Many a time, I come across articles in the news that talk about animal cruelty.
For example, there was a recent article on CNN that talked about the rehabilitation of rescued pit-bull dogs that were used in an illegal dog-fighting ring. The article portrayed the dogs as gentle creatures that would, with proper training make for gentle loyal pets.
Similarly, there was a public outcry against Japan's "scientific" whale hunts. Leading newspapers in Australia reported the gory details of the whale hunt along with pictures of the slaughtered whales.
Then there was this news of an undercover video taken in a slaughter-house in California that showed workers shocking, kicking and shoving debilitated cattle with forklifts. This led to a big outcry, a massive beef-recall, and calls for stricter rules to be enforced to ensure that the animals are slaughtered in a "humane" manner.
Similarly, many Asian countries are fighting the spread of bird-flu virus by culling thousands of birds and chicken.
All this makes me wonder...
Why are domestic animals like dogs and cats more privileged than others? Why is it that we feel an attachment to whales and dolphins, but not to other fish? Why is it that we feel it important to protect the black-buck and pandas, but have no issues when it comes to goats and pigs? Why is it that we are shocked and aghast at the cruel treatment of animals in a slaughter house, but have no qualms when they end up on the dinner table?
Monday, February 18, 2008
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10 comments:
I guess your answer is in your question - animals that can be domesticated - satiate the human urge to control - thus the affinity
similarly whales and dolphins are big creatures - so controlling them is a feeding to the same urge
other animals - like when abundant - like human populations loose their so called importance - as is the case of goats, pigs etc....we know we can control them somehow....
dunno if this makes sense - but it is an invigorating question - if i think of something will come back
thanks
@ceedy - I am not sure I am on board with the "control" explanation. Maybe you can elaborate a lil more? Thanks.
Yes I was not sure of it myself - thus "dunno if it makes sense"
let me write it differently...(still dunno if it is right or wrong though)
we as humans are always trying to better nature....like conquer it in some form...
so animals that we have kinda trained or conquered and are in abundance just become part of US......like small fish, cats, dogs..
its like you strive to get something in life....and once you get it ...slowly it losses importance.
Because it all boils down to the superficial trait...BEAUTY.
A whale or a dolphin looks cute but a toad does not.
@ceedy - I see your point .. but not sure if I can relate to it completely .. but thanks for explaining :)
@solitaire - I am not sure about the "beauty" reasoning .. there is such a thing as compassion. I feel that bcoz we never go inside a slaughter house and see what happens inside, we dont give a second thought to the burger on our plate. However, when we see real images, videos or news about a whale hunt for example, we are moved into taking action.
@ Cosmic, do you really think that its all about compassion. The most recent incident in CA is. But what about the slaughter of animals in a certain way in a particular religion. I have heard gory stories about it. And I have heard people watch the animal bleed to death. What happens to compassion then? Does religion overpower compassion?
Solitaire - you may be right about certain religious sacrifices and how people are unmoved and show no compassion for the sacrificial scapegoat.
Maybe certain beliefs do overpower plain compassion. I dont know the answer to that. For me personally, I do not believe in sacrificing an innocent creature.
What I was trying to say to you earlier is that people dont really feel the compassion because they dont witness the gory stuff. Maybe if they did, they would have a change of heart.
Well, because most of the animals you are talking about are the endangered species. So the protection. There is no danger of pigs and cattle getting endangered, at least humanity will make sure it doesn't. Pets (dogs and cats).... are almost like children. people see it that way. Because of its response to human beings. Like dolphins there. Other fishes are plain dumb. people don't feel connected....
Need for food surpasses everything else.
For many fish and meat have become their staple food. So don't see them as animals that have been tortured but plain food, when it lands on their dinner plate... They can't help it.
But in the end like you i can't fathom the double standards too. i don't eat animal food so i'm just guessing everything here.....
Partiality has always existed. It always will. How we decide who gets the special treatment though, is something I have no idea about. At the end of the day killing is killing and wanting to feel less guilty is wanting to feel less guilty. So we all pretend that we are doing our bit.
Btw you still vegetarian?
@preethi - What you say is rational. And yet, I wish it wasnt so.
@deepali - yes .. so far.
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