If we dont eat animals, will farm animals overrun the country ?

Question

or will they become extinct ?

we've heard it both ways in this forum, they both can't be right, can they ?

Answer 1

[sarcasm]

Word on the street is that cows are thinking of unionizing.  They might even try to get the chickens in on it.  Then you know what happens next... they start integrating cows into public schools!  Soon enough they start go gain influence in the political sphere and run for president.  They don't want to overrun the country, but they do want to run it.  Imagine the legislation that will go into effect when a cow is president.  If we want to stop this madness we need to get a moooove on it.  Oh no... they're getting to me... I can't stop it.  

[/sarcasm]

Answer 2

I disagree with Adam T...we have not eliminated all their predators.  Growing up on a farm I know from experience that chickens had a lot of predators we had to protect them from, mostly raccoons and possums, but also the occasional bobcat.  In my part of the country there are still cougars around (and actually increasing) that would bring down a normal cow and maybe even a horse.  The other large predators are black bears, and although they wouldn't attack a cow, they would go after calves, as would coyotes.  In other parts of the country there are wolves that prey upon buffalo, so a bovine wouldn't be too big for them.  And grizzly bears are residents in many states, and they wouldn't hesitate to go after a cow either.

Eventually things would settle into a normal balance of sorts, with population spikes and crashes brought about by predation and climate changes.  In the U.S. and Canada there are many large animals that roam at will -- elk, moose, buffalo, even horses in a few place -- and lots of smaller animals too -- deer, antelope, goats -- and nature keeps them more-or-less in balance.

But "more or less" is the key.  There are places, like the Olympic National Forest in Washington state, where wild goats are wreaking havoc on native vegetation and eco-systems.  And these goats are not native, but were introduced some decades ago.  This indicates that simply releasing domestic animals into the wild would also have negative environmental conseqences as well, as well as consigning these animals to a life of predation they are not equipped to cope with.

Answer 3

If we don't eat them, something else will, thats the process of life!

Answer 4

If we don't eat animals, they WILL take over the world. I kid you not. Chickens especially-they will slowly form into superchickens, rising from the firey pits of h**l.....

Is this a serious question?

Answer 5

is there a purpose for this question,,

Answer 6

they will become powerful with numbers, thats why vegetarians are the anti-christ devils

Answer 7

If we quit farming animals, we won't be feeding or breeding them, nor will they have many things trying to eat them.  

We need more information on this fantasy--are we sending the farm animals to zoos or parks, are we eating every pig on every farm so they don't go to waste before we outlaw eating animals,  or will we allow animals to be hunted, and just outlaw factory farming, or what?

Answer 8

Neither, the population will decrease over the years of course because they wouldn't be breed for human consumption.

They'd most likely become pets. I used to have chickens as pets, not as food. So I could certainly see other people keeping farm animals as pets.

Answer 9

No, they will become extinct or rare.  There was just an article in the NY Times about all the different varieties of plants and animals that are virtually non existent or extinct because we, as a society, have stopped eating them due to supermarket chains deciding what to carry, rather than visiting mom and pop butcher shops and only eating what fruits and veggies are local and in season.

Answer 10

I don't like eating animals...it's mean

Answer 11

If farm animals were suddenly released most would just die. the natural ability to forage has been bred out of them and they are weaker than their "natural" cousins.Some can still revert, like pigs. The modern farm Turkey cannot even fly any more.

Answer 12

it is hard to imagine a scenario in which everyone instantly goes vegetarian and farmers are forced to turn loose all their livestock to run temporary havoc while nature culls their numbers. what is more probably is a gradual change that would allow a gradual response from farmers. lets not forget that we have bred these animals into these large and unstable populations, and the easiest way to have less of them is to breed less of them.  i dont think it is likely at all that they would ever overrun the country.

Answer 13

There's nothing to worry about.  People aren't going to stop eating animals.