Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
Monday, September 19, 2011
T, 5:40pm
25 comments:
Victor Pedrosa
said...
The common person finds it extremely sad to watch an animal suffer. I can recall many friends saying that they would rather see a human suffer than an animal. Perhaps these animal lovers did not mean what they said, or maybe they truly believe that. These animals never have a say in their future and they cannot escape or avoid their suffering. They can easily be seen as innocent beings that are victims of cruelty. Animals are needed for our diet, and a quick and painless death (if there is such a thing) would definitely be more appreciated. As far as animals being used as test subjects, which is another necessity, if the overall experiment is for the benefit of the human race or other animals, I agree to it. A vain sacrifice is just unacceptable.
I feel, what we all know and what we all can feel. Animals are not naturally meant to be caged and tortured. For most of the human experience on earth animals were wild and humans had to be competitively skilled in order to take the lives of animals and use their energy for food. I feel that it is natural to eat animals for food just as animals eat animals for food. One would argue that it is natural that they are caged now and that we all live our lives through the use of technology because all these things are occurring so they must be natural. I don't have a good response to this argument, I just know how I feel about it. I don't feel that it is right to treat animals badly and I don't feel that it is natural. I believe that all life on earth is connected and that is why I have these feelings even if I don't know how to explain them. Eating meat riddled with antibiotics and pesticides or seafood full of mercury and toxins probably isn't better then not eating meat at all. All the big problems of our time come back to the same end, too many people to feed with a lack of positive collective communication, because we are still so animalistic our selves our consciousness is not "there" yet.
“We treat animals as means to an end” is a fact which makes me sick. What does it mean to be civilized with egoism at the core of our reasoning? It seems we progress into barbarism where everything else exists to fulfill our own selfishness. Even Kant’s justification against animal cruelty shows them as nothing more than instruments. Rousseau was right. Sentient beings are intrinsically valuable outside of any capacity for their instrumental value. However, that form of reasoning is contrary to current Darwinian trends. Exploitation is the norm. The gap between rich and poor is exponential. Humans have little empathy for each other. I don’t expect that general attitude towards animals is likely to change.
My take on the issue is that I am both in agreements and disagreement on animals having rights. I agree for the domestic animals having rights and disagree for the wild untamed animals. Domestic animals are fully trained by their owners what is right and wrong in life just as they would teach children. But as well not including pet like “pit bulls” since they are so unpredictable and can turn on their master at any giving time. As for wild animals their only thought is “kill or be killed” no matter the circumstance, reason why they automatically lose their rights. I will not lie and say I am not a meat lover because I am; as well as I don’t find eating animals in the same measure as the circle of life. We eat animals to survive another day, something completely different from beating or testing things on animals who don’t have a say or choice.
Animals are living, breathing creatures who feel just like humans do, and just because they cannot express themselves in words does not mean this is not true. Cruelty to animals is a sad truth of today’s world, and reflects poorly on us - it is said that a society is judged not on how they treat their equals but how they treat those weaker then themselves. While animals may not have any specific rights, that does not mean they should be abused in any situation, from horrible farming practices to torturing a pet, yet this happens every minute of every day all over the world. As far as meat consumption, there is a better way to obtain meat then factory farming, which is more beneficial to both humans and animals. Having animals tortured their entire life prior to slaughter just to save a few dollars at the market is ridiculous. Not to mention the health problems that go along with these farming practices. But these practices will not change until people make the conscious decision to only buy organic meat from sustainable farms, sending a message to the farmers and society in general that this is what the masses want.
It is indeed a tough issue. It’s horrible to see how people brutally torture and kill indefensible animals like cats and dogs, and not because they don’t say that it’s hurting and beg to stop, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve rights. Actually all animals should deserve rights, but human kind since pre-history has been killing animals for the survival of its own species. But nowadays they have that concept completely misunderstood. They use them for experiments and they abuse just because they don’t have a word coming out their mouths. Since we were child, we were taught that some animals, like cats, dogs, birds were domestic pets and we should take care of them. Now cows, chickens, pork, fish are part of our food supplements, part of a food chain. All animals have a place on earth for different reason. I don’t’ think we should be vegetarian to fight for animal’s right, but we cannot abuse and harm them just for pleasure.
We are treating two complex issues here, animal rights and meat contributing to global warming, the second can certainly be used an argument in the first one. I want to start by saying that I’m in favor of animal rights, but those rights must be established carefully and systematically since “Animals” includes all animals not only dogs and cats but also every insect and lizard (just to mention a few), clearly we have arguments to treat animals violently if they represent a threat our health (like some insects) but have few to justify killing animals in danger of extinction (or to get ivory or other luxury from them) who for me have all the rights to be protected, and here I want to say with all due respect that I disagree with Alexandra. Is true, a wild animal can be scary but the human being is the scariest animal of them all, is the only one capable of ruining the whole world in an instant. Since we are the only one with free will and intelligence, we carry a great responsibility to establish a system to protect all animals and all life in the planet; this is our duty as the dominating specie in the world. I eat meat, but I understand the arguments stated here and I’m willing to limit my consume of meat, we all should since in the end it’s even a healthy practice. The problem behind cruelty in the meat market comes once again from money, corporations want to increase profit and reduce expenses, and they don’t care about making animals suffer to achieve it. That’s where the government must enter and put an end to those practices. Finally in India their respect from animals is related to their culture and religion and just as it is hard for them to hurt animals is hard to change minds here in USA to be more aware of animal suffering and meat consumption consequences in short and long term.
The first thing to say is that, in fact, animals are not the same as any inanimate object like a glass or a pitcher. Animals exist an their existence is not only evident but, as has been understood by philosopher and scientific they have emotions and are likely to become irritated, bullying, respectful or violate territories. Does this make them subjects of law? absolutely not. I am against the cruelty with animals, no contradiction with myself about this very specific point. No one can argue that what happens to many animals is highly regrettable but we must enter the justification and cost-effective field. As Epstein says, "... if the smallpox vaccine comes from cows, and insulin to treat diabetes, comes from pigs, then I feel obliged to defend any law allowing the use of animals for medical experimentation". Epstein point of view is mine also. A daughter of a very close friend suffer from a uncommon skin disease which is being under study with animals for many years. She loves animals, but she want the cure for her's daughter disease as well.
I think that a scheme of private property by humans may be particularly effective in the pursuit for the protection of endangered animals. In fact, "because humans use and value the animals, owners spend money on their protection. Veterinary medicine may not be at the level of human medicine, but is only a little bit behind. When it comes to medical care is better to be a sick cat in a middle-class home in the United States than a sick farm laborer in a third world country. The private ownership of many pets allowed them the access to food and shelter (and sometimes clothes) which causes long lives, quiet and comfortable to them. Even death can occur in more humane conditions in some cases. I think we should look for a system of private ownership of animals that align the interests of owners with the interests related to the preservation of animal life.
Animals do have protective rights; however, that varies depending on the region or country & what those rights consist off. But even yet, it all falls on our responsibility to end it as individuals. Overall, there is one consistent reason to why animal cruelty hasn’t ended & that’s the business aspect of it all. For example, the profit in horse meat is one of the most beneficiaries for the seller being that it is extremely rare to obtain such meat due to the laws against this action. Even with a protective law for the animal, there is still cruelty done. Some people feel that because an animal cannot defend themselves verbally, that it gives us the living-right to use these creatures as puppets, lab rats & items that we own. In the example of the black market for horse meat, the animal is known to bet cut on the neck, immobilizing the animal causing for the animal to fall to the ground. In the meantime, the animal is being cut open & stripped for their body assets, throughout this entire process the animal is feeling everything and all these reactions are being reflected with the traumatic body shock including tongue biting. The idea of having a perfect world is phenomenal. But when you have companies that feed into the idea more, its very difficult to compete with a multi-million corporation that is providing jobs to thousands of people. So you see it’s a cycle that has been going on for such a long time. Yes, it important to attempt to prevent terrible things from happening but it will eventually become a chain reaction. The profits behind these meat corporations that feed off the animal cruelty world are well guarded with lawyers. It’s terrible that our world feeds off the luxuries from animals, such as bears, chinchillas, foxes, etc, as fur coats. But not once do we think off those animals families? Someone in the world there is that one cub alone in the world subjected to the same future like his/her parent. There definitely need to be some boundaries with the animal abuse control. I do not agree with the idea of ending all matters that consist with animals becuase then we will be affecting our health developments. Like I said it's a chain reaction. There is so much more than the simple idea of ending animal cruelty.
I believe that animals do have rights to a certain extent. People can be put in jail for cruelty to animals. There are also organizations that put things together to protect animals. What type of rights are we looking to give to an animal. I do believe that the production companies of the food chain can better there facilities. But to go as far as to say animals deserve rights I dont think so. If that is the case insects, and tress should have rights as well. I have never read ithe Holy Bible where animals was on the same levels as humans. I love animals but to give an animal rights is a little bit out there. Do I think it is right for a animal to suffer? No!
This topic of animals rights, it’s a subject that angers my inner soul to its limits. I have cero tolerance for animal cruelty, and have in the past reported many abusers to the proper authorities in order to defend un protected animals I also volunteer my time and I am partake of various associations that protect the animals. While it may true that animals do not have any rights, it does seem clearly however that animals have feelings. This is clearly visible when an animal is suffering of hunger, thirst, physical pain or even lack of affection. Aside from showing feelings, many of the animals in the world seem to demonstrate a power of intelligence as well. Take for instances, dogs when responding to a command, or when practicing learned tricks, they also show understanding specially when responding to their given name, how about cats, being able to know when and how to use the liter box, or responding to their given names too. I am a strong believer of the protection of animals rights. Like me, there are many others that feel the same way and through these community members across the glove many animals are being saved and protected from abuse and cruelty. Many of the animal abusers I think are people that obviously have no respect for human life as well, because to take pride in abusing of an innocent animal that can’t defend itself, shows that this individuals suffer from lock of feelings and emotions and may even demonstrate that mentally they are no stabled.
I find it hard to believe this is an argument. To me, it is quite obvious that we should treat any being, sentient or not, with dignity and respect (within reason). I'm not saying you should swerve and crash your car if you see a lizard run across the road, but I am saying if it's possible to reduce the mental and physical suffering of animals caused by humans or the processes humans use to create food, clothing, or medicine, we should. I find Carl Cohen’s argument against animal rights laughable, this may be due to my time in the military and the two years I spent in Iraq, seeing and experiencing horrendous acts perpetrated by humans, against humans. I say this, because he seems to think humans are capable of self-restricting moral judgments, but if you look across the planet, in many places this simply is not the case (Uganda comes to mind). I think for the most part, uncivilized animals act more humane, then so called civilized humans. In just about any case, if it's possible to reduce the suffering of animals, it should be taken (again, within reason).
Should animals have rights? Such a delicate issue i believe they should. Unfortunately in todays age so many animals are mistreated and abused for selfish reasons not to mention for religious reasons. I wish we could go way back to the old days when you killed an animal to survive, but with so many people on this earth it's just not realistic. We humans do eat animals just like animals eat animals it's part of life it's the inhumane and cruel ways we go about it that needs to change!Michael Guelbenzu
My understanding of this post is regarding Animal Cruelty not necessarily Animal Rights. It is the cycle of life that we are in a dog eat dog world. We feed off animals, gain nutrition from the proteins that their meat provides. Killing an animal for food consumption is very different from cruelty and the sacrificing of animals just for the sake of it. There should be a quick and clean way to take their lives from them. The killing should be done with dignity. I admit that when I see reports of the mistreatment of cows for example, it breaks my heart, and I steer away from meat for some time, because it is painful to watch any living being killed. The reality is humans and wild animals cannot share the same habitat, they eat us or we eat them. Domestic animals are protected by laws for animal rights as so are wild animals. Although the killing of many animals is allowed to feed the people, there are regulations that should be followed but unfortunately there is always that person, group or company who wants quick and easy money and will conduct the killings in a cruel and unsanitary manner. This is not one of those topics that is a clear yay or nay, we are against the killings, but can enjoy a good steak, at most times staying ignorant to how the killings are conducted can help you keep at peace for enjoying such pleasures of a good meat or fish on your dinner table.
I think animals should have rights. The issue isn't about eating them or not because I'm not a vegan but I feel like we, as humans, have some what lost our compassion for animals. We buy our meats and poultry in the grocery store without knowing where it came from or who killed it making us lose sympathy for the animal. Animals clearly can feel pain yet dozen of factories use methods like beating and tourturing animals to kill them for their meat. If the roll was reversed, if it was humans being slaughtered, then I'm sure it would cause outrage. We devalue the animals life because they are lower on the food chain. The sad part is that this is happening daily to animals and we just go on living our life without thinking of the issue twice. It is absurd to think that the issue is going to dissapear over night but the technique these fatories use should be revised to a quicker and painless death.
Animal cruelty is not only concerned with the way they die but most important the way they live, is not only a matter of our diet but also our way of living (animals used for fashion and drug tests). it is a normal proses to eat animals because we are animals, as the tiger has an advantage over the zebra when it is hunting, we have produce our advantage the technology using our superior reasoning, but a tiger never hunts what he won’t eat. We are in a cycle of producing all the food we can, because if you produce more is cheaper, is not natural to produce the way we do it and is not natural to make another being suffer if you are not going to use it or defend from it. In reference of wild animals I know for my extense experience deep in the wild nature, they don’t only act on kill or be killed, in most cases animals don’t kill if they don’t need to, mostly they attack if they need to feed or to defend, but is a better solution to escape or hide, and we don’t act in this way, we have create a process where the one who produces the food is so far from the one consuming it that the process losses quality and humanity. We must know where our food comes from and in this society is not always easy, we can’t all go and kill our meat every time but we must stay in touch of the proses to follow the food to the source, in that measure we all became more conscience and involve. this is not always easy but we must try and support does who do, in initiatives like chipotles restaurant (http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx). This shows that is not that we can’t eat meat but we must treat it with respect, in the way it is raised, feed and killed.
The concept of animals having rights makes perfect sense to me when an animal is viewed in its own habitat, unaffected by human beings and the world of technology and industry. For example, look at a lion in the plains of Africa. The Lion has more freedom than any human being living in the most democratic society that exists. He or she has the right to kill their own prey, roam whatever land they wish, form whatever clans they wish, drink from whatever watering hole they wish, and eat whatever type of food they wish. They need not ask permission before doing anything. We as humans in the UNited States, give animals the rights which our convenient to us. If we love our little toy poodle because we find her to be cute, not smelly, and rather quiet, we find it appropriate to have her groomed every week and buy her a custom prada dog sweater online. However if when pulling weeds out of our flower garden, a harmless rat snake slithers by, we yell to our husband to come kill it with a machette. As for the animals which play a role in our economy as major food sources such as cows and chickens, they have no rights. They are treated more like plants than animals, exept they don't grow back when we chop them down. Animals have whatever rights their caretakers give them. If their caretakers are those about to slaughter them, then the chances that they are given rights are slim.
I believe that animals should have the respect to be killed in a non-suffering way, such as being put to sleep or killed immediately. Suffering is an abusive act. When you are killing an animal you are killing a life form. An animal incorporates many or all feelings we as humans have. It is unfair, inhumane, and ignorant to think that they contain no feeling or deserve no respect. The act of hunting your own food, I feel would let people who indulge in meat, chicken and fish products to be more appreciative and aware of the pain the animals goes through. The act of having consumers be more conscious of the processes would allow for a more united transition into the treating of animals in the killing process. Further more this would probably proceed into more organic ways of injections or feeding to the animals. Lastly, to make this topic more responsive to the public, it needs to be presented in more than a video or an article, it needs to be interactive and visually friendly in presentation to gather a larger audience. Luciana Manrique
I believe that by virtue of animals being creatures of God whether domestic or wild and untamed animals a humanitarian approach to how we treat them should always be considered. Wild animals such as the Lions, Tigers, Elephants and Buffaloes amongst others should not be used for human luxuries such as fur clothes and jewelry. Laws should be enforced for those who sacrifice animals in the name of their cult religion. Domestic animals such as those that we call pets depend on us humans to feed them, to walk them to do their biological necessities, to provide medical care for them, in essence they give so much to us in terms of companionship and loyalty they are like children at birth without defense. If we, as humans do not create safe and appropriate environment for our animals and pets we are in virtue failing to act as civilized societies. Some animals such as poultries, fishes and cattle which we depend on for nutrition should also have adequate and humanitarian treatment during their life span before they are slaughtered for consumer markets and governments should also have strict guidelines and compliance enforcement as to the most humane and painless slaughter of these animals as well. Many theories concur that animals were habitants on earth before humans, so if the theory of evolution is accurate than it is a human's obligation to create rights and treat our animal population as we treat ourselves. Elizabeth Freda
“The notion that human life is sacred just because it is human life is medieval.” ― Peter Singer. I strongly believe that no living creature should suffer. Although I am not a vegetarian and I do enjoy being a carnivore, it is imprinted deep within my thoughts the implications at hand every time I take a bite of a meat product. I choose to buy mostly organic products knowing that the animals at a more organically raised farm are not only the more healthier option, but the animals themselves are treated with more care and dignity. In that respect, I am completely against factory farming or any other kind of unnecessary or cruel conditions for animals. Every living creature deserves the right to not have unnecessary torture inflicted upon them. It is our responsibilities as human beings to treat every living creature with respect, even if it is our intention kill the animal and consume it; the animal should be euthanized in a more appropriate manner.
"It was about ushering in a new era in computing where machines will increasingly be able to learn and understand what humans are really asking them for" I believe this statement is incorrect and very misleading as it assumes a machine can one day make a choice from free will. Robots can only follow programing which to the naked eye can seem as understanding and even actual intelligence, however the machine is only following a pattern of responding to an action. Like when you press the on button and the response is life or a click on explorer and you get access to the internet. Assosiative memory is what makes us humans so unique as a species with a brain that some believe holds about 10 to 15 BILLION neurons, while the worlds most advance robot only has about 100,000 data points (equal to human neurons) Humans also tend to not be too critical when it comes to associations by the simple use of comparison and familiarity. We humans can deviate from "programming" and wonder if something is strange or seems different while still being the same. Watson makes mistakes when it comes to similar yet different answers as illustrated by the three choices it shows on the screen with a percentage of the most likely correct answer. If I take a bannana and cut it in half, you a human can still clearly see that it is a bannana (not critical) On the other hand a machine will not recongnize that the bannana has been cut unless it also has in it's programming a cut up bannana known as a bannana. Sure, someday a machine may be able to hold all the world's knowledge in some super advanced mega chip or something but if you truely believe that day will come. Then, human innovation would first need to stop all together in order to have all of something, you first need it to be complete. No machine can ever surpass it's programming, although now that I think about it - what if a computer could create it's own programming like the way "Rep-Rap" can make 3D parts needed to clone and recreate itself? - An idea better left for the future when you and me are long gone and our grand-children will have to deal with "terminators" or maybe even the more social "I Robots".
When I see an animal being tortured or mistreated or even held against their will I am very agravated. If I see a person who is inflicting pain on an animal infront of me, without a doubt I will inflict the same amout of pain into that person so that he can clearly see how it feels. I have a love for animals that is so adamant and I do not like to think of animals as food. I do however eat meat and understand that some people have a great desire to eat them . I will however say that I will not support any company that mistreats their livestock. A few years ago there were videos of cows being pushed by a fork-lifts and beaten by people. This is simply cruel and inhumane and is something that should not be tolerated here in America. Sadly the US cares more about quantity than quality and when there are so many cows to be killed and cut up every day it seems as though the process gets impaired. Furthermore if you look at the way they keep those animals it is just down-right atrocious. Just like humans animals have muscles and they created these muscles in order to move around. When you confine an animal it is a very sad thing because that animal is no longer free and is being held similar to a prisoner. If I eat an animal I really hope that animal lived a happy life; I would not beable to eat an animal that I knew had a horrible life. I do not even agree with the way animals are kept in zoos. There is a zoo in Libya and all of the animals there are starving and dehydrated because of the political issues going on there and the lack of fresh water. Animals come in all different shapes of all different sizes and they all require different things. We as humans cannot understand their needs because we are not them and we never will be. The least we could do is give them some space to walk, but all these companies want is to capitalize on every inch of land they have and maximize the utilization of the land. I think we should have to kill an animal if we want to eat it; If you can not do it, then you will not eat it. This would take away all those disgusting meat factories and show people what goes into preparing an animal for consumption. Animals do have a nervous system and they are very capable of feeling pain, joy, anger, and excitement. Testing should not be done on animals because we have no idea how it may affect them. Certain tests may take away from the value of an animal's life. We are not god and therefore we should not be able to constrain any form of life. If scientist want a subject to run tests on they sould take inmates from prison who have been found guilty of crimes such as rape and murder; not innocent, beautiful animals.
The word "animal" comes from the Latin word animalis, meaning "having breath".[1] In everyday colloquial usage, the word usually refers to non-human animals.[2] Sometimes, only closer relatives of humans such as mammals and other vertebrates are meant in colloquial use.[3] The biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects and humans (Wikipedia). Based on the previous paragraph, aren’t both “animals” and “rational animals” (us human beings), pertaining in numerous ways ? If your answer is yes, you would agree with me that we humans are misinterpreting this fact, by mistreating animals in a way that is unconscionable and horrific.
Animals are like humans.. Do they deserve rights? I dont know who's going to respond for them?... but they do definitely deserve a little more respect. Animals should not suffer and should only be killed to eat. Using them as test subjects is cruel.. God gave us each a lifespan and he put on this earth viruses and diseases that were intended to control population and get rid of the weak.. It's called nature. In other words animals should be considered a little more important and with more dignity. They should not tortured. And instead of using them as test subjects and injecting hormones we should invest in finding alternative food sources. Animals feel the same pain we feel in a different way.. Put yourself in their shoes.. Would you want to be respected? Or do you like being pushed around and in pain till you die? Think about it
25 comments:
The common person finds it extremely sad to watch an animal suffer. I can recall many friends saying that they would rather see a human suffer than an animal. Perhaps these animal lovers did not mean what they said, or maybe they truly believe that.
These animals never have a say in their future and they cannot escape or avoid their suffering. They can easily be seen as innocent beings that are victims of cruelty.
Animals are needed for our diet, and a quick and painless death (if there is such a thing) would definitely be more appreciated.
As far as animals being used as test subjects, which is another necessity, if the overall experiment is for the benefit of the human race or other animals, I agree to it. A vain sacrifice is just unacceptable.
I feel, what we all know and what we all can feel. Animals are not naturally meant to be caged and tortured. For most of the human experience on earth animals were wild and humans had to be competitively skilled in order to take the lives of animals and use their energy for food. I feel that it is natural to eat animals for food just as animals eat animals for food. One would argue that it is natural that they are caged now and that we all live our lives through the use of technology because all these things are occurring so they must be natural. I don't have a good response to this argument, I just know how I feel about it. I don't feel that it is right to treat animals badly and I don't feel that it is natural. I believe that all life on earth is connected and that is why I have these feelings even if I don't know how to explain them. Eating meat riddled with antibiotics and pesticides or seafood full of mercury and toxins probably isn't better then not eating meat at all. All the big problems of our time come back to the same end, too many people to feed with a lack of positive collective communication, because we are still so animalistic our selves our consciousness is not "there" yet.
September 23, 2011 12:50 PM
“We treat animals as means to an end” is a fact which makes me sick. What does it mean to be civilized with egoism at the core of our reasoning? It seems we progress into barbarism where everything else exists to fulfill our own selfishness. Even Kant’s justification against animal cruelty shows them as nothing more than instruments. Rousseau was right. Sentient beings are intrinsically valuable outside of any capacity for their instrumental value.
However, that form of reasoning is contrary to current Darwinian trends. Exploitation is the norm. The gap between rich and poor is exponential. Humans have little empathy for each other. I don’t expect that general attitude towards animals is likely to change.
My take on the issue is that I am both in agreements and disagreement on animals having rights. I agree for the domestic animals having rights and disagree for the wild untamed animals. Domestic animals are fully trained by their owners what is right and wrong in life just as they would teach children. But as well not including pet like “pit bulls” since they are so unpredictable and can turn on their master at any giving time. As for wild animals their only thought is “kill or be killed” no matter the circumstance, reason why they automatically lose their rights. I will not lie and say I am not a meat lover because I am; as well as I don’t find eating animals in the same measure as the circle of life. We eat animals to survive another day, something completely different from beating or testing things on animals who don’t have a say or choice.
Alexandra Acevedo
Animals are living, breathing creatures who feel just like humans do, and just because they cannot express themselves in words does not mean this is not true. Cruelty to animals is a sad truth of today’s world, and reflects poorly on us - it is said that a society is judged not on how they treat their equals but how they treat those weaker then themselves. While animals may not have any specific rights, that does not mean they should be abused in any situation, from horrible farming practices to torturing a pet, yet this happens every minute of every day all over the world. As far as meat consumption, there is a better way to obtain meat then factory farming, which is more beneficial to both humans and animals. Having animals tortured their entire life prior to slaughter just to save a few dollars at the market is ridiculous. Not to mention the health problems that go along with these farming practices. But these practices will not change until people make the conscious decision to only buy organic meat from sustainable farms, sending a message to the farmers and society in general that this is what the masses want.
It is indeed a tough issue. It’s horrible to see how people brutally torture and kill indefensible animals like cats and dogs, and not because they don’t say that it’s hurting and beg to stop, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve rights. Actually all animals should deserve rights, but human kind since pre-history has been killing animals for the survival of its own species. But nowadays they have that concept completely misunderstood. They use them for experiments and they abuse just because they don’t have a word coming out their mouths.
Since we were child, we were taught that some animals, like cats, dogs, birds were domestic pets and we should take care of them. Now cows, chickens, pork, fish are part of our food supplements, part of a food chain. All animals have a place on earth for different reason. I don’t’ think we should be vegetarian to fight for animal’s right, but we cannot abuse and harm them just for pleasure.
We are treating two complex issues here, animal rights and meat contributing to global warming, the second can certainly be used an argument in the first one. I want to start by saying that I’m in favor of animal rights, but those rights must be established carefully and systematically since “Animals” includes all animals not only dogs and cats but also every insect and lizard (just to mention a few), clearly we have arguments to treat animals violently if they represent a threat our health (like some insects) but have few to justify killing animals in danger of extinction (or to get ivory or other luxury from them) who for me have all the rights to be protected, and here I want to say with all due respect that I disagree with Alexandra. Is true, a wild animal can be scary but the human being is the scariest animal of them all, is the only one capable of ruining the whole world in an instant. Since we are the only one with free will and intelligence, we carry a great responsibility to establish a system to protect all animals and all life in the planet; this is our duty as the dominating specie in the world. I eat meat, but I understand the arguments stated here and I’m willing to limit my consume of meat, we all should since in the end it’s even a healthy practice. The problem behind cruelty in the meat market comes once again from money, corporations want to increase profit and reduce expenses, and they don’t care about making animals suffer to achieve it. That’s where the government must enter and put an end to those practices. Finally in India their respect from animals is related to their culture and religion and just as it is hard for them to hurt animals is hard to change minds here in USA to be more aware of animal suffering and meat consumption consequences in short and long term.
The first thing to say is that, in fact, animals are not the same as any inanimate object like a glass or a pitcher. Animals exist an their existence is not only evident but, as has been understood by philosopher and scientific they have emotions and are likely to become irritated, bullying, respectful or violate territories. Does this make them subjects of law? absolutely not.
I am against the cruelty with animals, no contradiction with myself about this very specific point. No one can argue that what happens to many animals is highly regrettable but we must enter the justification and cost-effective field. As Epstein says, "... if the smallpox vaccine comes from cows, and insulin to treat diabetes, comes from pigs, then I feel obliged to defend any law allowing the use of animals for medical experimentation". Epstein point of view is mine also. A daughter of a very close friend suffer from a uncommon skin disease which is being under study with animals for many years. She loves animals, but she want the cure for her's daughter disease as well.
I think that a scheme of private property by humans may be particularly effective in the pursuit for the protection of endangered animals. In fact, "because humans use and value the animals, owners spend money on their protection. Veterinary medicine may not be at the level of human medicine, but is only a little bit behind. When it comes to medical care is better to be a sick cat in a middle-class home in the United States than a sick farm laborer in a third world country. The private ownership of many pets allowed them the access to food and shelter (and sometimes clothes) which causes long lives, quiet and comfortable to them. Even death can occur in more humane conditions in some cases.
I think we should look for a system of private ownership of animals that align the interests of owners with the interests related to the preservation of animal life.
Animals do have protective rights; however, that varies depending on the region or country & what those rights consist off. But even yet, it all falls on our responsibility to end it as individuals. Overall, there is one consistent reason to why animal cruelty hasn’t ended & that’s the business aspect of it all. For example, the profit in horse meat is one of the most beneficiaries for the seller being that it is extremely rare to obtain such meat due to the laws against this action. Even with a protective law for the animal, there is still cruelty done. Some people feel that because an animal cannot defend themselves verbally, that it gives us the living-right to use these creatures as puppets, lab rats & items that we own. In the example of the black market for horse meat, the animal is known to bet cut on the neck, immobilizing the animal causing for the animal to fall to the ground. In the meantime, the animal is being cut open & stripped for their body assets, throughout this entire process the animal is feeling everything and all these reactions are being reflected with the traumatic body shock including tongue biting. The idea of having a perfect world is phenomenal. But when you have companies that feed into the idea more, its very difficult to compete with a multi-million corporation that is providing jobs to thousands of people. So you see it’s a cycle that has been going on for such a long time. Yes, it important to attempt to prevent terrible things from happening but it will eventually become a chain reaction. The profits behind these meat corporations that feed off the animal cruelty world are well guarded with lawyers. It’s terrible that our world feeds off the luxuries from animals, such as bears, chinchillas, foxes, etc, as fur coats. But not once do we think off those animals families? Someone in the world there is that one cub alone in the world subjected to the same future like his/her parent. There definitely need to be some boundaries with the animal abuse control. I do not agree with the idea of ending all matters that consist with animals becuase then we will be affecting our health developments. Like I said it's a chain reaction. There is so much more than the simple idea of ending animal cruelty.
I believe that animals do have rights to a certain extent. People can be put in jail for cruelty to animals. There are also organizations that put things together to protect animals. What type of rights are we looking to give to an animal. I do believe that the production companies of the food chain can better there facilities. But to go as far as to say animals deserve rights I dont think so. If that is the case insects, and tress should have rights as well. I have never read ithe Holy Bible where animals was on the same levels as humans. I love animals but to give an animal rights is a little bit out there. Do I think it is right for a animal to suffer? No!
This topic of animals rights, it’s a subject that angers my inner soul to its limits. I have cero tolerance for animal cruelty, and have in the past reported many abusers to the proper authorities in order to defend un protected animals I also volunteer my time and I am partake of various associations that protect the animals. While it may true that animals do not have any rights, it does seem clearly however that animals have feelings. This is clearly visible when an animal is suffering of hunger, thirst, physical pain or even lack of affection. Aside from showing feelings, many of the animals in the world seem to demonstrate a power of intelligence as well. Take for instances, dogs when responding to a command, or when practicing learned tricks, they also show understanding specially when responding to their given name, how about cats, being able to know when and how to use the liter box, or responding to their given names too. I am a strong believer of the protection of animals rights. Like me, there are many others that feel the same way and through these community members across the glove many animals are being saved and protected from abuse and cruelty. Many of the animal abusers I think are people that obviously have no respect for human life as well, because to take pride in abusing of an innocent animal that can’t defend itself, shows that this individuals suffer from lock of feelings and emotions and may even demonstrate that mentally they are no stabled.
I find it hard to believe this is an argument. To me, it is quite obvious that we should treat any being, sentient or not, with dignity and respect (within reason). I'm not saying you should swerve and crash your car if you see a lizard run across the road, but I am saying if it's possible to reduce the mental and physical suffering of animals caused by humans or the processes humans use to create food, clothing, or medicine, we should. I find Carl Cohen’s argument against animal rights laughable, this may be due to my time in the military and the two years I spent in Iraq, seeing and experiencing horrendous acts perpetrated by humans, against humans. I say this, because he seems to think humans are capable of self-restricting moral judgments, but if you look across the planet, in many places this simply is not the case (Uganda comes to mind). I think for the most part, uncivilized animals act more humane, then so called civilized humans. In just about any case, if it's possible to reduce the suffering of animals, it should be taken (again, within reason).
-Robert Brown
Should animals have rights? Such a delicate issue i believe they should. Unfortunately in todays age so many animals are mistreated and abused for selfish reasons not to mention for religious reasons. I wish we could go way back to the old days when you killed an animal to survive, but with so many people on this earth it's just not realistic. We humans do eat animals just like animals eat animals it's part of life it's the inhumane and cruel ways we go about it that needs to change!Michael Guelbenzu
My understanding of this post is regarding Animal Cruelty not necessarily Animal Rights. It is the cycle of life that we are in a dog eat dog world. We feed off animals, gain nutrition from the proteins that their meat provides. Killing an animal for food consumption is very different from cruelty and the sacrificing of animals just for the sake of it. There should be a quick and clean way to take their lives from them. The killing should be done with dignity. I admit that when I see reports of the mistreatment of cows for example, it breaks my heart, and I steer away from meat for some time, because it is painful to watch any living being killed. The reality is humans and wild animals cannot share the same habitat, they eat us or we eat them. Domestic animals are protected by laws for animal rights as so are wild animals. Although the killing of many animals is allowed to feed the people, there are regulations that should be followed but unfortunately there is always that person, group or company who wants quick and easy money and will conduct the killings in a cruel and unsanitary manner. This is not one of those topics that is a clear yay or nay, we are against the killings, but can enjoy a good steak, at most times staying ignorant to how the killings are conducted can help you keep at peace for enjoying such pleasures of a good meat or fish on your dinner table.
I think animals should have rights. The issue isn't about eating them or not because I'm not a vegan but I feel like we, as humans, have some what lost our compassion for animals. We buy our meats and poultry in the grocery store without knowing where it came from or who killed it making us lose sympathy for the animal. Animals clearly can feel pain yet dozen of factories use methods like beating and tourturing animals to kill them for their meat. If the roll was reversed, if it was humans being slaughtered, then I'm sure it would cause outrage. We devalue the animals life because they are lower on the food chain. The sad part is that this is happening daily to animals and we just go on living our life without thinking of the issue twice. It is absurd to think that the issue is going to dissapear over night but the technique these fatories use should be revised to a quicker and painless death.
-Jessenia Paez
Animal cruelty is not only concerned with the way they die but most important the way they live, is not only a matter of our diet but also our way of living (animals used for fashion and drug tests). it is a normal proses to eat animals because we are animals, as the tiger has an advantage over the zebra when it is hunting, we have produce our advantage the technology using our superior reasoning, but a tiger never hunts what he won’t eat. We are in a cycle of producing all the food we can, because if you produce more is cheaper, is not natural to produce the way we do it and is not natural to make another being suffer if you are not going to use it or defend from it. In reference of wild animals I know for my extense experience deep in the wild nature, they don’t only act on kill or be killed, in most cases animals don’t kill if they don’t need to, mostly they attack if they need to feed or to defend, but is a better solution to escape or hide, and we don’t act in this way, we have create a process where the one who produces the food is so far from the one consuming it that the process losses quality and humanity. We must know where our food comes from and in this society is not always easy, we can’t all go and kill our meat every time but we must stay in touch of the proses to follow the food to the source, in that measure we all became more conscience and involve. this is not always easy but we must try and support does who do, in initiatives like chipotles restaurant (http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx). This shows that is not that we can’t eat meat but we must treat it with respect, in the way it is raised, feed and killed.
The concept of animals having rights makes perfect sense to me when an animal is viewed in its own habitat, unaffected by human beings and the world of technology and industry. For example, look at a lion in the plains of Africa. The Lion has more freedom than any human being living in the most democratic society that exists. He or she has the right to kill their own prey, roam whatever land they wish, form whatever clans they wish, drink from whatever watering hole they wish, and eat whatever type of food they wish. They need not ask permission before doing anything. We as humans in the UNited States, give animals the rights which our convenient to us. If we love our little toy poodle because we find her to be cute, not smelly, and rather quiet, we find it appropriate to have her groomed every week and buy her a custom prada dog sweater online. However if when pulling weeds out of our flower garden, a harmless rat snake slithers by, we yell to our husband to come kill it with a machette. As for the animals which play a role in our economy as major food sources such as cows and chickens, they have no rights. They are treated more like plants than animals, exept they don't grow back when we chop them down. Animals have whatever rights their caretakers give them. If their caretakers are those about to slaughter them, then the chances that they are given rights are slim.
I believe that animals should have the respect to be killed in a non-suffering way, such as being put to sleep or killed immediately. Suffering is an abusive act. When you are killing an animal you are killing a life form. An animal incorporates many or all feelings we as humans have. It is unfair, inhumane, and ignorant to think that they contain no feeling or deserve no respect. The act of hunting your own food, I feel would let people who indulge in meat, chicken and fish products to be more appreciative and aware of the pain the animals goes through. The act of having consumers be more conscious of the processes would allow for a more united transition into the treating of animals in the killing process. Further more this would probably proceed into more organic ways of injections or feeding to the animals. Lastly, to make this topic more responsive to the public, it needs to be presented in more than a video or an article, it needs to be interactive and visually friendly in presentation to gather a larger audience. Luciana Manrique
I believe that by virtue of animals being creatures of God whether domestic or wild and untamed animals a humanitarian approach to how we treat them should always be considered. Wild animals such as the Lions, Tigers, Elephants and Buffaloes amongst others should not be used for human luxuries such as fur clothes and jewelry. Laws should be enforced for those who sacrifice animals in the name of their cult religion. Domestic animals such as those that we call pets depend on us humans to feed them, to walk them to do their biological necessities, to provide medical care for them, in essence they give so much to us in terms of companionship and loyalty they are like children at birth without defense. If we, as humans do not create safe and appropriate environment for our animals and pets we are in virtue failing to act as civilized societies. Some animals such as poultries, fishes and cattle which we depend on for nutrition should also have adequate and humanitarian treatment during their life span before they are slaughtered for consumer markets and governments should also have strict guidelines and compliance enforcement as to the most humane and painless slaughter of these animals as well. Many theories concur that animals were habitants on earth before humans, so if the theory of evolution is accurate than it is a human's obligation to create rights and treat our animal population as we treat ourselves.
Elizabeth Freda
“The notion that human life is sacred just because it is human life is medieval.” ― Peter Singer. I strongly believe that no living creature should suffer. Although I am not a vegetarian and I do enjoy being a carnivore, it is imprinted deep within my thoughts the implications at hand every time I take a bite of a meat product. I choose to buy mostly organic products knowing that the animals at a more organically raised farm are not only the more healthier option, but the animals themselves are treated with more care and dignity. In that respect, I am completely against factory farming or any other kind of unnecessary or cruel conditions for animals. Every living creature deserves the right to not have unnecessary torture inflicted upon them. It is our responsibilities as human beings to treat every living creature with respect, even if it is our intention kill the animal and consume it; the animal should be euthanized in a more appropriate manner.
"It was about ushering in a new era in computing where machines will increasingly be able to learn and understand what humans are really asking them for" I believe this statement is incorrect and very misleading as it assumes a machine can one day make a choice from free will. Robots can only follow programing which to the naked eye can seem as understanding and even actual intelligence, however the machine is only following a pattern of responding to an action. Like when you press the on button and the response is life or a click on explorer and you get access to the internet. Assosiative memory is what makes us humans so unique as a species with a brain that some believe holds about 10 to 15 BILLION neurons, while the worlds most advance robot only has about 100,000 data points (equal to human neurons) Humans also tend to not be too critical when it comes to associations by the simple use of comparison and familiarity. We humans can deviate from "programming" and wonder if something is strange or seems different while still being the same. Watson makes mistakes when it comes to similar yet different answers as illustrated by the three choices it shows on the screen with a percentage of the most likely correct answer. If I take a bannana and cut it in half, you a human can still clearly see that it is a bannana (not critical) On the other hand a machine will not recongnize that the bannana has been cut unless it also has in it's programming a cut up bannana known as a bannana. Sure, someday a machine may be able to hold all the world's knowledge in some super advanced mega chip or something but if you truely believe that day will come. Then, human innovation would first need to stop all together in order to have all of something, you first need it to be complete. No machine can ever surpass it's programming, although now that I think about it - what if a computer could create it's own programming like the way "Rep-Rap" can make 3D parts needed to clone and recreate itself? - An idea better left for the future when you and me are long gone and our grand-children will have to deal with "terminators" or maybe even the more social "I Robots".
You Know Me as Eric Reyes...
When I see an animal being tortured or mistreated or even held against their will I am very agravated. If I see a person who is inflicting pain on an animal infront of me, without a doubt I will inflict the same amout of pain into that person so that he can clearly see how it feels. I have a love for animals that is so adamant and I do not like to think of animals as food. I do however eat meat and understand that some people have a great desire to eat them . I will however say that I will not support any company that mistreats their livestock. A few years ago there were videos of cows being pushed by a fork-lifts and beaten by people. This is simply cruel and inhumane and is something that should not be tolerated here in America. Sadly the US cares more about quantity than quality and when there are so many cows to be killed and cut up every day it seems as though the process gets impaired. Furthermore if you look at the way they keep those animals it is just down-right atrocious. Just like humans animals have muscles and they created these muscles in order to move around. When you confine an animal it is a very sad thing because that animal is no longer free and is being held similar to a prisoner. If I eat an animal I really hope that animal lived a happy life; I would not beable to eat an animal that I knew had a horrible life. I do not even agree with the way animals are kept in zoos. There is a zoo in Libya and all of the animals there are starving and dehydrated because of the political issues going on there and the lack of fresh water. Animals come in all different shapes of all different sizes and they all require different things. We as humans cannot understand their needs because we are not them and we never will be. The least we could do is give them some space to walk, but all these companies want is to capitalize on every inch of land they have and maximize the utilization of the land. I think we should have to kill an animal if we want to eat it; If you can not do it, then you will not eat it. This would take away all those disgusting meat factories and show people what goes into preparing an animal for consumption.
Animals do have a nervous system and they are very capable of feeling pain, joy, anger, and excitement. Testing should not be done on animals because we have no idea how it may affect them. Certain tests may take away from the value of an animal's life. We are not god and therefore we should not be able to constrain any form of life. If scientist want a subject to run tests on they sould take inmates from prison who have been found guilty of crimes such as rape and murder; not innocent, beautiful animals.
The word "animal" comes from the Latin word animalis, meaning "having breath".[1] In everyday colloquial usage, the word usually refers to non-human animals.[2] Sometimes, only closer relatives of humans such as mammals and other vertebrates are meant in colloquial use.[3] The biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects and humans (Wikipedia). Based on the previous paragraph, aren’t both “animals” and “rational animals” (us human beings), pertaining in numerous ways ? If your answer is yes, you would agree with me that we humans are misinterpreting this fact, by mistreating animals in a way that is unconscionable and horrific.
lisandra sanchez
Animals are like humans.. Do they deserve rights? I dont know who's going to respond for them?... but they do definitely deserve a little more respect. Animals should not suffer and should only be killed to eat. Using them as test subjects is cruel.. God gave us each a lifespan and he put on this earth viruses and diseases that were intended to control population and get rid of the weak.. It's called nature. In other words animals should be considered a little more important and with more dignity. They should not tortured. And instead of using them as test subjects and injecting hormones we should invest in finding alternative food sources. Animals feel the same pain we feel in a different way.. Put yourself in their shoes.. Would you want to be respected? Or do you like being pushed around and in pain till you die? Think about it
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