I am writing in regard to the letter to the editor written by Linda Emily titled “There are more humane ways to treat animals.” I admire her courage to express her opinion, and I strongly disagree with her, and could write pages of rebuttal, but I will attempt to be brief.

Emily tells us that she is a nurse with a master’s degree and wants to assure the masses that we can live on nuts and berries and that other animals are intelligent and speak languages that humans can not “decipher and appreciate.” I learned that in high school biology, and I am also a pharmacist, so does that make me an expert on humane treatment of animals? Am I also qualified to tell everyone else how to live and what to eat? If you don’t like meat, then don’t eat it. Have a grilled cheese sandwich and lessen the demand for meat, but please don’t tell me what to eat. Also, deer and elk is very lean meat with little fat and is actually a healthy alternative to beef.

My cat is very intelligent, and she will hunt for a mouse and lay completely still and wait for the perfect moment to capture her prey and will tease her prey before she eats it whole. A mountain lion is also very intelligent and will stalk an elk or deer and will rip it apart and slowly kill it and then eat it. Should we kill all cats to stop this inhumane treatment? The Pacific octopus (an extremely intelligent animal) will mate, and afterwards, the male goes crazy and dies, and the female slowly starves to death guarding her eggs. It is a very horrible death for both genders. Because humans are so smart and superior to other animals, should we prevent the “inhumane” death of these very “intelligent” creatures? Should we have a nurse tell us how to save these octopus from an agonizing death?

Humans are predators, and a lot of us like meat. Elk and deer survive by staying away from cougars, bears and humans. Elk and deer do not want to communicate with humans, they just want to eat our strawberries, apples, pears, and other meatless snacks. When the deer cross the highway to eat my strawberries, they get hit by a car and kill the driver.Also, female infanticide has not ended, it is alive and well in China and India, just to name a few countries. In China there are 40 million more males than females between the ages of 12 and 30 years of age. In India the cow is sacred, but a female fetus is garbage.

If Emily wants to help mankind be more humane, perhaps she should focus on preventing humans killing humans, and if she does not like meat, then she shouldn’t eat it.

Lee Metcalf

Poulsbo