Vermin(colloquiallyvarmint(s)[1]orvarmit(s)) arepestsornuisance animalsthatspread diseasesand destroycrops,livestock,andproperty.Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterprise.
The term derives from theLatinvermis(worm), and was originally used for the worm-likelarvaeof certaininsects,many of which infest foodstuffs.[2]The termvarmint(andvermint) has been found in sources from c. 1530–1540s.[1][3]
Definition
editThe term "vermin" is used to refer to a wide scope of organisms, includingrodents(such asrats),cockroaches,termites,bed bugs,[4]stoats,sables.
Historically, in the 16th and 17th century, the expression also became used as aderogatory termassociated with groups of persons typically plagued by vermin, namelybeggarsandvagabonds,and more generallythe poor.[5]
Disease-carryingrodentsandinsectsare the usual case, but the term is also applied to larger animals—especially smallpredators—typically because they consumeresourceswhich humans consider theirs, such aslivestockand crops. Birds which eat cereal crops and fruit are an example. TheAmerican crow(Corvus brachyrhynchos), is widely hated by farmers because of crop depredation.Pigeons,which have been widely introduced in urban environments, are also sometimes considered vermin. Some varieties ofsnakesandarachnidsmay also be referred to as vermin. "Vermin" is also used by some people as a term of abuse, either individually or collectively.[1]
Varmint
editVarmintorvarmitis anAmerican-Englishcolloquialism,a corruption of "vermin" particularly common to theAmerican East and South-eastwithin the nearby bordering states of the vastAppalachiaregion. The term describes species which raid farms from without, as opposed to vermin (such as rats) that infest from within, thus referring mainly to predators such asferal dogs,foxes,weasels,andcoyotes,sometimes evenwolvesor rarelybears,but also, to a lesser degree, herbivores and burrowing animals that directly damage crops and land.
Although "varmint/varmit" is not the prevalent usage inStandard Written English,it is a common descriptor for certain kinds of weapons andpest controlsituations in the Appalachian and nearby states and the American West and South-west which have adopted terms such asvarmint rifleandvarmint hunting.
Deterioration of balance
editAny species can develop into vermin if introduced into a region where there are favorable living conditions and few natural predators. In such cases, they are seen as an invasive species and humans often choose to fill the role of thepredatorto limit the danger to the environment. Examples of vermin includegoatson theGalápagos Islands,rabbits in AustraliaorcatsonPrince Edward Islands.Rats,mice,andcockroachesare common urban and suburban vermin. The introduction of Hippos into Columbia by Pablo Escobar led to the Hippos becoming an invasive species. The transplanted Hippos thrived and flourished in Columbia due to the favorable living conditions and few predators leading to a invasively rapid increase of the Hippo population.
United Kingdom
editUnder Tudor "vermin laws", many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses. The declaration of thered kiteas vermin led to its decline to the point of extirpation in the UK by the 20th century. However, the red kite has since been reintroduced to much of Scotland and the majority of England and Wales by the trans-location of breeding pairs from other parts of Europe.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abc"Varmint definition".Dictionary.com.Retrieved5 January2012.
Origin: 1530–40; var. of vermin
- ^"Vermin".Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.Britannica Publishing.Retrieved13 December2006.
- ^"Vermint" cited in England in 1539,Oxford English Dictionary,2nd ed
- ^Phillipa Bellemore (November 2006).Tenants' Rights Manual: A Practical Guide to Renting in NSW.Federation Press. p. 66.ISBN978-1-86287-557-9.
- ^Karen Raber (24 September 2013).Animal Bodies, Renaissance Culture.University of Pennsylvania Press. pp.26–27.ISBN978-0-8122-0859-7.
- ^McCarthy, Michael (23 March 2007)."Book Review: Silent Field, By Roger Lovegrove: songbirds versus shotguns".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 11 August 2022.Retrieved7 July2009.
External links
edit
The dictionary definition ofverminat Wiktionary- The New Brunswick Ministry of Natural Resources
- Smith, Robert (Rat-catcher) (1786)The universal directory for taking alive and destroying rats:and all other kinds of four-footed and winged vermin, in a method hitherto unattempted: calculated for the use of the gentleman, the farmer, and the warrener.
