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While we fetishize and adore some nonhuman animals, we tend to not give a second’s thought to the mass abuse and violence imposed on billions of other animals. Animals who are used for food, clothing, entertainment and experimentation suffer in unspeakable ways. It bothers a lot of people here in the West that dogs are eaten in other countries. But, why do those same people then eat bacon, eggs and steak? Why do they eat chickens and fishes? Why do they wear skins, furs and pelts? The animals exploited and killed for such products are, in no important way, any different from the dogs and other companion animals most people cherish. All of these animals are sentient; all have the capacity to feel pain and suffer; all value their own lives and do not want to be harmed and killed. We don’t know the particular background for this image, but it’s been circulating with petitions opposing the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China. While it’s truly horrific to see dogs being harmed and used for food, we believe most of these dog meat petitions miss the underlying problem. The problem is not dog meat – the problem is humanity’s exploitation and commodification of animals generally, which is pervasive in all cultures everywhere. Why is a bacon festival less upsetting than a dog meat festival? Piglets are taken away from their mothers, and are routinely slammed against a concrete floor to be killed if they don’t grow fast enough. The other pigs used for food are all still violently killed at a fraction of their natural lifespans (usually after a short life of horrific suffering, confinement and despair). It’s no less unjust or violent for to use one type of animal versus another for food, clothing or otherwise – whether fishes, chickens, turkeys, lambs or cows, and whether in China, Europe, Canada, here in the U.S., or anywhere else. ALL of it is very, very violent – ALL of it is cruel and completely unnecessary. Please realize this and extend your moral consideration to ALL sentient animals. Please be consistent, please go vegan. |