Is keeping pets Cruel ?

oh blue its sunday morning, gies peace.

pets are nice, they make people feel good, they give kids the opportunity to care for something other than their own selfish reasons. every one should have a gerbil before they get married so they get used to looking after a rat like creature. lol

Originally Posted by kitkat

oh blue its sunday morning, gies peace.

pets are nice, they make people feel good, they give kids the opportunity to care for something other than their own selfish reasons. every one should have a gerbil before they get married so they get used to looking after a rat like creature. lol

Pets are nice and bring happiness to many and can teach responsibility. Its safe to say most pets (especially cats and dogs) live a pretty pampered life, and for all intents and purposes live what seems to be a happy life. (unfortunately some are abused but then so are some humans ... but that is a whole different debate )

But none that makes any odds from the fundamental morality of it all point of view!

Just trying to get people to think about this sort of stuff .. the argument it has been done for years and years carries no weight ... human slavery was widely accepted for years and years





I just tend to have these random philosophical thoughts questing what 'we' do from time to time .. I'd just like to think by voicing some of my thoughts like this from time to time it/they can be thought provoking for others too

[northwind]

Originally Posted by kitkat

oh blue its sunday morning, gies peace.

It's sunday afternoon, slacker

I'm going to do something really Blue-like here and throw in a total curveball... Is having kids cruel? Most people do it for the wrong reasons, as far as I can tell, and for selfish reasons or stupid reasons- because they're worried about leaving it too late, or because they're worried that their other half wants it and will leave them, or because they're drifting apart and for some insane reason they think kids will bring them back together, or because they just feel like it. How many people do it out of the interests of the unborn child? I'm not sure anyone does, though I'm no expert. So by Blue's logic, having kids is fundamentally cruel and unethical.

Of course it's not, but you can create an argument that it is.

Lol, dropped the ball. Blue, I meant the child thing as a counter-argument, one that proves or disproves your argument by using the same premisses just in a different context.

Northwind, I think you were getting what I was saying there. And many people get pets for the same reason they have children. And you're right about the argument as well, some might consider it a bit of a 'slippery slope' fallacy of logic but it's not too far of a jump.

I spend far too much of my time talking about this sort of thing in class, it's normally about something ridiculously boring so it's nice to take a time out! Ethics is pretty interesting, because everybody tends to have a different opinion on it. I haven't studied it in a while so have forgotten all the terminology, but I think basically it's all relative and that there are no or very few fixed points of morality, it mostly depends on popular opinion; obviously in this day and age there are some things that have always been morally wrong, but we have no place for comparison.

Sorry, that was a bit of a ramble. About keeping pets, I think it depends on a few things. First off, there is the way the animal is treated.

1 - The intention of the owner in purchasing the pet.
2 - The way the owner takes care of the pet.
3 - The general living conditions of the pet, is it well exercised, etc.

If none of those conditions are met, I would say that it is unethical practice to own a pet.

There are also other things to consider- is it ethical to ever hand over money in exchange for a life; sure, the dude in the pet shop wants you to take care of that cute little doggy, but if you don't, it's not going to bust his back- he happily sells animals with that risk.

It's interesting. I do feel that the guilt trip adverts for RSPCA etc are ethically flawed though.

When you start shouting, I stop listening!

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Is it not highly morally questionable to keep another sentient being for our own use/pleasure?

I think it is!!!

So are you a vegetarian then blue, because surely keeping, breeding and feeding an animal just to then eat it is worse than keeping a Pet for personal pleasure isnt it ?

I dont think keeping pets is cruel as long as they are well looked after, kept in a proper environment etc etc.

I think though by far the worst pet trade of all is fish keeping, some species of tropical fish are injected with coloured dye to change their colour and Neo Tetra's are so in bred that their breed is full of weak genes and most die. Alot of fish stores dont know what fish go with what.. and give out rubbish advice when you go to purchase.

I've lost count of the times on the tropical fish forums I've read horrible stories, about fish dieing and diesease and species of fish being kept together in a tank where one is the others natural prey, but its OK they are only fish so it doesnt matter...

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

...

I am a omnivore, so yes, I am not proud of it (and nor should anyone else be ), but I eat other sentient beings!! A bit like the human kid argument, eating animals is a bit less clear cut than the animal as a pet argument I have thoughts on that too mind ... and sure enough, as we are omnivores, we don't NEED to eat meat, so is it immoral to do so? .. but again, that is another argument again (we can cover at another time if you like).

Oh and don't get distracted by how animals are kept/treated/bread ... lots of injustices can be quoted and conversely lots of tails of joy, I shouldn't have used the word cruel, just the word unethical.

Originally Posted by Tiger 55

When you start shouting, I stop listening!

Its emphasising the important bits so people don't have to read all the waffle too ... e-SHOUTING IS DONE IN CAPITALS if you don't like my writing style or thoughts, then move along ... nothing to see here!!

Originally Posted by chakraist

...

Originally Posted by northwind

.

The kids thing is a whole other argument and one that I was going to bring up at a future date, I have many thoughts on it and you have touched on a few there (funny, perhaps reassuring how you have come to a similar conclusion on the points you highlighted ).

[mattSV]

Originally Posted by simesb

Obviously you haven't got cats. Apparently I work for their benefit...

Dogs have owners.

Cats have staff

what about wabbits, mice, hamsters and such like being kept in a little cage........... that cant be much fun

Originally Posted by hovis

what about wabbits, mice, hamsters and such like being kept in a little cage........... that cant be much fun

That is not really putting thought into the burning question ...

Is it ethical to 'own' another sentient being for your recreation or to have it work for you?

It is very akin to slavery, which is now seen as totally unethical in humans regardless of how 'well' the slaves would be kept ...