Don't cause a ma.asive BAAAWWWfest if you can, folks. Just a collected debate on Animal Rights.

Do you support Animal Rights? I don't. c:

Why? 

I don't feel like animals should be treated to the same equality as humans. Water Buffaloes don't treat vultures as well as they treat another member of their own species. So I won't treat animals as nicely as I would treat another human.

I'm an animal lover as well. Being an only child, I admit to treating my dog and cat like my brother and sister and it saddens me to think their lives are more than half over, but that's just me. I don't expect everyone to react to animals like I do. I certainly get attached quickly, but I don't treat every animal with the love and respect I give my pets. 

The point of animal rights isn't to get people to treat animals like humans (at least, I don't think it is). It's to get people to treat animals with more respect than objects. Things like dog-fighting for entertainment, drowning kittens because you're too lazy to get them killed the right way, working horses to death to make a prophet, etc. are what animal rights is trying to prevent.

Sometimes killing animals is okay--like when it comes to them suffering or being used for food or when the mother wouldn't have milk for the entire litter--but only if it's done in a humane way, not beating them to death or making them suffer more. 

When someone says "I don't support animal rights," I think they do support the things in my second paragraph. Not everyone is going to baby animals, but everyone could treat them with the respect that all living things deserve.

I have two dogs, and I love them.  I don't baby them.  In fact, I'm yelling at one to shut up right now.  Yes, they wear coats.  Not big puffy ones, just practical ones.  (They are both short haired dogs, I only put them on them when it's winter and we're going for a walk)  I think it's utterly ridiculous when people dress their animals on a daily basis for no good reason other than human pleasure.  Humans choose to wear clothes.  Animals don't.  They can't say it, though.

I also feel it's ridiculous when people have their pets sit at the table and eat/drink out of saucers and cups.  THEY'RE ANIMALS, FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!  In the wild, they kill their food for themselves and eat every part.  That's nature.  I don't agree with the people who cook for their animals every meal.  If my dog is sick, we don't cook him a chicken and roast a duck.  We just see if we have some leftover rice in the fridge and mix that into his food.  Simple.

 I feel that animals should live a happy medium:  Not spoiled, not tortured. Don't spend too much money on them, but don't harm them in the process of not buying necessities.  My dog recently needed surgery on his ACL cord.  The ACL is a piece of tissue between the tibia (or however you spell it) and the femur.  His surgery cost about 3.5 thousand dollars.  We paid for it because he is a young dog, and if we didn't he'd probably tear the other, too.  If both ACL's are torn, it is necessary for the surgery.

Lesson is, don't harm them, don't spoil them.

End.

I don't count animal welfare as animal rights. I saw somebody swurve across the road to kill a badger the other day, and I was against that. Animal welfare is basically treating animals nicely, but not to the same point as human beings.

So basically, I support animal welfare. And I also support animals being used as food, clothing, being in captivity and research subjects.

On my trip to Turkey last October, I remember seeing bears having to dance. These bears were underweight, mostly blind and their fur matted. That form of entertainment is unacceptable, and although I'm not the sort to go out preaching, "SAVE THE WOLVES" I am strictly against that.

Also. In reply to Myth's post.

I spoil my dog rotten. He gets to sleep on the stairs, gets walked four times a day, gets to play with the hose, and gets to eat meaty leftovers.

Yes, he is an animal. But these are animals that have been carefully designed by humans throughout the ages to work for humans, not necessarily survive in the wild. Take the Chihuahua for example, they were bred as snake hunters and message dogs in Mexico. A pack of Chihuahuas isn't going to take down a reindeer by themselves, thus needing humans to survive in this world.

Lolbot:

You're right.  Better to spoil a little than to completely ignore.

My neighbor has two dogs, and they are overfed, NEVER walked, kept in crates for most of the day everyday even though the mom is always home, and they are yelled at constantly for barking.  They bark because they want to be acknowledged, obviously, and they are too thick to realise it.

Last December, they got a sugarglider.  They donated it to the zoo about a month and a half later.

The only thing they do for their animals is feed them and let them out to use the bathroom.  To me, that's horrible.

I believe animals should be treated as humans.

How would you feel if you were an animal?

Not being treated as well, as another species? 

Sad. 

Animals don't get electronics, Playgrounds, or a lot of human things.

They have to put up with what they get, as that's all they'll get.

By animals being treated as humans you mean not eating them?

Humans are omnivores, believe it or not. 

I support Animal Welfare.

Yes, I am vegitarian, but not for animals, for the earth.

I'm hoping that by decreasing the demand of beef and such (at least the crappy brands) I can help get rid of the mills and bad places where they shove pipes down the poor things throats. I'm not against free range etc, however.

Also, I dislike fur, but thats just me.

And I think not eating meat is good for me, because I have a terrible cholesterol family. xD

So, I love animals. But, I think they should be treated with the same respect of the Earth, or any planet really, because they are alive. I don't want them to suffer, but honestly I don't think they are unhappy being just... animals.

I have mixed feelings on fur. If an animal dies, naturally I think that it is awesome to stuff it. I was in the museam the other day (:B) and I thought it was amazering to see a stuffed Dodo bird, Thylacine etc. Wearing fur as coats? It's okay, I guess, not my preference. And leather, if you have killed a cow for beef, would it be right to not use the rest of the body?

In the Stone Age humans killed for meat, and for the fur. It's the problem that arises with a 'naked' (if you want to put it that way) species. c: