On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 23:08:46 -0500, "Glenn Ashmore"
wrote:

Huh??? Dogs don't have any thing to do with BSE and foot and mouth . Those
are cattle deseases.

I am aware of that, but dogs and cats can carry diseases--like
rabies--that have been eradicated in many countries. My point was that
many countries are far more sensitive to disease control and
quarantine issues--and rightly so, IMO--than we here in North America
are, which is why we have purple loosestrife, zebra mussels, killer
gobies and snakehead fish crowding out indigineous species.

As a former dog AND cat owner, I understand why people want pets on
board. As a person from a country that's had to deal with SARS and
BSE, I understand why people get strict over disease control.

Also, cats and dogs "getting loose" on a lot of islands (and Australia
and particularly, come to think of it) have killed off entire species
of flightless birds and native fauna. From an ecological perspective,
our "pets" are parasitic invaders frequently better equipped to kill
the local wildlife than that wildlife is equipped to evade them. The
Polynesians proved this with rats and pifs as they crossed the
Pacific.

I think if you are coasting in one country (particularly your own) and
can get ashore frequently, there can be no objection to pets aboard.
But the idea of taking a dog or even a cat on passage seems cruel to
me, dangerous to the pet, and the last thing I need is a furry bilge.

If you have a bigger boat or say, a trawler, the arguments against,
say, cats, lessen...but don't expect to take them ashore.

R.