Vegan Talk Forums

timatyson · Vegan Talk Beginner Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 6

"Why should we behave better towards animals than they do towards each other?"
That's a basic question often given by non vegs - that is quite related to animal rights issue.

Sergio · Vegan Talk Veteran Joined: 24 May 2001 Posts: 224

Backwood

BigBecka · Animal defender Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 412

I'm no biologist, but I used to have a dog when I was little - he seemed to see himself as part of the family, and was very protective of me. The dog would attack animals that he saw as a threat, and would try to hunt certain animals and give them to us (rabbits). But he would not attack all animals, or other humans. Although I don't think he would have chosen to be vegetarian, he clearly made some sort of choice regarding which animals were food (and it wasn't as a result of us having trained him).

Maybe he was instinctively aware of a need to keep some sort of natural balance?

And, as an aside, dogs try to kill animals as quickly as possible, with minimal suffering - they do not hunt for pleasure, they do not use traps and they certainly don't build farms! This is true of most animals, with the exception of domestic cats (who are evil!) and ants (who farm greenfly).

BeeTooman · Vegan Zealot Joined: 12 May 2006 Posts: 980

We have a duty to act morally towards others regardless of how anyone else behaves. For example, the institution of slavery in the United States was not in any way justified by the fact that rival African tribes routinely conquered and enslaved one another.

Also, it should be mentioned that the way in which humans currently behave towards animals is actually far worse than the way in which animals behave towards each other.

From Animal Rights and Vegetarian Ethics by Eugene Khutoryansky
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It does take a little work to be a vegetarian but it's so worth it, oh it's so worth it!

AndyBa · Lord of the posts Joined: 27 May 2001 Posts: 670