: I'm wondering -- if I believe it is wrong to kill or hurt animals, must I allow the cockroaches free access to the house? : What say the animal rights activists?
Speaking only for myself, here's how I handle cockroaches and similar critters: I exterminate them.
To elaborate: Given the choice, I'll spare anyone's life, be it ant, cockroach, spider, or weed. I believe it's always better not to kill than to kill. So, if a spider runs up the bedroom wall, I'll steel myself with a shot of good bourbon (8 legs!), get a jar, and relocate the creepy crawly. If I'm walking down the sidewalk and the ants come marching by, I'll step over them. Follow me so far?
Cockroaches are unfortunately not as easy to spare. They also, unfortunately, spread disease and filth and so pose a health threat to my family. Therefore, regrettably, I must deal with them the only ways I know how: insecticides, boric acid, whatever. Extrapolating from this, I would use violence - if necessary - against a large animal which attacked me or a loved one. For that matter, I'd use violence against a human being if I had to. The point is, one should only resort to violence when there is no other choice.
You should also remember that while I am an animal rights activist out of respect for life, I am also one out of a desire to avoid inflicting suffering on thinking, feeling, beings, and so with that in mind, it bothers me less when a cockroach is poisoned then when a rat is poisoned. No brain, no pain; less brain, less pain. We can't live in a perfect world, and death and suffering are part of life, but we as human beings can and should do our best to avoid inflicting death and suffering on other life forms.
