why i hate animals

[amw]

I was going to do a picture post of my weekend up the river, but i'm currently sitting in a house with my nerves shot to shit thanks to a job i took that will save me about a grand in accommodation costs

Comments

[sweetmeow]

As one who loves my cats, this post was kind of a gut punch. Yet - I admit you're correct in your evaluation of the situation. Our pets -- dogs, cats, parakeets, etc. etc. are (now) raised for human pleasure. Servitude is really what's going on. During the pandemic, I was so grateful for my two cats who brought me so much pleasure when the virus kept me more quarantined. I often wonder what cats and dogs were like before humans domesticated them. We have changed their innate and wild nature by bringing them "in."

Yet, at this point to let dogs and cats suddenly "go free" might be crueler than keeping them confined because they are (now) not suited for living in the wild. You're right - humans have done this to them. Cats are probably more able to survive than dogs, but even cats don't do well. Living in the wild would reduce their lifespan from what it is now. I guess that's natural selection.

And, there's one more thing. Way back -- and I'm not sure just how far back -- cats were imported into various western countries from I'm not sure where. Yet, that's more unnatural and wrongful human intervention. Whatever the case, they are now an invasive species. They are not meant to be here and living in the wild and would upset the eco-balance by their instincts for getting food. If all cats were wild and free, they'd decimate the bird population, and in some communities they've started to. (They'd also go after rodents, but I'm not sure there's an issue of losing too many of those) (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/moral-cost-of-cats-180960505/) For this reason, there are a few communities that have banned cats from running free, and would be killed if seen running free. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45347136)

I'm not sure I agree with everything in these links, but they're worth a read.

For this reason, I keep my cats inside -- they are pampered pets. And, so, I'm a part of this long history of this questionable human intervention in this feline species.

[amw]

Yeah, it's definitely a complicated situation. I think it can make more sense from an ethical point of view if we see animals more like plants. Like, we cultivate the varieties that are most useful or pleasing to us, and that's just the way it is. Animals will be domesticated, just as plants were selected for optimum yields, and we shouldn't think it unnatural because that's the harsh reality of nature. The smartest creature will always end up top of the food chain, and keep every other species below it.

But taking that thought process through to its logical endpoint means that we should probably also be okay with eugenics, and with political structures that exploit or neglect the weak for the benefit of the strong.

When you try to go the other way, though, and we think about if at least some animals should have rights similar to those we ascribe to humans (and notably baby humans, who realistically have cognitive functioning inferior to many animals)... then why should pet ownership ever be okay? But - as you say - it's one thing to accept that we might have operated under different ethical standards historically, but how do you undo that "mistake", when we now have millions of living creatures who are designed from the ground up to be companions or otherwise dependent on human keepers?

There really isn't a good way out of it. A lot of vegans i know justify themselves having pets by saying that in a perfect world there would be no domesticated species at all, so if they just take a shelter animal and look after it (but don't allow it to breed), they are at least doing it a kindness. But that's the same argument i have for eating meat from time to time - you might as well eat a domesticated animal, since then you are theoretically reducing the overall number of domesticated animals by one, which we will have to do sooner or later if we want to create the utopian (?) future where there are no domesticated species at all any more.

I think this is why i don't really judge other people for having pets... it's complicated. We're in too deep now, and the kind of global effort that would be required to undo it... the amount of political capital or expense required to make it happen might be put to better use in trying to solve other large problems (like dependency on fossil fuels or pollution of our living environments).

But it's still something i think about, especially when confronted with it first-hand.

[sweetmeow]

I think you summarized it. Basically we can't put the worms back in the can after so many years of domesticating animals. So we do the best we can to minimize the mistakes that have already been made: keep the animal inside, and do not allow it to breed. All my cats have been neutered / spayed and are inside only.

When it comes time for my cats' lives to end, I don't allow them to suffer just because I can't part with them. With the death of Felix a little more than 2 months ago, I made the decision because he was suffering and it was unfair to keep him alive for my pleasure. I gave him a chance to take to the treatment needed for his feline diabetes, but it didn't work. He was such an amazing cat - the most interactive and affectionate cat we've ever had -- a very "human centered" cat -- exhibit A for domestication!

Oh - and I meant to say that taking care of a 19 year old cat is not for the faint-hearted. For sure you're earning your lodging! I've been there, and it's that time when you make those life and death choices. And, Felix's refusal to eat in conjunction with the insulin medication was part of what ended his life (though, sadly, Felix never came close to reaching 19. He was not quite 12 years old)