Posted on 10/22/2009 3:32:05 PM PDT by Brandonmark
Linda Finlay will not be giving up her dogs any time soon – despite a call from researchers to swap dogs and cats for pets they can eat, like rabbits or chickens.
A longtime dog lover and dog training club member, Mrs Findlay couldn't imagine a life without Thomas, Zarah and Zoe – even if the Bernese Mountain Dog crosses and Alsatian labrador cross do have a carbon pawprint bigger than a Land Cruiser.
"They're like part of the family," Mrs Findlay said.
Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, have recommended pet owners consider what impact their animals have on the environment in their book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.
The couple assessed the carbon emissions created by popular pets, taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them.
In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed the dog.
They compared this with the footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser, driven 10,000km a year, which uses 55.1 gigajoules (the energy used to build and fuel it). One hectare of land can produce 135 gigajoules a year, which means the vehicle's eco-footprint is 0.41ha – less than half of dog's.
They found cats have an eco-footprint of 0.15ha – slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf. Hamsters have a footprint of 0.014ha – keeping two of them is equivalent to owning a plasma TV.
But the researchers did not factor in the emotional value of the pets, Mrs Findlay said.
Mrs Findlay said she and partner Phil Burton never intended to have three large dogs. "When you have got dogs ... you don't just get rid of them. They are friends."
As far as the environment went, Mrs Findlay said she tried to do her bit to preserve it, and to minimise the dogs' impact on it. Thomas, Zarah and Zoe are mainly fed dog biscuits and only get meat occasionally.
"What the dogs give back to me is probably equal to what the environment gives me – but probably on a more emotional level."
And as for swapping pets, she already has a cat, two budgies, one horse, six sheep, chickens and a huge bullock steer
That's why we raise wiener dogs.
“...despite a call from researchers to swap dogs and cats for pets they can eat, like rabbits or chickens.”
I always used to tell my dog we were keeping her fat just in case times got hard, but she didn’t care.
If these econuts really want to establish their creds, they need to just off themselves and save the carbon footprint. After all, humans are the big polluters, right?
Someone has WAAAAY too much time on their hands, sitting around figuring out pet carbon footprints! (Or would that be pawprints?) I wonder what my horse and two Great Danes contribute? (Like I care!)
You can eat a dog. Review the Lewis and Clark Expedition journals.
Or perhaps a nice chianti and some fava beans.
“He thinks they’re delicious.”
Do they taste like chicken?
Hey “Scientists” .. . . leave my dogs alone
All in all you’re just another pr*** in the wall
Neither will I...and the only thing I'll be swapping is LEAD with anybody who interferes with my critters.
(Makes you wonder where PETA is on this one!)
Save the planet: time to eat dog? :
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/2987848/Save-the-planet-time-to-eat-dog
Time to eliminate the carbon footprint caused by psycho environmentalists.
My dogs are far more valuable than these useless eaters.
Absolutely.
Here's a much better idea: "ditch politicians for the planet". They are completely expendable and there will be few complaints.
Joke?
That's two Land Cruisers PER LIBERAL'S DOG.
Sweet. I've always wanted an FJ40.
Yep,let's get rid of cats...won't take long before the mice population will explode and have a eco-footprint the size of a eco-greenies ego. That could be the end of earth as we know it.
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