Ehtics & Animals (508 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.25 on 4 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Scrumdown (View user info) at 2004-11-10 11:12:25 EST
Last night when I got home from work I could not go to sleep. As I sat on my sofa flipping through the late night banter on cable I came across a show on the Animal Channel. I don't watch too much television, but this show really drew me in. It was a "Cops" of sorts, but withcrimes involving people mistreating animals. Now, as I admit, I enjoy a funny story about the misfortune of critters just as much as the next guy, as in my post http://www.ubersite.com/m/49844.
This is not about the humorous mishaps of our relations with critters, at least those hippies were trying to do good.
As I sat watching this program, the investigators happened upon an illegal cockfight, a dead horse left for naught, countless abadoned animals on a small farm, a dog who had been shot, and many other tragic circumstances wrought upon defensless animals by cruel or at best, apethetic humans.
I was outraged by my fellow mans inability to honor an acient and I believe sacred covenant with God, and with animals. In Genisis, we are told that God himself gave us dominion over all the animals, and that we are to use them and respect them. That means it is right to take flesh from a cow and make hamburgers, steaks, and kefta. These things are right and good, and they taste really good. Pigs are great for bacon, and I love lamb shank with an unhealthy passion. But these animals should never be mistreated because we owe them more that that.
From the first day that man and wolf decided to share a meal, we have accepted a resposibility to domesticated animals. We took them out of the wild, stripped them of their abiltiy to fend for themselves, and said that if they did for us, we would do for them. And that is what I assert most people no loger grasp. We as a race owe it to all the animals on this planet, domesticated or wild, a little bit of dignity. That may not be the right phrase, but I will use it today.
If you have a dog at home, you must be able to feed, bath, treat injuries, and show some affection for that dog. You said you wanted him, and that is now your duty, owed to that dog. You owe it to him because he can not do it on his own, and had you not taken him in, someone else would have. They would surely treat him properly, so you should too.
The same goes with owning livestock, of fish in your aquarium, or when camping in the woods. That bear is not your enemey. He is a bear, he can't be your enemey. He has no personal feelings towards you one way or the other. To him you ar probably either food or a threat. So leave him be and he will stay away from you. Simple. You are in his world, so respect it.
And cockfighting, what fools in Lousiana and New Mexico think that this is still ok?? These two states still allow this abhorrent "sport" today. This is no sport, it is paramount to murder of an animal. I understand that it is part of a culture reaching back in history many, many generations, but does that make it ok for the Italian courts to throw convicted felons to the lions, no. They did this for sport, in part, and they were wrong. Cockfighting breakes the committment we owe to animals by intenionally putting them in harms way for our amusement. That is not why God gave us rule over them. To nourish our bodys, not to amuse our basest whims.
This all boils down to us honoring what God gave us by treating animals with respect, we owe it to them. Yes bacon tastes good, pork chops taste good, that is not the point. I agree animals are to be eaten. Yet when we are not eating them, lets try to give them what we said we would when we began breeding them to suit our needs, human protection.
Spellcheck is for prarie dogs.
User Reviews
Submitted by tinactin (user info) at 2004-11-10 12:47:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Cockfighting is legal in New Mexico? I have to rethink my plans about taking my next vacation.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2004-11-10 12:38:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
well said.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2004-11-10 11:43:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know because I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eat nothing that ain't got enough sense enough to disregard its own feces.
Submitted by The_taste_of_Monkeys (user info) at 2004-11-10 11:14:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I agree except for the bits aboot God for he existeth not.