Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
Vivisection? Rodeos? Dog breeding? Hunting, shooting and fishing? Ritual slaughter? Factory farming?
I know in the UK the right to perpetrate animal cruelty is actually enshrined in our legal system.
It'd be a bit hypocritical for us to condemn anyone else before sorting ourselves out.  |
You're right. All these things go on every day and the practice is sanctioned by civilization as a whole. We can argue that many of these things, hunting for instance, is necessary to control overpopulation of certain species in a given area, and that the meat from the hunts is consumed as well, so it is not wasted.
You're also right in that we are
all hypocrites to one degree or another. and we all tend to justify our own actions and beliefs as nobler than others. I can enjoy a barrel race at a rodeo, but I think bull riding is terrible. I abhor factory farming, yet I can occasionly eat a cheeseburger if I can refrain from thinking where it came from.
I guess we find mistreatment of dogs and cats more repugnant since we cast them as more intelligent, more cuddly, more noble and often a more adored member of our family than even some family members tend to be.
I guess we all need to look a little closer in the mirror.