of my coworkers put in her 2 weeks notice yesterday and we're happy for her, lol. But also gonna miss her and are jealous XD

It's annoying that honestly this job wouldn't be bad at all if it wasn't for shitty customers. (What else is new when working with the public, eh?) But legit, I don't think prior generations would have been like this where I work.

For context, this is at a children's museum. We're pretty light on the museum/educational aspect these days and if I'm being honest are just an indoor play-place, so that's definitely a part of the problem. But still.

Like why is it that EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I have to listen to children screaming like there's an axe murderer loose in the building? And when they don't scream? Their volume is still very, very high. Does no one teach inside voices anymore?? My mom would have told me to stop screaming like that unless I was in danger. I get so exhausted just because I'm exposed to so much noise on a daily basis, at this point I'm convinced parents are all deaf. It hurts less than the shelter did, but the shelter hit decibels that are similar to being near an airport runway. And like....listen to this shit:

(Keep in mind this is downstairs, away from the noise, and my phone automatically cancels out background noise.)

In addition to not teaching kids inside voices I'm convinced our generation overall just sucks at parenting. Not to say EVERY parent is bad, but holy shit a lot of us suck y'all. Distracted pushovers is how I'd describe the majority of it. Although too many grandparents seem straight up scared of their grandkids and let them get away with stuff as well.

I'm forever pissed off that people don't understand what gentle parenting is. WAAAAAY too many people seem to think it's the same thing as passive, absentee, or permissive parenting, whether they're trying to practice it or are criticizing it.

Like we had one regular that'd come in with her two sons, and they were both awful but especially the younger one. He felt entitled to getting something from the gift store every visit and would throw the biggest fits about it. Like he'd literally hit his mother, or one time he punched her pretty good in the stomach. He was like 6, so I'm not talking about a toddler here, I mean old enough to know better. And what would she do? Give him what he wanted, or a very close compromise. That child is gonna be in jail some day.

And while that's an extreme example I see parents all the time giving in to what kids want instead of standing firm. Buying things from the store after the parent said no, refusing to leave because they're having fun even though they have other things to do that day, misbehaving then refusing to sit and calm down about it, etc. The number of times I've heard, "Do we need to leave??" from parents who then proceed to just keep repeating that line and never follow through on it is absurd.

Also? Lack of accountability. I'm so fucking tired of finding something broken around the museum. Just tell us if your kid breaks something, don't hide it in a corner! It's usually dangerous to leave something broken out, we need to get it off the floor. We're not gonna yell at you or something. I mean shit, we should be charging for broken items but we don't even do that. Spills happen all the time that people don't tell us about. Half the time when a kid wets themselves we don't find out until another parent comes up and mentions a mystery liquid somewhere. Or heaven forbid a toilet gets clogged or something (plunger is RIGHT THERE but no one will dare to use it). JUST TELL US! WE'RE ALL ADULTS HERE! YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET IN TROUBLE! WE NEED TO FIX THE PROBLEM!

Another thing is the fact that no one wants to watch their damn kids. I'd say "anymore" but I know my parents relied on letting my bro and I play outside by ourselves, so it's been a thing probably forever. At any given time if you look out into our facility you'll see most if not all of the parents glued to their phones. Kids are supposed to be supervised at all times in our facility, it's not a daycare or a playground. There have been so many times where I've had to help a child because their parents seemed oblivious to their crying. Yesterday I had to yell LOUDLY for kids to stop throwing plastic and metal toys down the big slide (that slide is FAST so when things get thrown down it they genuinely do become dangerous projectiles). The parents were right there and didn't even fucking flinch. Some days I have half a mind to go up to the parents and say, "I know your Instagram reels that half the room can hear you watching are enthralling, but I need you to be an adult now and go parent your child instead of expecting strangers to do it for you."

Sometimes their disinterest in their child goes so far that I, someone who is pretty anti-natalist at this point thanks to this job and doesn't even like kids, can tell the child has unmet needs. The other week we had a kid who was at our facility for way too long and through the lunch hour. You could tell he was getting agitated because he was tired and probably hungry because his play style went from normal to "I'm just going to start throwing everything." Then the crying and screaming. Then he was literally laying on the floor barely able to keep himself awake. Mom was actually watching him (shocker!) but just kept encouraging him to play! He finally hit the stage where he was so tired all he could do was throw tantrums, so she...brought him into the store to look at toys. Oh, but not buy any, just look. He finally resorted to screaming at the top of his lungs so hard his voice was nearly cracking before she finally fucking left. Again, extreme example, but we see smaller doses of this all the goddamn time. If my childfree ass can see your kid is tired and/or hungry why the fuck can't you, their parent who should know their kid better than anyone else, see it?

Also, I'm tired of the entitlement of some people. Today we emptied out our coin vortex, so I was rolling coins behind the desk so we can take them to the bank. We *used* to have a "karma penny" pile from pennies someone donated that kids could put in the vortex. Then we had to stop doing that because it was being horribly abused, and the coin vortex lost its original purpose: being a fun donation box (we also lost one of our donation boxes because the museum we were loaning it from wanted it back). People are so upset that their kids can't come up to our desk and ask for handfuls of coins anymore. Like bruh, how many places have you gone to with gimmicky donation boxes that GAVE YOU MONEY FOR THEM? This isn't a toy. We don't pull in enough money most days to even stay open anymore. WE NEED THE MONEY. If your kid is upset that they can't put coins down the coin vortex because you don't want to break a dollar quite frankly that's not my fucking problem. That's a lesser issue though. One thing that annoys me a lot more is how people will just leave trash all over the floor, or on the tables. There's a trash can at every single table. Our facility isn't very large, and there's always a trash can within eyesight no matter where you go. Also why does no one teach their kids to clean up after themselves? Every exhibit has a sign saying to keep toys at that exhibit, and clean up when your kid is done. I don't expect kids to keep toys in the exhibits, that's fine. But taking every toy out, throwing them all over the place, then leaving does piss me off. You don't have to do a good job at putting things away. Just try a little. I swear the only time people do try is 5 minutes before we close when they should be putting on their kid's shoes and getting a last potty break in. Then they take 20 minutes to do a piss-poor job that I then have to fix before we have to leave (our museum can't afford to pay us outside of our scheduled hours, knock it off).

Some days when I come home I'll show my husband pictures of the messes left behind and recently he said, "Wow, that's like if someone used the bathroom then expected you to flush the toilet for them." OH YEAH, FUNNY THING, PEOPLE DO THAT TOO! Every goddamn day! Either they use the bathroom or their kids use the bathroom and instead of FLUSHING THE FUCKING TOILET they just leave it there. And those toilets are BEASTS, the building is old, there's been many times where I thought for sure they'd clog but they didn't, so no it's not because the toilet didn't flush properly. They just think everyone else should enjoy the stench of their piss and shit while the employees have to check the bathroom regularly to flush for them. YOU CAN KICK THE HANDLES. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TOUCH THEM WITH YOUR HANDS IF THAT'S THE PROBLEM. JFC.

I dunno. Everything is petty and I know it. It's not like my last job where lives were quite literally on the line. I'm just tired of people in my area, I don't know if it's just customer brain or what but they're so fucking stupid and entitled. I don't like working with the public. I'm working on saving up money so I can quit my job and just not have one for a few months (trying to save up enough money that I could afford to take a whole year off). I put in so much work into stuff no one appreciates or even notices, people are always looking for ways to take take take but get offended if you even suggest they give back, and I'm so tired.

[wolfforce58205]

"If those are the horses at [location] they're protected." "Actually ALL feral/wild/invasive/whatever you wanna call them horses are protected in the United States, the Wild Horse and Burro Act is a federal law that prohibits people like us from doing anything with the horses, and prevents any forms of lethal management of horses by government agencies." "hOrSeS aRe nAtIvE, yOu dOn'T kNoW wHaT yOu'Re tAlKiNg aBoUt!!!!!!! dO yOuR rEsEaRcH tHeY cRoSsEd tHe lAnDbRiDgE!!!! wHy dO wE hAvE tO cOnTrOl hOrSeS lEtHaLlY?!?!?!??!?!? wE dOn'T dO tHaT tO aNy oThEr sPeCiEs!!!!!!!!1!!!one!!!!"

"Wild" horse advocates are the most insufferable people out there, I swear to fuck all.

[wolfforce58205]

Updated Horse Rant

It's time I update my rant about our wild/feral horses.

According to the BLM there's currently 61,523 wild/feral horses in the United States. From that same source, there was a large removal of horses in 2021, 2022, and 2024, with over 10,000 horses being removed each of those years. Other removals vary from as low as 1,689 horses and as many as 16,971 horses (data going back to 2012). They claim that the herd sizes can double about every 4 years. This is a decrease compared to prior years. (Sorry, newest charts I could find only updated to 2023.)

Here in Nevada we have an estimated 37,426 horses, more than every other state combined (24,097 horses, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming). Let's compare those numbers to other animal populations here in Nevada: -Mule Deer: 73,000 (steady increase since 2014, but back in the mid 1980s the population was closer to 200,000) -Pronghorn: 35,500 (so just under 3,000 less animals than horses) -Elk: 13,500 (less than half of our horse population) -California Bighorn Sheep: 1,900 (WAY less than horses) -Desert Bighorn Sheep: 6,000 (over 30,000 less animals than horses) -Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep: 149 (it's amazing these animals are even still here) -Mountain Goats: 303 (so few!) -Moose: 130 (barely any) Know what's funny about all the animals I just listed? THEY ALL HAVE HUNTING SEASONS AND THEIR POPULATIONS ARE MANAGED. But somehow we can't do that for horses whose populations dwarf all of those species except for mule deer.

So why do these horses get so much hate?

The first thing to understand about the horses that are out on the range now is that they're domesticated horses. Domestication changes animals, and despite what mustang lovers will claim it's indisputable that domesticated horses are changed from their wild ancestors.

Horses went extinct here in the Americas around 10,000 years ago. Equus scotti were our original horses. They completely disappeared from the fossil record. The modern horse, Equus caballus, evolved in the Old World. They were domesticated around 6,000 years ago with some speculation as to where exactly this took place (it's possible and seems likely it happened in multiple places at the same time). From what I've seen it's believed that at least some of these horses originally descended from the horses we had here in North America that had crossed over the land bridge.

Native nations will share that they had horses before settlers arrived in the 1600s and the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 where modern "wild" horses are credited as coming from, but this can be explained by Spanish settlers who likely brought horses to the Americas back in the early 1500s. Fossil records back this up with three horse remains dating before the Pueblo Revolt showing evidence of wearing bridles, eating domestic crops, and having human-treated injuries. As far as I'm aware, this is the earliest evidence of horses in the states post-extinction. People will claim that pockets of horses actually survived the extinction but I haven't found solid evidence of that.

So the Americas evolved without horses present for a span of about 10,000 years. What changed in that time?

Well for starters, a whole lot of animals went extinct that probably hunted early horses. Dire wolves, North American sabertoothed cats, American lions, American scimitars, American cheetahs, shortfaced bears, and even humans used to hunt horses. Horses are also missing their competitors: ancient bison, the Hagerman horse (more closely related to zebras than horses), mammoths, camelops, llamas, oxen. No animal exists in a vacuum and having predators and competitors around helps keeps populations in check. In the span from the late Pleistocene to the early 1500s North America continued to evolve without horses present. Ecosystems changed, native wildlife evolved, and then settlers came and messed that up even more.

Not to mention back when horses originally roamed North America my state still had ancient Lake Lahontan covering a significant portion of the land. Now we're the driest state in the country (that's right, even drier than Arizona or New Mexico with much thanks to the rain shadow caused by the Sierra Nevada mountain range). We can't support the same life today as we did back then due to geological changes alone. A lot of our country was vastly different than it is today.

So what about when horses were reintroduced?

Our ecosystem was still a pretty different place even compared to back then thanks to colonization. Settlers brought invasive species, stopped indigenous groups from practicing their land management strategies this nation has evolved with, and killed many native species. Here in Nevada we used to have gray wolves, lynx, and grizzly bears, for example, who all likely would have hunted horses. Even if the predators don't hunt the animals directly their presence alone can lead to lower birth rates and more movement, which helps prevent areas from being over-grazed. We also didn't have livestock, plants like cheatgrass, and we didn't break up vital habitat animals depend on and migrate through. Nevada is mostly government owned open land. Horses are able to thrive thanks to that combined with a lack of predators. It's no mistake that we have more horses roaming our state than any other state by such a large margin.

But what's the big deal? Why does it matter how many horses there are?

No habitat can sustain unlimited growth.

Here in my state some species are threatened by horses and other livestock. Which, quick aside, wild horse advocates are quick to point at the finger at livestock while ignoring the fact that horses are livestock animals and thus part of every criticism they have of livestock. But I digress.

One issue is the spread of species like cheatgrass, which is worsening our fire season. It out-competes native grasses, it grows densely and dries early in the season, its shallow roots don't help our ecosystems compared to native plants that help the soil, and it survives the wildfires it contributes to. It's also a low-quality forage for livestock, and the seeds can cause issues for pets. Advocates for horses will say horses control cheatgrass by eating it. The problem is horses also can help spread cheatgrass (this is not a problem unique to horses).

Trampling native grasses or overgrazing them is another problem. Our native sand rice grass (formerly "Indian rice grass") is vital for sage grouse and other wildlife. It requires undisturbed soil with mycorrihizal fungi (fires can also harm these habitats). Even if the horses don't eat the grass, their presence alone can make the habitat unsuitable for this rice grass. Unlike cheatgrass, rice grass isn't spread in a horse's feces.

There's also just issues with direct competition. Here horses only really have one predator: mountain lions. That's not enough to keep their populations in check, especially since mountain lion populations aren't that high compared to the horses (around 2,200 mountain lions across the 7th largest US state).

So what's the solution? Depends on who you ask.

Some people are fine with the round-ups. We pay somewhere around $141.8 million for round-ups, captive care, and adoptions. Keep in mind that's taxpayer money. A lot of critics say this causes unnecessary stress for the horses, causes injury or even death, and causes hierarchy problems and can even harm biodiversity. If you've ever seen a holding facility they're pretty sad dirt lots, too. Adopting out the horses is a hard process. Many are convinced all the horses go to meat slaughter.

Birth control is another option. As with any option, there's criticism with this method as well. Costs, efficacy, the fact that it's a temporary solution, and some will argue this unfairly affects biodiversity. It also doesn't remove existing horses from the range, just stops them from reproducing, so this doesn't solve any current overpopulation problems. It's hard to dart enough horses especially when you consider that any contraceptive isn't going to be 100% effective. The darts have to be placed right by volunteers who also need to keep record of which horses have been darted. It's a lot of work.

Now my hot take? Eat the horses. Our wild/feral horses are currently protected by law so hunting/eating them is out of the question. But laws can change. We could start treating them like our other native wildlife and issue tags for them (and then that money can go back to wildlife conservation). Horse meat is eaten in other parts of the world. Horses were hunted by man longer than we were riding them. Horse meat was legal in the past in the US. So I don't know, people have big feelings about horses and it's unlikely to happen anytime soon if ever, but that's my unpopular opinion.

[progenyofpenitence]

Thanks for this great essay on Nevada horses! I grew up in Nevada and saw these wild horses a lot! They're an encouraging sight.

I think your post is well thought out and it seems well researched. I think it's a little idiosyncratic though. Your idea to eat the horses doesn't mesh well with my understanding of people living around them.

For starters, harassment of local horses is already a big issue in the area. Mean spirited people - children and adults a like- already make a hobby of going out in groups and throwing stones at the horses, scaring the horses by driving circles around them on ATVs, etc.

I'm very familiar with Nevada gun culture. I've been an active participant and I've seen the waste, environmental degradation, and just absolute heinous human behavior that it brings out in people...

Combining wasteful, polluting, gun culture with people's existing desire to be cruel to horses for fun seems like it has the potential to be devastating. I feel like issuing tags and treating horses as a prey animal would encourage some nastiness . I have a clear vision in my mind of 4-6 grinning, nasty, men slapping each other on the back and laughing as they blow the heads off horses with their perfectly legal AR-15 rifles, leaving wretched corpses in the burning desert... Just a hundred yards or so from where people drive and hike. Hunting a horse would not be the same sporting activity as hunting white tail deer- as you pointed out in your essay, they were previously domesticated, and do not flee from humans.

Wild horse management is a tricky issue. I know of no elegant solution. However I don't believe that turning back the clock on the hunting and eating of horses is very viable... Or a Hallmark of a better world I want to live in. Would love to talk to you more about this, OP!

[wolfforce58205]

All very fair points. And as someone who is a proponent for responsible hunting I'll also be the first to admit that there will be some level of cruelty involved. There's always bad actors, with or without legalized hunting. Someone was just telling me today about a person they know who poaches, despite being told not to, because if they deem an animal as a problem they don't care about the law and will "take care of it themselves." (insert me trying not to scream while being told about this) There have been horses poached for meat by desperate people. Bringing tags into the equation could add some layers of protection for the horses, unlike, say, coyote hunting, which anyone with a gun can do to their heart's content. Which I have a hard time imagining if horse hunting was legalized that it'd ever be unregulated. There are hunting laws, which can include laws for wanton waste (which Nevada could stand to instate anyway). If we treated horses the same as our deer or antelope we could also make the tags available on a lottery system, which may discourage bad actors, plus there's a lot of rules and regulations that come with those. Baiting: illegal. Harassing wildlife: illegal. Obtaining more than 1-2 permits (species depending): illegal. Using a weapon that is inefficient, and thus would just hurt the animal: illegal. Taking an animal outside of designated hunting areas, which can include specified management areas to target higher localized populations: illegal. And so on, and so forth. I'm fortunate enough to have not witnessed anyone harassing horses past getting too close to get photos, feed them, or pet them. I don't think opening up well-regulated hunting would change how people currently handle horses, especially if it was well enforced on introduction and done through a lottery system instead of standard issue tags. Starting with select areas with heavy enforcement (maybe having volunteer groups going out for monitoring hunts?) would be a good way to start to make sure that people didn't unnecessarily harass or harm horses. If people are already harassing horses honestly I'm not sure how introducing hunting would change that behavior one way or another. If the horses are more wary of people it might just make it more difficult for people to get away with such behavior.

Speaking of: if hunting was ever instated I think it'd also have to be preceded by a period of heavy hazing. As-is horses are domesticated animals, and feral/wild horses aren't an exception when you look at their behavior. They don't spook easily, they'll let people approach them, they happily make themselves at home in our neighborhoods, people will even feed and pet them. This would make it very unfair to the horses if we just started hunting them out of the gate. We'd need to build a negative association with people before we could have any level of fair hunting. And one thing I would worry with for horses is how successful this would be. One thing I didn't mention in my original post is a lot of horses that are on the range now weren't bred for generations on public lands, they're released pets that people could no longer afford. These are horses who are probably always going to be comfortable around people, it would take a lot to break generations of selective breeding combined with likely being hand-raised for the ultimate tameness and work-ability. Instating hunting would hopefully curb the habit for people to release their horses once it becomes too expensive/difficult to keep them. But in the meantime it's simply a fact that there are horses out there right now that were once owned, and hunting such horses would be akin to shooting fish in a barrel.

Introducing hunting would also make any other forms of control significantly more difficult, so if it ended up being a failed management plan that would make the situation much worse since it would make horses more wary of people.

It's a sticky situation for sure no matter how you look at it, with no fool-proof solution. I also think reintroducing native but locally extinct predators could help, but somehow that opinion is even less popular than hunting the horses. No one seems to want to worry about grizzly bears on their hikes, or wolves near their livestock or pets.

[wolfforce58205]

Updated Horse Rant

It's time I update my rant about our wild/feral horses.

According to the BLM there's currently 61,523 wild/feral horses in the United States. From that same source, there was a large removal of horses in 2021, 2022, and 2024, with over 10,000 horses being removed each of those years. Other removals vary from as low as 1,689 horses and as many as 16,971 horses (data going back to 2012). They claim that the herd sizes can double about every 4 years. This is a decrease compared to prior years. (Sorry, newest charts I could find only updated to 2023.)

Here in Nevada we have an estimated 37,426 horses, more than every other state combined (24,097 horses, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming). Let's compare those numbers to other animal populations here in Nevada: -Mule Deer: 73,000 (steady increase since 2014, but back in the mid 1980s the population was closer to 200,000) -Pronghorn: 35,500 (so just under 3,000 less animals than horses) -Elk: 13,500 (less than half of our horse population) -California Bighorn Sheep: 1,900 (WAY less than horses) -Desert Bighorn Sheep: 6,000 (over 30,000 less animals than horses) -Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep: 149 (it's amazing these animals are even still here) -Mountain Goats: 303 (so few!) -Moose: 130 (barely any) Know what's funny about all the animals I just listed? THEY ALL HAVE HUNTING SEASONS AND THEIR POPULATIONS ARE MANAGED. But somehow we can't do that for horses whose populations dwarf all of those species except for mule deer.

So why do these horses get so much hate?

The first thing to understand about the horses that are out on the range now is that they're domesticated horses. Domestication changes animals, and despite what mustang lovers will claim it's indisputable that domesticated horses are changed from their wild ancestors.

Horses went extinct here in the Americas around 10,000 years ago. Equus scotti were our original horses. They completely disappeared from the fossil record. The modern horse, Equus caballus, evolved in the Old World. They were domesticated around 6,000 years ago with some speculation as to where exactly this took place (it's possible and seems likely it happened in multiple places at the same time). From what I've seen it's believed that at least some of these horses originally descended from the horses we had here in North America that had crossed over the land bridge.

Native nations will share that they had horses before settlers arrived in the 1600s and the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 where modern "wild" horses are credited as coming from, but this can be explained by Spanish settlers who likely brought horses to the Americas back in the early 1500s. Fossil records back this up with three horse remains dating before the Pueblo Revolt showing evidence of wearing bridles, eating domestic crops, and having human-treated injuries. As far as I'm aware, this is the earliest evidence of horses in the states post-extinction. People will claim that pockets of horses actually survived the extinction but I haven't found solid evidence of that.

So the Americas evolved without horses present for a span of about 10,000 years. What changed in that time?

Well for starters, a whole lot of animals went extinct that probably hunted early horses. Dire wolves, North American sabertoothed cats, American lions, American scimitars, American cheetahs, shortfaced bears, and even humans used to hunt horses. Horses are also missing their competitors: ancient bison, the Hagerman horse (more closely related to zebras than horses), mammoths, camelops, llamas, oxen. No animal exists in a vacuum and having predators and competitors around helps keeps populations in check. In the span from the late Pleistocene to the early 1500s North America continued to evolve without horses present. Ecosystems changed, native wildlife evolved, and then settlers came and messed that up even more.

Not to mention back when horses originally roamed North America my state still had ancient Lake Lahontan covering a significant portion of the land. Now we're the driest state in the country (that's right, even drier than Arizona or New Mexico with much thanks to the rain shadow caused by the Sierra Nevada mountain range). We can't support the same life today as we did back then due to geological changes alone. A lot of our country was vastly different than it is today.

So what about when horses were reintroduced?

Our ecosystem was still a pretty different place even compared to back then thanks to colonization. Settlers brought invasive species, stopped indigenous groups from practicing their land management strategies this nation has evolved with, and killed many native species. Here in Nevada we used to have gray wolves, lynx, and grizzly bears, for example, who all likely would have hunted horses. Even if the predators don't hunt the animals directly their presence alone can lead to lower birth rates and more movement, which helps prevent areas from being over-grazed. We also didn't have livestock, plants like cheatgrass, and we didn't break up vital habitat animals depend on and migrate through. Nevada is mostly government owned open land. Horses are able to thrive thanks to that combined with a lack of predators. It's no mistake that we have more horses roaming our state than any other state by such a large margin.

But what's the big deal? Why does it matter how many horses there are?

No habitat can sustain unlimited growth.

Here in my state some species are threatened by horses and other livestock. Which, quick aside, wild horse advocates are quick to point at the finger at livestock while ignoring the fact that horses are livestock animals and thus part of every criticism they have of livestock. But I digress.

One issue is the spread of species like cheatgrass, which is worsening our fire season. It out-competes native grasses, it grows densely and dries early in the season, its shallow roots don't help our ecosystems compared to native plants that help the soil, and it survives the wildfires it contributes to. It's also a low-quality forage for livestock, and the seeds can cause issues for pets. Advocates for horses will say horses control cheatgrass by eating it. The problem is horses also can help spread cheatgrass (this is not a problem unique to horses).

Trampling native grasses or overgrazing them is another problem. Our native sand rice grass (formerly "Indian rice grass") is vital for sage grouse and other wildlife. It requires undisturbed soil with mycorrihizal fungi (fires can also harm these habitats). Even if the horses don't eat the grass, their presence alone can make the habitat unsuitable for this rice grass. Unlike cheatgrass, rice grass isn't spread in a horse's feces.

There's also just issues with direct competition. Here horses only really have one predator: mountain lions. That's not enough to keep their populations in check, especially since mountain lion populations aren't that high compared to the horses (around 2,200 mountain lions across the 7th largest US state).

So what's the solution? Depends on who you ask.

Some people are fine with the round-ups. We pay somewhere around $141.8 million for round-ups, captive care, and adoptions. Keep in mind that's taxpayer money. A lot of critics say this causes unnecessary stress for the horses, causes injury or even death, and causes hierarchy problems and can even harm biodiversity. If you've ever seen a holding facility they're pretty sad dirt lots, too. Adopting out the horses is a hard process. Many are convinced all the horses go to meat slaughter.

Birth control is another option. As with any option, there's criticism with this method as well. Costs, efficacy, the fact that it's a temporary solution, and some will argue this unfairly affects biodiversity. It also doesn't remove existing horses from the range, just stops them from reproducing, so this doesn't solve any current overpopulation problems. It's hard to dart enough horses especially when you consider that any contraceptive isn't going to be 100% effective. The darts have to be placed right by volunteers who also need to keep record of which horses have been darted. It's a lot of work.

Now my hot take? Eat the horses. Our wild/feral horses are currently protected by law so hunting/eating them is out of the question. But laws can change. We could start treating them like our other native wildlife and issue tags for them (and then that money can go back to wildlife conservation). Horse meat is eaten in other parts of the world. Horses were hunted by man longer than we were riding them. Horse meat was legal in the past in the US. So I don't know, people have big feelings about horses and it's unlikely to happen anytime soon if ever, but that's my unpopular opinion.

[firstginger]

What form would your daemon take?

In the world of His Dark Materials, what would your daemon appear as?

this was a long undertaking but i’m beyond excited to post what i believe is the most comprehensive daemon-finding quiz to date, featuring 34 categories of animals and over 320 total possible outcomes! from insects to owls to seals to wild cats, you’re sure to find a unique result that fits your personality.

tag or comment what your daemon would be! :) mine’s a cocker spaniel!

EDIT: the quiz has two parts, the category which this post links to (34 options), and then the specific animal within that category (5-15 options) which you’re linked to once you get your result!

[firstginger]

subquiz links below

this is pretty heartbreaking for me since this was the first big quiz i ever did and i can’t edit it anymore because ex.co is on a subscription-only basis now — all of the links to the sub-quizzes were removed, i’m guessing ex.co doesn’t allow links in results now. a real bummer because it breaks the quiz. :(

for anyone who’s still taking this, attached are all of the subquiz links!

- Domestic dog - Wild dog - Domestic cat - Wild cat - Reptile - Primate - Amphibian - Raptor - Owl - Flightless bird - Waterfowl - Perching bird - Equine - Deer - Musteloid - Mustelid - Bear - Insect - Arachnid - Rodent - Rabbit - Bovid - Pinniped - Fox - Viverroid - Antelope - Caprine - Marsupial - Swine - Xenartha - Eulipotyphla - Serpent - Cavitave - Bat

and here are all of the results, put together by user @snakedaemon! :)

[sameatschildren-deactivated2018]

DO IT NOW: Guide to Proper Bra Fit and Measuring because Victoria Secret and La Senza and whatever are full of shit and you are definitely wearing the wrong size ok? ok

Hi guys I’m obsessed with this shit lately because I don’t want anyone to have unhappy, unsupported boobs like I did. Even if you think your boobs and bras are fine, try it. It will make a big difference in comfort, support, and shape, even if you have small boobs or big boobs. A proper fitting bra can fix back, shoulder, and neck pain, along with breast soreness - and it can help you look 10lbs lighter, and your breasts a hell of a lot perkier. This guide also works for proper-sized bikinis and bathing suits (many online stores linked to below sell both- sometimes for as low as 10$!)

Don’t just like this, REBLOG IT. EVERYBODY WITH BOOBS DESERVES A PROPER FIT. Even if you don’t wear bras yourself, spread it around to tumblr or with your friends or family.

Grab a soft tape measurer (use inches) and get nekkid - don’t wear a bra or shirt please, you don’t wear a bra or shirt underneath your bra, do you? This part is fast and easy, and will help you find your ‘Starting Point’ bra size - you may not end up in this exact size, but it will get you in the right ballpark.

How to Measure:

Measure your underbust - go right underneath the root of your breasts, but make sure the tape is straight/parallel to the floor. Take a firm, snug measurement - if you have chub, take it tighter.

Measure your bust bent over - bend forward so your back is parallel to the  floor and your boobs are hanging so you have access to all that beautiful breast tissue that is now brought forward. Measure very loosely around the nipples, keeping tape straight/horizontal/perpendicular to the floor.

If your breasts are kind of empty and/or have a lot of sag, this method may overestimate your cup size. Instead, take your bust measurement bent over, standing, and lying flat on your back, and take an average of those three measurements and use that for your calculations.

How to Use These Measurements to find your ‘Starting Size’:

Round up your underbust measurement to the nearest even number. If you are only half an inch or less away from being a lower size, use that instead (unless you have a bony ribcage). This is automatically your band size. No BS. There is no adding imaginary inches here.

The difference between your underbust measurement and your bust measurement dictates your cup size. Every 1 inch in difference represents a cup size, so 1 inch = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, 4 = D. As you can see here, a true D or DD cup is actually pretty fucking small. 

CUP SIZES ARE NOT STANDARD, UNLIKE COMMONLY THOUGHT (AND TOLD TO US BY ASSHOLES LIKE VS). They are TOTALLY relative to band size. The cup on a 30D has 4 inches less volume than the cup on a 34D. A 30D is actually the same cup size as a 34B! 

No one has their shit together on the lettering for each cup size, so here’s a handy dandy chart. Remember to go with UK measurement as they somewhat have their shit together (and because American companies do not make much above DD, so there’s literally no point in knowing it, but the European sizing may come in handy)

I DON’T CARE IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA, DO NOT USE THE AMERICAN MEASUREMENTS, FFS. YOU’LL ONLY MAKE THINGS HARDER AND MORE CONFUSING FOR YOURSELF. ANY BOUTIQUE IN NORTH AMERICA WORTH GOING TO, AND 99% OF ONLINE STORES, IS GOING TO SELL PRIMARILY BRITISH OR EUROPEAN BRANDS AND WILL GO BY THEIR SIZING. THERE IS LITERALLY NO POINT IN KNOWING AMERICAN SIZING

DO NOT USE AMERICAN SIZING

DO NOT USE AMERICAN FUCKING SIZING

EVEN IF YOU ARE AMERICAN

AND LIVE IN THE US

USE THE BRITISH SIZING

For example, I have a 29.5 inch underbust and a 38 inch bust when bent over. So, I should take a 30 band and then there’s an 8 inch difference. So I am a 30FF in UK sizing. This is just my starting point when looking for bras, and I may not always end up with this exact size

Do not pull the ‘omg no I’m not a G cup my boobs aren’t that big you’re more stupid that the idea of vegetable bread’ shit with me ok? You drank the Kool-Aid and now you need to piss it out. CUP SIZES ARE NOT STANDARD. A 34D IS BIGGER IN THE CUPS THAN A 30E. Here, take a look at a chart of cup volumes and see what I mean.

Also… not all ‘big cup’ bras are ugly and granny-like. Just check out brands like Freya or Gossard or Gorteks or Panache or Cleo! They are gorgeous!

Trying it on: What a proper fit is like

ALWAYS SCOOP AND SWOOP BEFORE ASSESSING WHETHER IT FITS OR NOT. What does this mean? This means bend over, hike up your bra so that it sits right under the root of your breasts. Then, start smooshing all your back fat and armpit rolls or any loose tissue thats underneath or to the side of the cup, INTO the cup. All that stuff is breast tissue that got pushed around from your shitty bras, no I am not bullshitting - after a few months of wearing better bras, many people end up having to get a bigger cup and sometimes even a smaller band too, as all the smooshed breast tissue migrates back to the boob, where it should be. Not kidding. So get everything in there and make sure the wire is positioned perfectly under your boobs. Then stand up and assess the fit. If it seemed to fit before scooping, it won’t fit now.

THIS IS JUST A STARTING POINT. Try on your starting size and work from there. You may need to go up or down a band size, or up or down many cup sizes. Not all brands or even models in that brand are made the same way, and the shape of your boobs also helps determine the size and fit, so don’t try on JUST the size you calculated, say “it doesn’t fit”, and then give up and go back to your 36Cs. You aren’t doing yourself any favours. If you don’t feel comfortable in your ‘starting point size’, go ahead and try a size up or down in bands and/or a size or two or even three up or down in cups as needed.

ALWAYS start on the loosest hook. If you need to start on the tightest hook, go down a band size. The point of hooks is simple - as your bra gets used, it gradually loses its elasticity and gets loose. So, you use your hooks to bring it in, and when you reach the last hook, well, be prepared to get rid of your bra in a few months (unless you invest in a band tightener like the Rixie Clip)

A proper fit means the bra band is straight and parallel to the floor. If it isn’t, and seems to be getting pulled up, its too big and isn’t supporting you. Get a smaller band. You shouldn’t be able to stretch it more than a couple inches off your back. It may feel tight at first, but bras do need ‘breaking in’ and you are used to wearing things that do not fit correctly, so give it a chance. Of course, it should not hurt either!

A proper fit means your bra straps are not digging in. 

A proper fit means the gore (the little centerpiece of the bra where the wires sort of meet) MUST tack/sit firmly against your chest. If it doesn’t, then the wires are not truly fully underneath your boobs and so are not giving you the proper support. 

A proper fit means your boobs must fit smoothly into the entire cup (after scooping and swooping). The wire should totally encase all your breast tissue (this includes armpit fat and stuff). There should be no empty space at the bottom or top of the cup. Your boobs should not be overflowing from the top of the cup. If there’s overflowing or uncontained tissue after scooping, or of it feels tight, get a bigger cup.

A proper fit means you should be able to lift your arms over your head and jump around without the band or underwire budging or exposing underboob.

Size Tweaks/Troubleshooting (make sure you scoop and swoop first):

The band feels tight: Is the gore tacking or not? If not, go up a cup size or two (or maybe even three or four). Even if the gore is tacking, try this first. The band may be tight because the cups are too small, so your boobs are stretching the band out too much to overcompensate for lack of cup depth, making it feel tighter. If after trying larger cups, it still feels uncomfortably tight, go up a band size (and down a cup size if the first size fit well in the cups - remember, cup is relative to band, a 32DD is the same in the cups as a 34D). Remember though that it takes a few days to break a bra in, so it may feel tight or perfect at first, and then comfortable or too loose later.

The band feels loose/band is riding up and not remaining parallel to the floor: Go down a band size (and up a cup size or two because blablah relativity). 

The gore is not tacking, but band is not tight: Band size is too big, or maybe fits just right - but the cups are too small. You know what to do.

Boobs spilling over: Go up a cup size. Check first though that the bottom of the cup is not empty, and hike it up if it is!

Empty space at bottom of cup: Hike that shit up so it gets right to the roots of your breasts. This may fix bulging/spillage. If you can’t get it higher, then you need a smaller cup or this make of bra is just not suited to your shape.

Empty space at top of cup: You need a smaller cup, or this shape of bra just does not suit you your breasts, especially if your breasts are not very full on top. Or you need to scoop and swoop!

Straps digging in: Loosen them. If your boobs suddenly sag, then the band is not supportive enough, and you need a tighter band.

Armpit rolls: Bigger cup and/or scoop and swoop that shit. The cut of bra may also just not be for you (for now anyway - your armpit rolls may migrate back into the boobs and disappear eventually!)

They don’t even make my size!!: If you’re in a 28-48 D-KK (UK sizing) cup, you will find your size online easily enough. however, if you have a smaller band than that or need smaller cups, they are hard to find - message me and I’ll try to help you with a solution!

So, for example, my starting size may be 30FF, but I may end up wearing a 28G or H if the band of that model is too loose and the gore not tacking. Or the band may be fine and I may need a bigger cup so I’ll get a 30G. Or The band may be good but the cups too big, so I’ll get a 30F or E. Or the band may be too small to be comfortable and I’ll wear a 32F or E (same cupsize-ish as 30FF!). 

 What Not to Do:

NEVER PUT YOUR BRA IN THE DRYER. AND PREFERABLY, WASH IT BY HAND. The heat and twisting ruins the elasticity of the bra and reduces its life! This is the best way to ruin bras, don’t do it.

Do not add 3 or 4 or 5 inches or whatever to your band measurement. That is BS that American companies use so that they don’t have to manufacture a larger range of sizes - they use it to fit you into their stock, not their stock onto you. The band will be too big and unsupportive. Those 4 inches they add to the band are 4 inches that should be in the cup size, so no wonder people think anything over DD should be huge.

Do not measure your ‘overbust’ cause really what the fuck does that have to do with how large you are underneath your boobs, come on

Do not do the above because 80% of the support comes from the band, which needs to be firm against you and not be sliding or moving around.Would you wear underwear 4 inches bigger than your hips? No, so why would you wear a bra band 4 inches bigger than your ribcage that gets pulled up and stuff and would fall off if not for the straps, while expecting it to support the boobies at the same time?

Do not go down a band size and then forget to go up a cup size or two. Again, cup sizes are not static. A 30FF is the same cup volume as a 32F or E. If you don’t do this, no shit the bra will fit badly or feel tight.

Do not go straight to Victoria’s Secret or La Senza or whatever, even if you are lucky enough to fit in their small range of sizes - they don’t seem to follow sizing very well. Still, try, by all means, but be aware that their bras may be odd compared to others.

 "But where do I get these Bras? I’ve never even seen these sizes!“

Luckily, the internet makes this shit really easy. Buying bras online is nearly always way cheaper, even with shipping, and even if coming from somewhere in Europe! But of course, its best to try on stuff first, to avoid the hassle of return shipping (even though its still not that expensive - just annoying). So what I advise is to find a store near you, try stuff on there, note down the Brand, Model, and Size, and then buy it online for up to a quarter of of the in-store price.

If you can’t find a store near you, online ordering is still extremely cheap, even with return shipping. Instead of getting a whole bunch of bras in only 1 size each, pick out a few models and order a few sizes of each. Ex: one with a bigger or smaller band if your measurements are close to needing a bigger or smaller band size, and then some up or down a couple cup sizes so you can compare the fit. When you have the perfect fit in one bra, it will be easier to go on Bratabase or r/ABraThatFits and have them suggest bras that give similar shape or suggest a different size to you as a model you’re interested in may run large or small.

So, Where to Find:

Note: You can find proper-sized bras as low as 10$ US online (particularly from ebay or brastop.com) and most average 30-45$.

List of Online Retailers from BustyResourcesWiki: A complete list of online retailers around da world. Many ship internationally so take a look at all of them (particularly the UK ones)

Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon all have bras inexpensively.

List of Offline Retailers from BustyResourcesWiki: List of chain-stores (not of privately owned stores)

If in Canada, look for a Change Lingerie near you to try on bras. Note that they only carry their own brand.

If in the USA, look for a Nordstrom or Nordstrom Rack near you to try on bras. They carry all sorts of brands and have an online store as well (and also ship to Canada!)

Use a store locator from the webpage of a bra brand company to find non-chain, privately owned stores - if they have one of these brands, they’ll have others. Here’s the locator for Freya, Curvy Kate, Fantasie, Chantelle, Panache, and Affinitas. There are more than just these of course.

If you are small in the band AND in the cup (under a D cup) look at the Little Bra Company.

Ask around on Bratabase or r/ABraThatFits for stores near you.

WOMAN, YOU HAVE THE INTERNET! GOOGLE! YELP!

WARNING: There are many chain stores (Nordstrom, Lane Bryant, Mark and Spencer, Change etc) that do bra fittings and have a good reputation. However, each store is different - some measure correctly, and some use the stupid VS method. Every store has a different team of employees and knowledge. DO NOT GO IN WITHOUT HAVING MEASURED YOURSELF FIRST, JUST IN CASE THEY ARE ONE OF THE BAD STORES. DO NOT TRUST ALL BRA FITTERS, EVEN IF SOMEONE RECOMMENDED THEM TO YOU. If your fitter gives you a measurement different from this one, be mentally prepared to have a difficult time getting them to help you find the right bra.

I had the fitter at Change help me, and when I mentioned that the gore did not tack, she said “Oh, the gore never touches the chest with these bras”. I was like HAHA NOPE BRING ME A LARGER CUP WOMAN. And lo and behold, 2 extra cup sizes later, the gore tacked (and my boobs stopped spilling out). She was very nice otherwise but if I hadn’t known better that could have been bad.

Resources:

r/ABraThatFits: forum for bras, they will help you with sizing, fitting, and finding the right model for your breast shape - they have links to a lot of resources, such as online stores, used bra listings, etc.

Busty Resources Wiki: Great resource for fitting tips, diagrams, explanations, styles.

Bra Band Project: an online gallery of what various sizes look like! Dump your disbelief!

List of Online Retailers: Online is MUCH cheaper and shipping is usually cheap too, even from Europe. Try bras in a store near you , pick out what you like, and order them online instead.

Bratabase: Database of bras, with user inputted measurements of each bra model in its size - bras may be marked the same size, but with this you can see which may have bigger or smaller bands or cups, or what style may suit what shape of breast, all of which helps find the perfect fit for you! 

Great Youtube Video on Bra Fitting: This is one of the few people on Youtube who knows their shit about bras. Great for the visuals to help you understand what a bad fit and proper fit look like.

Venusian Glow is a great bra blog - SO MUCH INFO. Suggests bras based on your boob shape amongst other things.

[agreekdoctor]

Reblogging to pass this information on.

I have seen many patients with back pain that could have been helped with properly fitting bras.

[lyrslair]

Seriously tho I was buying 36C then found out I was 32F.

That’s a huge damn difference.

[wolfforce58205]

Reblogging because bras should fit properly (and I really need to go bra shipping soon myself….)

[wolfforce58205]

Because I can: throwback to 2018, Halloween and my birthday, lol. It was fun.

[pitbolshevik]

SAF apparently killed herself because of online harassment. People are calling her a bastion of animal rehab, despite everything.

i don't really see this as a win tbh. i never wanted her to kill herself, i wanted her to wake the fuck up and realize how bad her animal husbandry was and improve on it (or even better, get rid of her exotic pet collection)

she should not be held up as a bastion of animal welfare, she was really just a glorified animal hoarder, but i will not be celebrating her suicide either

[thesomethings]

The Somethings - Chapter 1 Part 1

Original Objecthead Story

By Mr.Hatman

In the middle of the desert, on top of a hoodoo, was a sandstone pedestal that proudly held the secluded city of the Frontier. The civilians were a city of Things, but a not so modest group of them that enjoyed being useful as much as possible. There were other groups of Things on the neighboring mesa, sure, but the Things of the Frontier were far more advanced. So that made them more interesting and important. The Things of the Frontier say their success comes from two main factors: 

- They traded with outsiders but never ever let any in! 

Which meant:

- Their simple social scale! You’re either Nothing or you’re Something! If you were broken and useless, you were considered a Nothing. If you were the best in your job field, you’d become Something! 

 Technically there were a myriad of other subclasses but being Something was all the rage. Everything in the Frontier looked up to the Somethings and wanted to be a Something. Why wouldn’t you want to be the best? Respect? Glamour? The best pick of the fancy houses? Isn’t your whole life meant to revolve around accomplishment?

Recently, however, the Citizens weren’t so sure anymore. One of their Somethings had gone missing! The Frontier was secluded and they were important! How could they just vanish? If a Thing as important as a Something could go missing with no notice, what could happen to them as a lesser Thing?

“Never in the history of the Frontier has everything come together like this before!” rang the radio host’s voice throughout the Frontier. He would’ve been pleased to hear himself through all the open windows and doors. All on his channel. “I, Quincy the Something of Broadcasting, - who is always on your side- is at your service to tell you the latest about the missing case we call the ‘Derby Disappearance’ about that new hire- Derby H. Bowler! It seems, once again, that I have no news for you! Our leader, Frederick Fedora, ain’t said peep and let me tell you, this is getting rough for everything here in the Frontier!”

No news today once more. Things of all classes were gathered around the fountain in the courtyard of the Somethings headquarters. It was a grand, giant building in the center of town that was surrounded by the finest sandstone on the pedestal. It was ornately carved with the history of the Frontier and metal plates signed with previous leaders, Somethings, and other outstanding Things of Frontier history.

Things that were broken, Things that were elaborately decorated, Things that were still dirty from work - They were all here. All except the Somethings and their Leader who holed himself away.

A higher class Thing who was the shape of a broom, twirled their fancy parasol and sniffed judgmentally. “Hmf! If a Something goes missing does their leader make a sound? I think not.” scoffed Broomington. “I mean really? What’s the point of going through all that work if you’re not guaranteed security!”

“That’s because our hero, Frederick Fedora, is a joke! Who'da thunk that old relic of a hero would cower now?” said the Strangely Strong Spork. He flexed his biceps in anger.

“It’s because Derby was a Nothing!” spat Hammy the Hammer. “REMEMBER. Those nepotistic wash rags wanted only their friends apart of their little group-”

“I take offense to that.” said Washragginton. 

She continued. “Now they’re gone! POOF! It’s no coincidence. The higher ups don’t want anything lower than them to be Something.” 

“Whaddya mean? They were another one of Frederick’s ‘heroic and charitable’ ideas to make the Frontier a ‘better’ place!” said the Strangely Strong Spork. His triceps shivered down to his quads. “We didn’t want that Raptor or that criminal Farthing! He’s trying to change up our whole system!”

“He even let them work for the Somethings, despite our protests.” huffed Broomington. “Is Frederick even listening to us?!”

Previous | CHAPTER 1 | Next

[rebeccathenaturalist]

To Have As Much Compassion For the Coyote As the Rabbit

Spring is here, and all throughout my social media are posts by people panicking about coyotes. It’s not uncommon for these native canines to be more visible this time of year since they have dens full of hungry pups to feed and protect. You might see them on the hunt for mice and other rodents, or you could be quietly but firmly escorted away from a den site. There’s a chance you’ll even see a coyote toting a nice, fat rabbit home to her pups.

That last one tends to upset some folks. I’ve seen people say they’ve deliberately scared away predatory animals to cause them to drop their prey, or in some cases even physically wrestled the prey away. Sure, that may make you feel like some sort of hero for saving the rabbit. But why does the rabbit deserve to live while the coyote’s pups slowly starve to death? Why should a Cooper’s hawk not be allowed to eat the house finch it just plucked from a convenient bird feeder? Who says we are right to get in the way of a garter snake capturing a tree frog? And what if the rabbit you liberated has internal injuries that slowly kill it anyway once it runs away from you in fright?

Read under the cut to find out how many self-described "nature lovers" only really love part of nature.

Many of us have a Disneyfied approach to nature. We have a great deal of sympathy for herbivores* like Bambi and Thumper, and we give Flower the striped skunk a free pass since most of what he eats is insects. We might get annoyed when Bambi starts to browse on the vegetables and rose bushes, but we don’t react with the sort of wailing dismay that we do when a mountain lion takes out one of Bambi’s herd members.

And yet an American robin tugging earthworms out of the ground and swallowing them alive is no different from a bobcat pouncing on the robin. Both are examples of one animal preying upon another, a perfectly normal part of the cycles of nature for 800 million years. Without carnivores (and insectivores and omnivores), herbivores would quickly overpopulate, depleting plant communities to ecologically disastrous states, and crash life as we know it. Life is all about inhabiting niches, and carnivores fill their evolutionary roles quite effectively.

Many people who claim they “love nature” only love the herbivorous, gentle, fuzzy parts of it, and refuse to examine or change their revulsion of or violence toward the rest. That’s a big problem. The elements of nature they consider to be “ugly” or gross” are no less important than the “pretty” or “adorable” ones. And systematically removing the “bad” animals can have a detrimental effect on the entire ecosystem. The benighted person who kills every snake they see is only going to cause an increase in rodent populations, which of course raises the likelihood of diseases, crop damage, and gnawed electrical wires in the attic.

Moreover, when we try to apply the limitations of human ideals of morality to the rest of nature, we ignore the concept of existence value: that all beings are important simply because they are here with us in this amazing, vibrant world we share. What are we implying when we say that the coyote pup is less deserving of life than the rabbit?

We have interfered with nature way too much as it is, in much larger ways than this. Yet it is a simple act to allow these individual interactions between species play out as they naturally would without feeling that we have to step in and play moral referee. Our arrogance at thinking that nature exists for us and our priorities is how we found ourselves in our current ecological predicament. The least we can do is be hands-off in our local food web. Consider it good practice for having healthier boundaries toward nature, rather than constantly centering ourselves in every decisions we make regarding other living beings.

Finally, practice having some compassion for the coyote busily trying to feed her young–and herself. She can’t run to the grocery store and get a package of industrially farmed beef to make burgers for the kids. Her entire life is a constant race against death, whether from starvation, disease, extreme heat or cold, and of course the interference of humans. Imagine the relief she must feel when she successfully manages to catch something bigger than a mouse–do you think we’re the only ones whose reward centers in our brains light up at a job well done? Think of how excited your dog gets when he manages to catch the ball–that’s not only a trait of domesticated animals.

Have some compassion for the coyote pups eagerly awaiting their next meal and their parents' warmth. Photo by John Harrison, CCA-SA-3.0-Unported

Give and take, life and death, nutrients and energy endlessly cycling through body after body after body of animal, plant, fungus, bacteria–that is the grand dance in which the coyote and the rabbit play their parts. Appreciate this eons-old round without feeling the need to alter the tempo, and be glad that tonight the coyote pups will sleep contentedly with full stomachs.

*For the record, many “herbivores” will opportunistically eat meat, live or dead, for the nutrients. Bambi and his buddies are quite happy to pluck a perfectly healthy baby bird or two out of a nest as a snack, and will chew on carrion now and then, too.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider preordering my book The Everyday Naturalist, taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, or checking out my other articles! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[wolfforce58205]

My friend who was in a coma passed away yesterday evening 😞 I really hope that if there is an afterlife it's the most wonderful thing anyone can experience. For all of the suffering my friend had to endure in life I hope she's somewhere where she will never know pain ever again. I hope she gets to see and learn and experience things she didn't get around to in this lifetime. I hope she gets to tell stories of her life and listen to others. And I hope she knows she will be missed by many who will keep her memory alive fondly. I hope her family finds comfort during this time of grief, especially her parents, it's never fair for a parent to outlive their child. Wherever she may be now, even if she's simply gone, I hope her soul is at peace 🖤

[toastyglow]

new one

[feminist-space]

Going to merge with these two

[wolfforce58205]

What animal shelter employees should be doing, according to customers/commenters:

We should euthanize every dog that comes in with even a hint of human or animal reactivity. If they pull on leash, bark, growl, hyperfixate, cower, etc. give them the blue juice because how could an animal having any kind of reactivity after a major life change and being put in a stressful environment be trusted to be safe in society?

But also make sure you're no-kill. How will anyone trust bringing you their pet if you might kill them??? Why would anyone want to support a kill shelter?! It's 2025, everything should be no-kill! Have a heart!

----------------------

Animal adoptions should all be free. If anything, the shelter should be paying you to adopt the animals! After all, you're doing them a favor! Then you can spend more money on taking care of their new pet!

But don't do free adoptions or even host free adoption events, because that'll attract the wrong kind of people who clearly aren't ready for a pet. I mean, if you can't afford an adoption fee what happens when you have a vet bill??

----------------------

Adoption requirements are too high. Everyone and their grandma has a story about being denied an adoption because the shelter/rescue had too high of expectations. The adopter knows their limits more than the shelter does, they should be free to choose which animals they take home.

But every adopter needs to be thoroughly vetted and must be a perfect match for that animal. If they're not the shelter was being negligent. The shelter should know these animals and what kind of homes they need, they should only let them go to people they know can handle it!

----------------------

Rescue/shelter employees should all be highly trained individuals. They should understand animal behavior, psychology, training, and at the very least some basic vet care. They should be the animal experts of their local community. They should be willing and capable of taking on extreme behavior cases and molding every animal that enters their doors into the perfect adoption candidate. They not only should be providing basic care to every single animal but also getting them all out for an hour of enrichment every single day and work on behavior cases and training.

They should also be working for free. Or maybe for minimum wage. I mean, how hard can the job possibly be? You play with puppies and kittens all day, right! Talk about an easy dream job!

----------------------

Local shelters should be taking on every single animal related problem in the community. Issue fines and jail times and detain or euthanize problem pets in the community, from barking complaints to animal attacks. There shouldn't be any hoarders, bad breeders, or abusers in any community and shelters need to do more to stop it! And do it faster!

Shelters should also mind their business and leave you and your pets alone. If your dog tears off another dog's leg after jumping through a car window to get at that dog it's just a misunderstanding, your dog is a good dog, they didn't mean it, you're just persecuting an innocent dog to kill it for no reason! (yes, this is an actual case we dealt with at my job) It's no wonder shelters get tied up in courts and have to wait for months for the District Attorney's Office to settle a case when they're just going after people willy-nilly! Owners have rights, too!

----------------------

Shelters should be offering free vet services, free microchipping, free spays/neuters, free food assistance, and free dog training or other animal care classes. We should be setting up communities to thrive.

Eww, why are you asking for a donation? What do you mean there's now a fee for animal surrenders? Why are you raising your adoption fees after it's been the same for 10 years?

[wolfforce58205]

I'm actively looking for a new job and have an interview coming up on Friday that I hope goes well, but the whole prospect of leaving my job terrifies me. It's a job I do well, I know it, and I like my coworkers. So leaving scares me. Even though the job annoys me to no end lately between the double standards, favoritism, changes that don't make sense, constant heartbreak, and feeling undervalued.

Meanwhile one of my friends who I care about it in a coma.

My favorite aunt is also rapidly declining from cancer.

I feel so fucking stupid for being nervous about changing jobs. There are such bigger things to be worried about.

[strangebiology]

fuck it

241 pages on the science of maximising animal welfare in the slaughter process

[strangebiology]

I don't expect anyone to read that report fully, and it's sadly 21 years old. However, its very existence suggests:

Animal slaughter rules do take minimizing pain, suffering, and panic into consideration. There are also things like practicality, food safety, and safety of the slaughterman to consider, but they don't ignore animal welfare.

Sometimes people tell me they/someone they know/a group of people that they mythologize "have a better way of killing their meat animals" or are "so much more humane than slaughterhouses because they kill the animals instantly!" Hate to break it to you, but people saying that are, at best, lying to separate themselves from an industry so they can claim superiority, and, at worst, killing animals in a way that is not up to humane standards and therefore more painful and probably illegal if they're selling the meat.

There is a huge body of science here. Some rando with zero knowledge of research or practice regarding animal slaughter isn't going to have a better idea, I'm sorry. If someone has a better idea that's actually informed by serious research and practice, well, I'd love to hear that, but they should probably talk to the Humane Slaughter Association with their credentials and enormous binder of research first.

I've been to a few slaughterhouses and witnessed them killing the animals, but they wouldn't let me film. An indigenous Sami reindeer herder let me film him slaughtering his reindeer, and I posted the video to IG (TW, animal blood and death, duh) and it was functionally very similar to what I saw in the US slaughterhouses.

Comment section: "How dare you! That's a horrible way to kill an animal!"

Humane slaughter expert I interviewed for the Carcass book (paraphrased): "I'm not allowed to formally rate it unless I'm there in person, but from what I can see, that is a perfect slaughter in line with our standards."

TL;DR: It's ok if you are against slaughtering animals for meat in general, I understand that! But if you take issue with the standard methods, I encourage the realization that animal welfare is of concern and enforcement in slaughter in many/probably most countries, based on years of scientific research!

[specimentality]

On April 16th 2025 the US federal government has proposed to change the interpretation of the endangered species act so that it no longer protects habitat.

This is open for public comment until the end of May 19th. Please comment and make your voice heard.

Wildlife need their habitat. If the ESA redefines harm so that habitat is no longer protected, the implications for wildlife would be catastrophic.

[monstarx115]

I hand paint jackets! Check out my website for more examples https://monstarcreations.carrd.co and instagram @monstarx115 I hope to post here more regularly as I make stuff, since I recently joined tumblr!

[wolfforce58205]

Really wanna commission one some day 🖤