Did anyone hear this on Radio 4? It was called Greening Fido.

Apparently someone has done research into how dogs affect the planet and a large dog has a bigger carbon footprint than a Toyota Landcruiser 4x4. Is this just another big stick to beat pet owners with? Wasn't just dogs, they were talking about other pets too, particularly cats.

Has the green/global warming fraternity finally gone too far? Its on the BBC Radio 4 iplayer here if you didn't get a chance to listen.

It also discussed the increasing incidence of small heartworm in the UK and other diseases that may increase as dogs are brought here from warmer climes.

Would you give up your pets to save the planet?

No. Full stop. I'm fed up of all this, first they said we were having an ice age, then global warming and now the ambiguous label of 'climate change'. I heard this program too and it made me wander what the point of 'saving' the planet is if we can no longer take any pleasure in life.

I sometimes feel that it'll never end, I met quite a lot of eco types when I was at uni and the area I live in seems to attract them and a bigger bunch of hypocrites I have never met! One girl who worked at the Centre for Alternative Technology would get her BF to drive her to and from work everyday (about 4 hours in total) when she could have got the train and walked or cycled the 2.6 miles from the station to the centre!

The greens I know (and I admit they probably aren't representative of all as they are all extremely left and zealous) don't operate on logic and you cannot debate with them, for example they constantly say if we grew crops on all the fields that were used for grazing we could feed the world bla bla bla. Try telling them that on most of the grazing in wales (mountains, marsh land, scrubby fields, not to mention the weather) you'd have hell of a time trying to raise crops and they just wont hear you, it strikes me as more of a faith than any sort of considered view point that they have reached through their own thought processes.

Oooh, rant over, I don't have a 4x4 by the way and I do recycle, I just happen to know a lot of mildly irritating green types so this just aroused my ire

> I heard this program too and it made me wander what the point of 'saving' the planet is if we can no longer take any pleasure in life.
>

That's how I feel too. I wonder how many more people in the world would be suffering from mental health problems if they didn't have pets? I also recycle and don't have a 4x4 either, but it does annoy me how much packaging there is on items we buy, particularly toys etc. When they stamp on manufacturers for creating all this landfill fodder and stop importing fruit, veg, cars, electronics, clothes etc from all over the world, then they can start preaching about my dogs 'carbon footprint'

I do have a 4x4 and 2 giant breeds - I must be really evil...lol

> I do have a 4x4 and 2 giant breeds - I must be really evil...lol

You are definitely beyond the pale!! I have 3 dogs, one an extra large breed - not quite giant, 3 cats, a budgie and a tortoise - only the tortoise is environmentally friendy - he eats weeds

Oooh you probably are, don't worry I won't tell anyone! I may have been a bit pious by saying I have no 4x4 because my car is a 2 litre volvo v40, not exactly green but I love it so!

> I do have a 4x4 and 2 giant breeds - I must be really evil...lol

Oooooh me too......3 dogs, 2 giant, 1 large, 2 horses, 1 pony and a 4x4!!! That calls for an evil muahahahaha laugh!!!

> I heard this program too and it made me wander what the point of 'saving' the planet is if we can no longer take any pleasure in life.

Totally agree!  It's just getting ridiculous. 

http://www.gizmag.com/fish-oils-methane-greenhouse-gas-emissions/11357/



There are even grants available for that sort of thing because who would want to give up their steak to safe the Earth...

I know I'm off my head but I think it would be really funny if the world ended because of cow farts, the fifth horseman of the Apocalypse, "Flatulence"...

> I know I'm off my head but I think it would be really funny if the world ended because of cow farts, the fifth horseman of the Apocalypse, "Flatulence"...

How would you know it was him? You'd never be able to get reliable sighting close up, because of the smell!

I just listened to the programme 'Costing the Earth' as well, and it had me fuming.   Such an unbalanced programme again - I don't know what the BBC is thinking about these days.    The main contributor was a vegan, and it was recommended t hat we feed dogs and cats vegan food, although it was admitted that you do have to be more careful with cats. 

I think I heard that we could well eat our dogs and cats so the resources used feeding them weren't wasted....eeeh....      I was trying to groom the dogs at the same time, so *may* have misheard.

Should never have been put on air

Jo

I think I heard that we could well eat our dogs and cats so the resources used feeding them weren't wasted....eeeh....

Well that is the kind of tat that hopefully made the rest of the programme blur into oblivion as well.

Everything that we eat and drink is killing us, everything we do on the planet is causing the planets destruction. The list goes on, pick a subject it's doing harm somewhere. Why pick on dogs!

They have a right to live on this planet just like every other species even if we don't eat them. Many work for us in all different ways from police dogs to herding sheep, for the blind the list goes on, I'm sure we could all think of hundreds of things dogs do to help our species due to their domestication.

Dogs as pets bring joy and friendship to us and particularly for the lonely, (maybe decreasing depression and suicides in some cases) exercise to those who may not get any otherwise, (which helps the health service) we could all write lists couldn't we?

So for the 'resources' they use I think they earn their right to that, without complaint.

I can't believe that people are wasting money on making programmes with this babble. Wasting money is the biggest drain on all resources, that's what needs putting right. How many mouths could making that programme have fed, now that is a real issue.

I listened to it yesterday as well......Im afraid that once someone tells me thy are a veggie then i dont take them too seriously any way.....let alone when they spout rubbish like"im feeding my terrier a veggie diet and shes so shiny and healthy it mus be good for her".....hmm...show little terrier a bunny and then see whose decision it is to be a veggie!!! By their reckoning im pretty much solely responsible for at least one ice berg melt down this week, with 11 giant breeds and a landrover! Ill try not to lose too much sleep over it.