There are 2 small areas I am working with this year - and they each got some rodent living in the ground - some rodent that EATS ROOTS...and in the process kills the plant. Earlier this year - I could hear it sometimes in the early evening, as well as see the plant move - in this case beautiful healthy and healthy soil giving clover - now 98 % gone.
We have a rat terrier, Storm the Wonderdog, who was supposed to catch some, and he did actually, elsewhere. We do have a cat wondering about too. I considered some poisonous plant seed briefly, but then decided against that.
One of the little patches has some transplanted baby strawberry plants on it and the other day I also put some beans in the ground. So I decided to water the area really well. And it got soaked - in addition, I took the hose and watered any area that might have been missed - and then THERE IT WAS - grey wet rodent, best I can tell, a pocket gopher, coming out of the hole, getting air, trying not to drown ...slow moving and wet, it was under more splashing water - where was
Storm???????????????
I could have killed it - there is was, poor, grey, wet, cute creature - just doing what he was born to do. Without doubt a sentient being ... and there is no way I could have killed it.
Why? For one - how can I possibly kill this little furry creature? And secondly, I don't have the right to. I don't have a good reason to. Nothing I can think of would justify killing it.
If I really depended on those beans for my life - we'd have to talk - but I don't.
If I really depended on those beans to live, I might have to catch and fry it for food, but I don't.
If it was injured and suffering - it did not look like it.
If it carried some dreadful disease - I don't think so.
If the garden was totally overrun by them - but it isn't.
What constitutes real necessity to kill?
And it was cute too - and of course it got away.
...and of course, it finished off another bean plant the next day.
I figured I'll keep the area so wet that he'll move to another spot more to his liking. Not sure yet if it's working.
we have moles... same thing... over the years we have created some "protected beds" for root crops, potatoes, beets, carrots, etc. Dig deep, empty the soil into a "waiting area", then lay down some wire netting, then the earth back on top. make a cradle.
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