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Not wearing a helmet is not an option

> It’s not worth sacrificing your safety for comfort

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

ancouver is fantastic city for biking.

We've got bike lanes on practically
every street; parks, trails, a whole sea
wall, and Mobi bicycle rentals all around
the city. Yet as fun and accessible as
this city is for bikers, seldom do I see
people wearing their helmets. Even
though bicycle rentals generally provide
you with one, ol oftensee people just
sticking them in their baskets and
forgeting about it. They say you never
forget how to ride a bike, but you should
never forget to put on a helmet, either.

Not wearing your helmet while
biking is like not wearing your
seatbelt while driving: Sure, maybe
nothing will happen to you, but
considering the dangers, or the liability
of becoming extremely injured, do
you really want to take the risk?

Even if you are the safest biker
in the world, there are plenty of other
drivers and factors that you may not
see that could put you at risk for injury.
Furthermore, for legal reasons, it’s better
to wear a helmet. According to Bay Area
Bicycle Law, if you end up getting hit by
a car and seriously injured because you
didn’t wear a helmet, you might wind
up shouldering all responsibility for the

A case for outdoor cats

> Benefits of having outdoor cats are frequently
overshadowed by indoor-only advocates

Jacey Gibb
Distribution Manager

 

W: were in the veterinarian’s
office, me propped up in the
chair, and Ciabatta cowering in her
carrier. She’d just passed her annual
check-up with moderately flying
colours, when I asked the vet, “What
kind of shots would I need to get
before letting Ciabatta outside?”

The veterinarian suddenly grew
very serious. “Why? Has she been going
outside? We don’t recommend that.”

I mentioned the research I'd
been doing on outdoor vs indoor
cats, and how for the first time
since living in Vancouver, I had a
yard for Ciabatta to frolic in.

“But you also understand
that you can’t control everything
outside, all the time, right?

Anything can happen out there.”

I wasn’t expecting this level of fear
mongering from a trained veterinarian,
and yet the next time I came in to the
same clinic, a different vet simply asked

if I'd done my research, and then told
me what vaccines Ciabatta needed.
For some people, it’s never a

question or something they can consider.

If youre living in an apartment building,
or the top floor of a Vancouver Special,
you've likely never contemplated the
ethics of having an indoor-only cat;
without easy access to the outdoors,
why would it even cross your mind?
Transitioning your indoor cat
to an outdoor one comes with a lot
of things to consider. For one, the
average lifespan of an outdoor cat is
shorter by several years. There are also
the inherent risks for outdoor cats:
Encounters with other animals, chances
that your cat will go missing or get
run over, parasites, and infections.
The local cat adoption agency
Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue
Association (VOKRA) even has a strict
policy on the matter: “We adopt to
indoor homes only. No exceptions!”
their website states in bolded lettering.
And yet, there are also
numerous benefits to letting your
feline into the great outdoors.

incident because of your own negligence.
You might be thinking, “That’s
never going to happen to me.” But no
one who gets into an accident thinks
they're going to be in one, and bike
riding injuries are more common
than you think. According to a report
from CAA National, 7,500 cyclists
are seriously injured in Canada every
year. Additionally, Dr Nav Persaud,
the leader of a study by the Canadian
Medical Association Journal says that,
“There are about 70 cycling deaths
in Canada every year, and based
on our study, we estimate we can
prevent 20 of them with helmets.”
The study also found that from

For starters, outdoor cats are
more physically active, and at less
risk of becoming overweight. When a
cat has an excess number of pounds,
this can put added stresses on joints,
lead to higher blood pressure, and
even restrict airflow to the lungs.
Overweight cats also develop
urinary tract diseases more easily
and are more difficult to operate
on for standard procedures.

There’s also the benefit of cats
experiencing more enrichment
from the ever-changing outdoors.
Some reports also find that
being an outdoor cat can lead
to less aggression and stress.

Ciabatta has been an outdoor cat
for several months now, and while it’s a
small sample size, nothing horrific has
befallen her. She darts outside whenever
the door opens more than an inch, but
usually she plunks herself down a few
meters away and just passes out on some
warm asphalt. I’m not some kind of pet
empath, so I won't pretend to know if
Ciabatta is happier or more satisfied
with her indoor-outdoor balance,

Saving prey from predators is not heroic

> Kindness to one animal may be cruelty to another

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

’m all for protecting animals, believe
me, but there is such a thing as
caring for animals to the extreme, to
the point where it contradicts even
the best intentions. Especially when
it comes to the more conventionally
“cute,” small, and furry creatures.

You may have seen those feel-good
viral videos of people saving animals
from trouble, but in the hodgepodge
of animal-rescuing videos, there is
the occasional clip of someone saving
prey from a predator. Although it may
seem like a good idea at first, what
people don't often think about is that

by saving these little critters from being
another animal's dinner, they could
be putting other animals—namely the
predators—and the ecosystem at risk.
For instance, one video I’ve seen in
these animal compilations depicts a man
saving a mouse from the grips of a snake.
A nice (albeit dangerous) idea, but that
snake has got to eat somehow, and now
that its dinner has been taken away it
must work harder to find its next meal.
So, by saving one mouse, you may be
putting that snake at risk of starvation.
Mice may be conventionally “cuter”
than snakes (depending on who you ask),
but that doesn’t mean its life is more
important than the less conventionally-
attractive animals. On the contrary,
predators are a vital part of a healthy

ecosystem. Furthermore, there are enough
mice in the world as it is, and they are
integral to a snake’s diet, not to mention
the diets of many other predators.
Saving a mouse won't make much of a
difference to the mouse because odds
are it’s going to become food anyway, or
the snake will just find another mouse to
eat. It’s a tough pill to swallow but hey,
that’s how the nature works, and who
are we as humans to mess around with

it because we deem one animal more
aesthetically valuable than the other?

Prey and predators have a
relationship that keeps our ecosystem
healthy, and humans should leave it alone.
According to the Cheetah Conservation
Fund, “Predators choose vulnerable
prey, leaving more food for the survival

 

War of the Words: Canada Day

(¥ Kindness to one animal may be cruelty to
another

(¥ Acase for outdoor cats

And more!

129 cyclist injuries between 2006-2010,
cyclists that did not wear helmets were
three times more likely to die from brain
trauma. Helmets may not protect your
life in some cases, but if you do get in an
accident, it will protect you, your brain,
neck, and spine from permanent injury.
If that doesn’t convince you, in BC,
wearing helmets is not only mandatory,
it’s the law. You can be fined up to
$500 for not wearing one. I’m sure no
one wants to have permanent damage
to their brain or pay a ridiculous
fine, so you may as well just wear
the helmet. I get that helmets can be
uncomfortable or flatten your hair, but
it’s a small price to pay for your safety.

but her affinity for being outside
versus inside now speaks for itself.

I can’t say that, universally, all
cats should have the option of being
outdoors. In a housing environment
like Vancouver, that’s not always a
possibility. However, I also believe
people need to conduct their own
research and reflect on what’s best for
their situation and their own feline pal.

and prosperity of healthy prey animals.
Also, by controlling the size of prey
populations, predators help slow down
the spread of disease ... catching sick or
injured animals helps in natural selection
and the establishment of healthier
prey populations as the fittest animals
are left to survive and reproduce.”
Without predators, prey animals
would be in harmful abundance, and
when there is too many of a specific
species, the environment suffers because
of it. So, by not letting predators eat
the prey that is an important part of
the food chain, there is potential to
interrupt the balance of nature. Of
course, if it’s your pet or livestock in
danger you have every right to protect it,
but otherwise, let nature do its thing.

 

Illustration by Cara Seccafien