Animals and Humans Should Be Equal
Feb 23rd 2007CarlAnimal Rights & Equality & Political
Animal rights are not accepted as widely as human rights. I believe animals should have equal rights as people. Animals should for example have the right to life, freedom and so on. Using them for medical research, food and other is completely unacceptable. I’m going to explain why.
Most of us agree that individuals have rights. Most of us agree that people shouldn’t for example be killed, assaulted and that everyone should have basic freedom (and the list could go on). Most of us also agree that all of us have these rights - not only some. For examples not only the rich or the intelligent have the right to life and not to be beaten or imprisoned for no reason.
However most people think that these rights don’t apply to animals. Why? One of the most common arguments used is that animals wouldn’t be able to think and therefore inferior. This is a very controversial issue in scientific research and many scientists believe that animals think (link).
And even if it was the case that animals didn’t think it still wouldn’t be acceptable to violate their rights. I give an example: There are some very seriously mentally retarded people that can’t actually really think very much. If it was all right to kill and eat animals because they couldn’t think, then it should be all right to kill and eat these seriously mentally retarded persons. However there is a large consensus that allowing to kill and eat the seriously mentally retarded people in question is totally unacceptable.
Another argument used to argue that animals shouldn’t have rights is that animals “are naturally inferior” because they are not civilized. Here again we have the same situation. What about the persons that don’t live in “civilized” and have no idea of the industrial world? Should it be all right to kill and eat them? No, it shouldn’t; they have rights too is what almost anyone asked will answer. So why wouldn’t animals not living in “civilization” have these rights?
As a conclusion and for all these reasons animals should have the same rights as human beings. A crime against an animal should bring the same punishment as the same crime against a person. Killing animals, using them as food or using them in medical experiments is totally unacceptable and can actually be compared to concentration camps in Nazi Germany.
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Opinionnation on 25 Feb 2007 at 21:00 #
Animals should be treated humanely and frankly, I valued my dogs life over nearly every human…
but obviously animals don’t have the same rights as we do, nor should they. I’m not even sure what type of “rights” you can be talking about… if you mean they shouldn’t be treated badly, then sure; I think that’s a given.
and in many cases product and medical testing has to be done on animals. unless, of course, you or other people are willing to volunteer to have it done on you.
In a lot of ways animals are better than humans. but that doesn’t mean they should be given “rights”
Carl (admin) on 25 Feb 2007 at 21:26 #
Opinionnation - Well, I’m talking about quite large rights. Not only not to be treated badly or right to life.
About animal testing. I believe that medical testing should be done only on volunteers. As there is no way to know if an animal volunteers (no way to ask), it can be done only on human volunteers. And if there is was no volunteers then we shouldn’t test at all.
My idea here is that we don’t have the right to sacrifice an individual (human or animal) for the good of others -> no right to test on animals and no right to test on non-voluntary humans (as prisoners like it has been sometimes done).
Vidde on 25 Feb 2007 at 23:18 #
Then I assume you never use any medication as a statement of your beliefs.
Also, if animals should have the same rights as humans, we need to give the mother antiloop the right to have the lion that killed her son trialed and put in prison. But what about the lions rights? What about the fact that the lion dies if it doesn’t eat meat?
Should we also give all farmyard animals the right to work for their food in their own choosing? We would never eat human babies, so why do we eat chickens? And if they were let free to fend for themselves, they would die (because we bred them for other purposes than what is needed to survive in the wild). So should we build our society in a way that all animals can make a living without giving their young and themselves to us as food?
Surely you can see that giving animals the exact same rights as humans is no option.
Mind on 25 Feb 2007 at 23:35 #
I agree that animals should be treated as good as possible, and certainly not suffer when there is no need to. Because, if we face the facts, we can not yet end all animal testing in research, I certainly wish we could and the progress is going in that direction, but not quite yet. Animal testing should be banned in all cases of testing makeup and such, as it is totally unnecessary. Developing medicines and new treatments however, well, when it comes down to it, I will always value a human more than an animal. That is the simple truth. And I do value animals, I love them, but I would never put the family dog before say my daughter or a friend.
There is also a reason medicines are not tested on volunteers on a large scale. Sick people get desperate, and the temptation to try not yet quite finished medicine is often to great which will lead to premature deaths of sick people and giving them false hope as well. It is in most cases a lose lose situation.
Regarding using them as food, well, it is fast going in the right direction but it is not yet practical to ban all animals for food in all countries yet. Especially in poor countries it may be difficulties eating a vegetarian diet only, and even more important, to get all correct information that is needed to eat a vegetarian diet without becoming ill. Even here in northern part of Sweden I simply cannot afford eating a strict vegetarian diet. I cannot grow it myself due to the climate and the amount of food I need to buy to survive is more than I can afford, I actually tried it but it is very expensive here (I live in a small town, it is cheaper in a big city). I need to eat fish and meat as well.
But I applaud your will and vision, though I fear it is somewhat unreal at the moment.
Carl (admin) on 26 Feb 2007 at 22:34 #
Vidde - I agree that in the case of animals eating each other (lion eating antelopes) we might not do a lot. However we can eliminate the actions of humans and give (and enforce) animals’ rights against humans.
About farmyards animals. I would see an option in naturally decreasing the number of farmyard animals (by not making so many new animals be born) instead of increasing their number by new births as we are doing nowadays. The remaining farm animals for the meantime: we could stop killing them and give them as good a life as possible. Yes, I think we should build our society in a way that animals wouldn’t be needed for our food.
Of course the simple fact that we are unable to communicate with animals put some limitations on how animals can have rights in practice. We are for example unable to ask the preference of an animal and so on. The problem remains as long as this communication isn’t possible. But animals should have the same rights as far as in practice possible to arrange.
Mind - I agree that animal testing for cosmetics is unnecessary and should be banned. When it comes to medicine the question is actually about if we can sacrifice an individual for the good of the other. I believe that no, and therefore I wouldn’t allow animal testing for medical research.
I agree that even voluntary human testing of medicine has its problems and that’s why we should take care that the people volunteering get neutral information and don’t do it because they are “actually forced” due to for example their economical situation. However isn’t it still better to test medicines on volunteers (although they might do it in hope of something that may actually not happen as for ex curing from their illness) than on NON-volunteers (animals)?
The funny thing about meat production is that for every kg of meat produced we could have produces many times more vegetal crops for the same land and energy recourses used. For example to produce 1 kg of beef meat we need 16 kg of grains or soybeans.
Cathryn Keane on 27 Feb 2007 at 8:51 #
I completely agree. This is a subject that I worry about everday. Why should a human think they are better than any other animal. We are all born equal, we have the same organs and we all have feelings.
Vidde on 28 Feb 2007 at 6:11 #
Well actually that 1 kg of beef meat -> 16 kg of grains or soybeans example might be irrellevant. If you eat grains or soybeans, and I eat meat… When I have eaten 1 kg (this will take me a while. It is quite a lot) meat, how many kilos have you eaten?
Carl (admin) on 28 Feb 2007 at 15:21 #
Vidde - Of course the example is simplified in that eating only beef meat and nothing else or eating only grains or soybeans (and nothing else than grains or soybeans) is not really a realistic option, but it gives the picture of how much more resources meat production requires.
Anyway, replacing 1 kg of meat doesn’t require eating 16 times more:-) (of grains or other)
Vidde on 02 Mar 2007 at 2:12 #
Because it is simplified, it gives you the feeling it is not true at all. Now, to satisfactory replace 1 kg meat, how much soybeans/grains/other DO you need? And is the relationship in how much you can produce allways the same no matter what you grow?
Carl (admin) on 02 Mar 2007 at 20:43 #
Vidde - What you grow or what animal meat you produce has an effect to the relationship.
But it doesn’t change that producing meat is less effecient than producing plants. This is due to the simple fact that if you produce meat you need grains/soya/other to feed these animals and only then you get the meat. A lot of what you feed these animals doesn’t transform directly into meat, as it is used by the animals (in moving, maintaining their body temparature etc). Furthermore some food energy is used to grow body parts that can’t be used as human food.
When producing vegetables or grains instead of meat you don’t “lose” that energy.
I don’t know exactly how much grains or vegetables has to be eaten to be equivalent to 1 kg of eaten meat. However eating meat leads to a bigger energy consumption and requires more vegetable/grain production than eating vegetables for the reasons mentionned above.
http://veg.ca/content/view/133/111/
Vidde on 03 Mar 2007 at 1:57 #
Ok, so maybe you are right. And if the problem with food on this planet was that there wasn’t enough, you would have a really good point. That’s not the case though.
Fact is, meat is a really good source of nutrients for the human body (and there isn’t many parts of an animal that isn’t used for human food. Read what is in “pölsa” for example… I love that stuff. But I don’t eat the sceleton of any animal, so there is your loss of energy. Unless it is used to produce heat or energy ofcourse). It has stuff you really have to educate yourself to know where to find in vegetables. That is a education I don’t have, so I don’t know how many different vegetables you have to eat to get all the stuff a human needs…
So point is, I’m not seeing any real point in stopping eating meat. Other animals kill to eat, so why shouldn’t I? Difference is, we check to see that we don’t extinct the animals we eat. Animals that hunt don’t do that.
Carl (admin) on 03 Mar 2007 at 11:17 #
Vidde - It’s true that it’s an education thing to know what is good to eat for your health and so on. It’s something that applies also to eating meat (too many eating meat eat in an unbalanced way leading to health problems).
Eating or not eating meat often depends about the values you have.
Vidde on 03 Mar 2007 at 12:26 #
Well yes. In my case I thought long and hard abaout it, and came to the conclusion that I’m fine with eating other beings. I don’t eat from the races I have personal relationships with though (humans, cats, horses, dogs and so on).
But there still is several non-value arguments for eating meat, and I can’t just throw them out the window, can I? =)
It’s true you get health problems if you eat meat and nothing else. But as soon as you start eating some potatos and vegetables with your meat, the big problems goes away. If you don’t eat meat you can get seriously ill if you don’t know what you are doing. Fact is that we need a lot of the stuff that is in meat. And that is because we as a race has been eating meat for a VERY long time, and our bodies has evolved under meat eating conditions. Lucky for you we don’t need taurin like cats. But we still adapted to our environment eating meat.
Back to my values; I find it only natural to eat meat. I would have to fight my instincts to stop.
Lorin on 13 Jul 2007 at 22:17 #
It is not instinctual to eat meat, but rather, learned behavior, similar to thinking that body odor is unacceptable. The canine of a human being is smaller than that of a gorilla, and the gorilla is a complete herbivore (vegan). The human intestine is much too long for the digestion of meat without putrification of the matter. Human jaws move side to side in order to grind our food, just like cows, or our cousins the chimpanzee or gorilla, but much unlike a carnivorous cat or dog, which can only move their jaws in an up and down motion. That doesn’t mean that cats and dogs don’t eat vegetation, because domesticated pets do, and it also doesn’t mean that cows are herbivorous because when domesticated they are fed rendered meats to “beef” up the protein in their diets. This rendered meat product includes tumors from slaughtered cattle, goats, sheep and pigs, as well as any sick animal or part that didn’t make it to be human grade, and even pets that have been put down. I believe that meat should only be eaten out of necessity and not out of luxury like it is being eaten by the obese Western world.
Anonymous on 09 Aug 2007 at 7:35 #
its an animal…get over it
Alison on 15 Aug 2007 at 3:26 #
I agree with Carl totally!
We r actually doing a debate at school on this subject.
If anyone has any more info on animals having equal rights as humans, email me the info!
tgtlo7@yahoo.com.au
THANKS!!!
:):):):):):):)
Anonymous on 24 Sep 2007 at 2:49 #
I just love your word choise and love you support on everything!!
yos on 08 Oct 2007 at 13:35 #
animals should have rights. its disturbing to see what the world has come to, but also touching to see that people do care.
some people do care, but are just not reminded about it.
so let us give fluffy rabbits and bears hugs. except grizzleys, they love to maul you. But their still adorable…….
if you love to read, i suggest a book called the animal farm, a political satire in which animals rebell against the humam race.
very good book.
Amber Mckinley on 03 Dec 2007 at 16:58 #
If we give animals the same rights as human then they would be eating the same food as we are and eating at the table like humans. I dont know about any of you but i dont let my animals on the table period. They are animals and they were put on the earth to serve us.
Amber Mckinley on 03 Dec 2007 at 16:59 #
and another thing if animals had the same right as us we would have any food because it is ilegal to kill a human being
Jan on 05 Dec 2007 at 21:29 #
This blog is very useful. I totally agree on the author. And i think it is okay for animals to have the same rights as we do. And about the killing and stuff….. that we would run out of food?.. well, we can always eat vegetables, right? ^^ kkk~
Anonymous on 04 Apr 2008 at 23:05 #
Amber Mckinley-
your ignorance blinds you.
Easypctips on 11 Apr 2008 at 7:20 #
well it’s not the kind of news that is worth discussing. i wonder why are you all here so excited?
F0RSAKEN on 07 May 2008 at 1:32 #
This is worth discussing. Are you just mad because some people have a heart?
Murder is murder whether it is an animal or not, and people who eat an animal are just as bad as one who kills them.
The diseases and cancers and all these things were caused by humans, people will say that is rubbish but if you think straight you should know that it would be impossible for a creature of any kind to get ill in an un-meddled world.
Including the destruction of the earth which animals had no part in.
As us humans we are “Superior” (destroyers of earth). i guess we have the power to live without harming any animal or living creature. as with the food it is only a taste on the tongue and with animal testing, they did not start the illnesses why should they suffer.
Matrix03 on 07 May 2008 at 12:42 #
If animals were born unequal, we have an unjust god
animals on 19 May 2008 at 12:42 #
Animals and humans ARE equal they are just not treated that way. what people have on their tables is not food it is courpses of animals and i find that rather sickening. What humans class as their food even dairy products, they are not meant for us it is for their children such as milk.
What annoys me is when some vegans say animals are on this earth to be looked after. Animals are not here to be looked after they should be free not domesticated like cows, dogs and cats and many more animals. They are not here for our pleasure. along time ago animals would have lived and handled them selves it is only because humans USE them for themselves that now because they have been domesticated they cannot live in the wild anymore so we do Have to look after them. Alot of people do not they abuse animals. I am annoyed to see people use animals for their pleasure and not give their pet any freedom.
people hate rats for what diseases they carry and how dirty they say they are. but its not the rats fault someone thought of a stupid idea such as sewers. its not rats who bring diseases it is humans. but animals continue to suffer for the humans mistakes.
Alot of people know what happens to the animals but CHOOSE not to think about it and continue to eat meat and wear “make up” from dead animals.
If jesus did have bread with milk? then he is not perfect because someone perfect would not want harm to even a fly.
have you ever thought that god did not write the bible and those people who did write it also had minds of their own so got carried away and put some of their own views in it.
Some of you say animals eat meat why shouldn’t we? We are humans? not animals and should not murder as we are so powerful.
Anonymous on 31 May 2008 at 20:32 #
Haha animals and humans the same?! I don’t think so.
Simple- God did not make animals and humans the same. That’s the plain-out truth.
Though this may sound totally egocentric, truthfully humans are on top of animals.
Animals were made for us to take care of and protect, so we should, but that doesn’t mean that they are the SAME as us!
Animals are not as smart or intelligent as us. They can’t speak different languages, use chopsticks, type on the computer, and so much more than we are able to do.
There was a story that a long time ago humans thought that if you left a monkey in front of a typewriter for however long, one day it can type a page worth of words! So many people paid to try that, and the monkey stayed in front of the typewriter for years, and the only thing it did was pee on it!
So therefore, animals are not the same. And they do not have the same rights.
I actually love animals a lot. They’re the cutest things in the world. I love my cats so much I don’t even want a child. All I want are animals to be with me. But I still know they’re not the same, and they can’t be treated the same.
Then some people say we should not eat animals. But think about it: animals eat animals. And we’re just another species of ‘animals’, so why can’t we eat other animals as well? After Adam and Eve sinned, humans began to eat animals and plants for survival. We can’t get rid of that now; it’s already natural for human beings. So there’s nothing wrong with eating animals.
Now killing animals is a different thing. Animal testing and hunting endangered species and cruel stuff like that should just be banned. We shouldn’t excessively kill animals; that’s my point.
But, ANIMALS AND HUMANS ARE NOT EQUAL.
F0RSAKEN on 05 Jun 2008 at 18:17 #
A monkey cannot type?
They are not on earth for us…..
just because people can type and spell… you think anything a human has done to this world is good.. name one thing?
and to your answer.. you only beleive that is good because you were brought up with it around you.
They have feelings just like us. Everything you say it twisted by the way you were brought up.
It is only pride to say i am better than this creature because it is small or not as strong as me.
Animals are not here to be looked after, they were domesticated by humans. That is so clear
Emily on 26 Jun 2008 at 2:07 #
Although I have read many of these questionable respsonses, but the last one makes me a little edgy. First of all, humans and animals do hae equal rights, however people are not naive to what they are volunteering themselves to, and therefor the dog, cat etc. has no ida what is going to happen. I agree that we should have some kind of subject for experimentation, i do not believe it should be an animal that cannot speak for itself. Animal testing is cruelty, 95% of animals in almost every lab in the united states either ends up with various infections, incapability to use limbs and/or white blood cells which eventually leads to death, system shut downs, blood clots, and tumors. many of these animals are often left in a cell on a towl or blanket and cold because of the sewn up wounds with no hair around to protect there skin. so what you are agreeing to is the fact that animals should not be hurt. yes? well guess what, animal testing not only hurts these animals,but basicallyy tortures the living crap out of them. So here is an alternitive, humans. yeah maybe not you or i, but people would be more than willing. And you know what? its on there conscience, no one makes them go, they’re 100% ok with going.
F0RSAKEN on 04 Jul 2008 at 11:54 #
This is a subject people either strongly agree or disagree about animals being equal. But there is no proof, so it is all about the way people were brought up. Don’t you remember there was a time where people thought black people were not equal be they looked different. Animals look even more different and people have trouble accepting them because of it.
It is wrong to judge no?
Anonymous on 14 Aug 2008 at 10:09 #
animals shouldn’t be treated equaly
Taryn on 09 Oct 2008 at 10:45 #
My whole life i was raised on using the resources God has set forth for us, including animals. I hunt, I fish, and it is a spiritual passage and a way for me to put the healthiest and leanest meat on the table. You who believe that animals should be equal to humans are “The Lunatic Fringe”. You avoid the reality that without the flesh and protien delivered therein, mankind alltogether would come to a screeching halt. Cetain B vitamins and nutrients found in meat alone are needed by the body to survive and be healthy. The consumption of meat has also brought all of you here alive to debate the issue. For you to go back in time and tell your ancestors to cease hunting would be the equivalent of saying that flies cause garbage or that cancer causes smoking. I will raise and slaughter my livestock, and i will hunt and manage my wildlife for its progression and my own. And everyday I thank God for giving me the opportunity to take game and replenish my body with this divine resource. In addition, tell me how you plan on passing your mental disease of liberalism and animal rights to Inuits in the northern polar caps, aborigines, and other nations that depend on meat for survival. Meat is what we were meant to consume along with vegetative material. You manage both wisely, and you give back to your environment so that the future of both is guaranteed. Anyway you’re probably all just a bunch of city-raised freaks that haven’t been there and seen how the rural live. If you want your Tofu and salad, you can have it. Just stop putting words in mine and others mouths that know the truth. Change your lives, don’t degrade mine with your nation-ending, propaganda-fed, and unintelligent statements of near insane lement.
deedee on 16 Jan 2009 at 0:23 #
I soooooooooooooooo don’t agree with that last comment. It’s probably just my opinion, but animals were not MEANT to be eaten by us. Animals aren’t a “resource”, like trees or water. They have thoughts and feelings, and although we don’t hear them or understand them, we should take them into consideration. If someone in the future finds some way of communicating with animals, and finds out that they honestly like being tortured, abused, and killed, then go ahead!!! But right now we have no way of knowing, so we shouldn’t harm them. For some, it doesn’t even qualify as a way of staying alive, just a way to make money, or pass the time. I have a friend (actually, it’s my dad’s friend) that got a goose-hunting lisence this year, and got 30lbs of goose meat. He tried it once (he had never had goose before) and then decided he didn’t like it!!!!!! How many geese had to die for that one unsatisfactory meal?
Obviously giving animals the same rights as humans would be totally unmanageable, but the right to life i think should be a given. Every animal, big or small, beautiful or ugly, smart or dumb, should be given the right to live, whatever the circumstances. i’m 12, and i’ve realised that much. No, animals and humans are not the same. We were built the same, though. A major factor in how badly animals are treated is how they look. just like somebody said before, people of Asian/African descent used to be considered retarded, or not even real people, because they looked different. You squish a spider under your shoe because it’s eight legs “creep you out”. Did you ever consider that that spider had a family, and friends? And then the big giant from Jack and the Beanstalk comes along, squishes people, and he’s a monster. Wouldn’t that make us monsters, too???
Anonymous on 22 Jan 2009 at 2:02 #
I think I could go to a preschool and find more rational talk. Give animals the same rights as humans? So, in an American context, you want to give animals the right of free speech, rights to bear arms, trial by jury of peers, etc. etc. You do realize what you’re saying right? You’re putting animals on the same pedestal as a human being. It’s a delusion and I can’t see the reasoning that is behind these thoughts. This is why they say that liberalism is truly a mental disease.
Zach on 22 Jan 2009 at 2:03 #
The above post is mine, I didn’t mean to enter that anonymously.
Waffles on 15 Feb 2009 at 10:43 #
I always have to chuckle when people say they think animals are equal to humans.
What is your house made of? A previous animal’s house.
What is your house built on? A previous animal’s territory.
I wouldn’t cut down someone else’s home without their consent if I thought they were equal. That’s not very ethical.
Also the “omg animals have thoughts and feelings just like us, they just can’t talk!11″ is nonsense. If they did have thoughts and feelings like us, we could be able to tell by their actions, even if they can’t talk, just like we can in humans who are unable to speak.
If people did the things that are normal for animals to do, we would consider them crazy or evil/bad. Yet, if animals are just like us, why do they do so many things we would call bad? Humans do bad things to, but we recognize we are bad. Animals don’t. For them, it is normal and they don’t care.
Imagine if you’re a male and you’re living with your parents. You finally become, say 18, and can technically live on your own. Imagine your parents kick you out of the house one day, threatening to kill you if you come back. In fact, if your father ever sees you around town, he will try to kill you. And your mom doesn’t care one bit.
Would you call these loving parents? I wouldn’t. But that’s how many animals are. The offspring are booted from the herd/pride when they’re old enough, and their own parents will kill them if they’re in their territory or don’t leave.
Imagine if a woman and husband with five young children. A new man wanders into their neighborhood and kills her previous husband. Then he immediately kills all of her children right in front of her while she just watches, then holds her down and has sex with her, and she continues to live with him just fine after that. Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it? That’s how lions are.
What if a family would regularly go out and hunt deer. They chase the deer to the point of exhaustion, then they all jump on it, tearing into its belly and eating it while its still alive and fully conscious. They don’t even care about killing it first. They show no gratitude or anything towards the deer after eating. In fact, they will often roll around on its dead corpose afterwards. They feel no sympathy. They even target pregnant deer, as they find the fetuses inside especially tasty. Wouldn’t you consider this family to be cruel? Yet that is how a wolf pack works.
If animals were equal to humans, virtually all would be jailed. But we do not judge animals, for they have no morals. They do not posses empathy or apathy.
They are amazing creatures, but they are not equal to humans. And I feel sorry for those who love their animals more than people. A real loving relationship isn’t possible with an animal. A relationship with someone who can actually understand you and your feelings and makes the choice to be your friend is much more rewarding than an animal that, due to its pack instinct and from being culled for hundreds of years, is going to pretty much like you no matter what, as long as you feed it.
Anonymous on 24 Apr 2009 at 22:36 #
Animals are NOT equal to humans you liberals. But this doesn’t imply that we should treat them improperly.
Anonymous on 24 Apr 2009 at 22:37 #
It’s the above anonymous, totally agree with Waffles. Congrats on your post…
the-difference7 on 06 May 2009 at 7:19 #
I ALSO HAVE TO AGREE WITH WAFFLES, what we need to do is stop arguing and come together to stop the real threats such as deforesting and pollution wich threaten humans, animals, plants and the ecosytem which we all share. we all have rights just at different levels. Are animals superior to plants? Plants are living creatures too. why should they die to give an animal a free meal? plants should have rights too? but if we all have EQUAL rights than humans cant eat animals and animals cant eat plants which means were all set for extinction. GET THE POINT?
Justin on 29 May 2009 at 2:42 #
I hope soon everyone will realize what we do every day is cruel if anyone we should have less rights than innocent animals.
Justin on 29 May 2009 at 2:43 #
And also waffles your opinions dont matter to anyone who would read this page so please be quiet sorry for spamming
Anonymous on 19 Jun 2009 at 10:28 #
twilight rocks!!!! and edwards fit!
Anonymous on 06 Aug 2009 at 18:33 #
Up yours animal-fucker, a.k.a. Justin.
Anonymous on 01 Oct 2009 at 19:26 #
yos on 08 Oct 2007 at 13:35 #
animal farm was about the origins of comunism how the hell can you simplify it to a book about animal rights my little sister in year six spotted it.
Anonymous on 16 Oct 2009 at 17:07 #
Fuck you Buddhist
Anonymous on 21 Nov 2009 at 22:34 #
“Also the “omg animals have thoughts and feelings just like us, they just can’t talk!11″ is nonsense. If they did have thoughts and feelings like us, we could be able to tell by their actions, even if they can’t talk, just like we can in humans who are unable to speak.”
many species do exhibit very ‘human’ behaviour. elephants are known to stop and caress the bones of dead elephants for many hours, eerily similar to human mourning.
“If people did the things that are normal for animals to do, we would consider them crazy or evil/bad. Yet, if animals are just like us, why do they do so many things we would call bad? Humans do bad things to, but we recognize we are bad. Animals don’t. For them, it is normal and they don’t care.”
2 points. one is a matter of intelligence, animals on the whole aren’t very intelligent or capable of hypothetical thought or complex reasoning, and being honest, morality is a hypothetical construct. however most small children would be unable to do this too, and must be taught by there parents what is good and what is bad, and they do not understand why until they are well past animal intelligence. secondly its about survival. sure, people are willing to uphold there principles when everything is easy, but in situations when your very life is at risk it has been observed that people will do terrible things, crushing small children to try and escape gas chambers, or killing and eating there crew members when stranded at sea.
“Imagine if you’re a male and you’re living with your parents. You finally become, say 18, and can technically live on your own. Imagine your parents kick you out of the house one day, threatening to kill you if you come back. In fact, if your father ever sees you around town, he will try to kill you. And your mom doesn’t care one bit.”
its a species difference. most primates have similar relationships with their offspring as we do but a snake abandons them at birth. thats not due to a lack of empathy, the mother snake just evolved that way. besides most people (except texans) would believe that even the most sociopathic serial killer deserved the right to life, even if not freedom. moral actions cant be taken as a decision maker for whether a creature has human rights.
i’m not vegetarian and in certain circumstances i’m not even against animal testing because as omnivores it is natural and healthy to eat meat and it is also natural selection to put the lives and welfare of your own ‘herd’ before that of others. i just find it arrogant to think that because our brains have developed to a certain size to enable complex philosophical thought that we are somehow better than those who don’t. on your final point i own a pair of cats, and i don’t personally take any responsibility for feeding them; by all rights they should ignore me, but they don’t, and i think you can develop a relationship with an animal just as you can with a young toddler or older baby.
anonymous on 13 Jan 2010 at 16:15 #
I feel humans are putting themselves first to the extent where both other animals wild life and even the planet are now at risk. Many of us no we should think about our selfish life styles, but easier said than done. I would suggest that allowing animals to be born or brought into degrading and cruel environments where they cannot enjoy simple pleasures such as socialization preferably with their own kind, appropriate food and the ability to groom or take care of themselves and each other, but simply are crammed into a small space where they live no life then die when we deem its time, sometimes smelling death in the air for lengths of time prior to their own death or witnessing those before them die first, is the real issue. We are meat eaters yes. But chances are when a wild animal kills its prey it takes a creature who has at least started his life with some sense of freedom and hope. Personally i refuse to see other species of animal as less than us. Although at least they are not destroying everything in their wake like us.
Mikey on 02 Mar 2010 at 21:35 #
reading through these comments I have noticed that a lot of you don’t belive that animals are equal to humans. We are currently at the top of the food chain because of our smarts. We have created weapons that can take down something 10 times the size of it. And yet we are considered an animal ourselves, mammals to be exact. I belive that animal testing is cruel. What did they ever do to you to deserve this kind of treatment?