Hear hear! to aqh88.
I understand the main concern of all the people so worried about animal welfare here is about putting a being that has no choice in the matter into a situation that is potentially dangerous.
Now would you call a mother who takes a toddler in the car with her a bad mother? Technically she is doing the same. But no one would fall all over her for doing so.
You might say the risk of getting hurt or killed in a car accident is smaller than the risk of a guinea being eaten by a cat. True. But then you would have to decide what an 'acceptable' risk is. There is where you get into a complex moral issue. is 10% too much, 1%, 0.01%? I don't know.
In an ideal world, if you would have the choice between keeping your piggies outdoors with a constant watch over them by the owner, and keeping them outdoors on their own most of the time... the choice would be simple. Unfortunately this isn't an ideal world, and practically - because no one has time to watch their pets all day long - choices boil down to keeping them locked indoors (on their own) or keeping them outdoors on their own.
It is my strong belief that
cavies ARE happier outdoors than locked in a cage. So how much risk is acceptable for living a happier life? I don't know. But it's sad to see that some people are so narrow minded that they think they know it all.
Just for the record: I DO keep my
cavies inside and they only go outside in moderately warm (around room temperature, i don't know what that is in Fahrenheit) and dry weather, and then they are always supervised.
Because that's what I BELIEVE is best for them. But i wouldn't dare indoctrinate that view on others the way you do here.