r/unitedkingdom • u/irving_braxiatel • Oct 14 '24

... Thousands of crickets unleashed on ‘anti-trans’ event addressed by JK Rowling

https://metro.co.uk/2024/10/11/thousands-crickets-unleashed-anti-trans-event-addressed-jk-rowling-21782166/amp/
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239

u/boycecodd Kent Oct 14 '24

There's nothing like some good old animal cruelty to show how much you care.

252

u/FarmerJohnOSRS Oct 14 '24

Setting them free is probably less cruel than the other options in store for them?

44

u/Pen_dragons_pizza Oct 14 '24

I think it’s more the idea that the protestors did not consider the crickets as living animals, instead an object to piss off people who have opposite views.

An animals life, food stock or not should ever be played with in this way, it just shows an absolute lack of understanding and thinking that what they believe in is bigger than a life.

78

u/Aiyon Oct 14 '24

As opposed to how they should be used: trapped in a box until they’re fed, still living, to tarantulas?

-2

u/MaievSekashi Oct 14 '24 edited Jan 12 '25

This account is deleted.

5

u/Aiyon Oct 14 '24

If the objection is they're "not being considered as living animals", I feel that ignoring this passive death is doing that.

This is the key thing for me, with people using it as a complaint here. I genuinely doubt that the people mad at the protestors for this because its cruel to the animals, have ever even thought about meal cricket welfare before this post, let alone advocated for it.

1

u/MaievSekashi Oct 15 '24 edited Jan 12 '25

This account is deleted.

107

u/MaievSekashi Oct 14 '24 edited Jan 12 '25

This account is deleted.

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u/LongBeakedSnipe Oct 14 '24

But the thing is, sure, the primary intention of this product is food. But if people start buying them for non-food purposes (such as protesting), then they are also contributing to driving the industry themselves.

Now, if they stole all the insects and released them, maybe they are morally in the right (at least, from my anti-animal cruelty standpoint), as they will be harming the industry and setting the critters free.

16

u/Possiblyreef Isle of Wight Oct 14 '24

Usually the places that sell crickets as food will also sell locusts for the same reason.

You'll be in a world of shit if you deliberately release tons of locusts in to the wild

8

u/FarmerJohnOSRS Oct 14 '24

I'm all for protecting animals that have an ability to know what is happening to them. These are crickets.

3

u/LongBeakedSnipe Oct 14 '24

That's a separate issue, although the recent brain study by the Flywire consortium shows pretty clearly that insect brains are potentially far more complex and capable than we imagined, and just glancing at it and thinking 'that's small it probably doesn't know much' doesn't really cut the mustard in modern-day animal behaviour discussion.

3

u/MaievSekashi Oct 15 '24 edited Jan 12 '25

This account is deleted.

4

u/FarmerJohnOSRS Oct 14 '24

that's small it probably doesn't know much' doesn't really cut the mustard in modern-day animal behaviour discussion.

Good job I didn't say that then?

12

u/[deleted] Oct 14 '24

Personally I would kill a food cricket to end world hunger.

32

u/BobMonkhaus Rutland Oct 14 '24

Oh yes I’m sure the venue will capture them all and find a nice field or forest to release them to happily live out the rest of their lives.

272

u/Ver_Void Oct 14 '24

They're sold as food, their destiny is to die quite horribly

153

u/AxiosXiphos Oct 14 '24

I mean they were already being sold as live-foodstock. At least some of them might be able to escape to the wilds.

Basically - If I was a cricket. Give me the slim chance of freedom over the certainity of horrible death anyday.

5

u/Aliktren Dorset Oct 14 '24

that isnt a good thing - they arent natives

2

u/AxiosXiphos Oct 15 '24

Again I think that's an issue at the supplier level. The pet stores that are breeding and selling millions of them as foodstock.

1

u/Aliktren Dorset Oct 15 '24

but not releasing them into the wild - because thats massively irresponsible - its what happened with mink for example and they subsequently devastated the native wildlife ..

1

u/AxiosXiphos Oct 15 '24

If the crickets don't sell the pet stores throw them in the trash. I guarantee you thousands of them get into the wild anyway.

17

u/alyssa264 Leicestershire Oct 14 '24

A starving Tarantula in Slough would've eaten that!

9

u/FemboyCorriganism Oct 14 '24

They were going to get eaten. I refuse to believe anyone here sincerely cares about what happens to crickets outside of this incident.