It is important to explain things or engage with concepts nicely and respectfully, especially when they are asked or offered by a young person.
Now, as to culling in the breeding world:
As some of the others have said, the truth is that people who seriously breed to a standard often breed fairly large numbers of birds and cull hard (that often, although not always, means killing some of the birds, especially the roos, and sometimes both sexes, sometimes for what some would probably consider minor imperfections). Since these birds are usually not kept as pets, the paradigm of "re-homing" just doesn't really apply, since the birds didn't really have what most would consider a pet "home" in the first place. However, most breeders will sell off quite a few of these birds rather than killing them (depending on the quality--they usually sell birds that are not quite good enough to keep for their own programs, but not quite bad enough to kill. They are not worried about competition from their own birds at all, and they are often happy to set up a serious beginner with a pretty good trio and to offer them worthwhile information about breeding. These beginners will often credit the original breeder with giving them their start).
I admire the sentiments expressed in Hooligan's signature, but I know that in the breeding world, that type of thinking isn't usually the mindset. Now, people who breed small numbers and keep them as pets or "livestock with petlike qualities" (as our own Elderoo might so rightly term them ) can still keep the breed standard in mind (and I agree with Hooligan that they should), but unfortunately those breeders are just not as likely to meet the breed standards in a reasonable amount of time as those who breed and cull more strenuously. I read posts by serious breeders from time to time that scoff at people who raise fewer than a couple hundred birds per year as wasting their time. I personally don't happen to agree, and I think that careful stock selection can help narrow the gap a bit, but I do certainly understand the theory and have personally learned a lot from people who hold those views even if I don't agree.
Here on BYC, the worlds of livestock husbandry, pet keeping, hobby breeding, genetic preservation, and show breeding all come together, sometimes in odd ways. It's important to realize that different people have different views and goals. I think, overall, the folks on the board do remarkably well at understanding the viewpoints of others even if they are very different from their own.
