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What point do you think I am trying to make, exactly? Native fauna is defined as animals which historically have naturally occurred in the local area [1], and w
by JamesMcMinn 3y ago
What point do you think I am trying to make, exactly? Native fauna is defined as animals which historically have naturally occurred in the local area [1], and wild cats are by definition native fauna in Scotland, and across much of Europe.
You are letting your very obvious personal bias determine your interpretation of what is an objective fact.
[1] https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/native-fauna#:~:text=Native%20fauna%20means%20native%20animals,occurred%20in%20the%20local%20area https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/native-fauna#:~:text=N....
- ivraatiems 3y agoIt's a faulty comparison, though. Domestic cats are by definition not the same as any native cat. They are domesticated animals, more equivalent to dogs, cows, and chickens. So the discussion to have here is 'do we accept having domesticated animals in environments they didn't originate from'.
- JamesMcMinn 3y agoIt is in no way a faulty comparison. We did not domesticate cats in the same way that we did dogs, cows or chickens [1]. Wild cats found human populations useful because they attracted rodents. Humans found cats useful because dealt with rodents. A mutually beneficial relationship lasting thousands of years during which time, cats essentially domesticated themselves. [1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/domesticated-cats-dna-genetics-pets-science https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/domestica...
- nerb 3y ago> domesticated themselves ... so they are domesticated and not native... ???
- JamesMcMinn 3y agoWhatever do you mean? Something being domesticated has no bearing on wether or not is it native to an area.
- ivraatiems 3y agoDomesticated animals are different species than native flora and fauna. The domestic cat is taxonomically and genetically not the same as a any wild cat. The same goes for dogs, cattle, etc. By definition, domestic animals and plants have no native home except with humans. This is why we call domestic cats who escape and live in the wild "feral," not "wild," because a feral animal is specifically a domestic animal not living with humans, not a non-domestic native animal. It does not matter whether they 'domesticated themselves' or not, they are a domestic species and therefore not equatable with a wild one. As a result, your point simply makes no sense. Domestic cats have no 'native lands' because they are not and cannot be 'native' anywhere except in human settlements.
- JamesMcMinn 3y agoDid you actually read the article I linked to? I ask because actual evolutionary geneticists don't agree with you, and I'm likely to side with them on the genetics of the matter.
- ivraatiems 3y agoCan you point out the part of the article that disagrees with the assertion "cats are domestic animals"?
- nerb 3y agonot only that, but which geneticist that was quoted in the nat geo article? lol
- nerb 3y agoi'm sorry, which evolutionary geneticists? the 1 sentence in a nat geo article about the genomes being similar, or... https://www.science.org/content/article/genes-turned-wildcats-kitty-cats https://www.science.org/content/article/genes-turned-wildcat... http://www.jabg.org/view/JABG_202303_02.pdf http://www.jabg.org/view/JABG_202303_02.pdf from the looks of it, you found an inkling of confirmation and rolled with it. you think you got a science backing for your ideas, but nah, wrong. remind yourself when you read all the articles claiming "near identical DNA!" that human DNA is ~1.6% different from gorilla DNA. geneticists are seeing larger differences between domestic and wild cat species.