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#1
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Should abusing animals be illegal?
Should it be illegal to abuse animals (i.e. torture them) if you own them?
Why or why not? |
#2
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
No, it should be completely legal.
Having it illegal won't change anything; people can always torture animals if they want to. Giving animals rights, however, could bring up wierd legal issues that could make eating them and wearing them difficult. |
#3
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
[ QUOTE ]
No, it should be completely legal. Having it illegal won't change anything; people can always torture animals if they want to. Giving animals rights, however, could bring up wierd legal issues that could make eating them and wearing them difficult. [/ QUOTE ] The same logic could be applied to murder. People could still do it and wierd legal issues ccouild and have arisen. But maybe you think muder should be legal too because it satisfies your premises. |
#4
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
[ QUOTE ]
The same logic could be applied to murder. People could still do it and wierd legal issues ccouild and have arisen. But maybe you think muder should be legal too because it satisfies your premises. [/ QUOTE ] This is true, because I pumped out a quick, stupid answer. I should have mentioned that I believe human beings should have rights that animals quite simply don't have. Society should put humans first because we're the ones who contribute to it. Animals, by contrast, are food, clothing and entertainment to us. I really don't see any reason to protect their rights. |
#5
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
[ QUOTE ]
I really don't see any reason to protect their rights. [/ QUOTE ] So the fact that it has been shown that animals experience pain , fear and suffering is no reason to protect their rights? Nice. I'm not advocating a bill of rights for animals or that we shouldn't continue to use them in the manner that we do, but some basic laws to prevent people needlessly torturing animals seem entirely reasonable to me. And not at odds with your reactionary tough guy "humans come first, down with the veggies" stance at all. |
#6
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
"Animals, by contrast, are food, clothing and entertainment to us. I really don't see any reason to protect their rights."
So in your view, animals have no intrinsic value, and you would have no problem if I raised kittens or puppies for the sole purpose of poking their eyes out and slowly torturing them to death? While I think that is a defensible position (but certainly not one that I hold), very little separates any person who advocates in favor of it from a serial killer. |
#7
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
[ QUOTE ]
So in your view, animals have no intrinsic value, and you would have no problem if I raised kittens or puppies for the sole purpose of poking their eyes out and slowly torturing them to death? [/ QUOTE ] That's a pretty exceptionally rare extreme, and anyone sadistic enough to want to engage in such a barbaric activity should probably be getting some serious therapy. I pity such a person. [ QUOTE ] While I think that is a defensible position (but certainly not one that I hold), very little separates any person who advocates in favor of it from a serial killer. [/ QUOTE ] The difference is a few rungs on the evolutionary ladder, that's about it. |
#8
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] The same logic could be applied to murder. People could still do it and wierd legal issues ccouild and have arisen. But maybe you think muder should be legal too because it satisfies your premises. [/ QUOTE ] This is true, because I pumped out a quick, stupid answer. I should have mentioned that I believe human beings should have rights that animals quite simply don't have. Society should put humans first because we're the ones who contribute to it. Animals, by contrast, are food, clothing and entertainment to us. I really don't see any reason to protect their rights. [/ QUOTE ] It all comes down to one's personal feeling of the society one wants to be part of. I would not like to live in a society where, for example, where it was ok to to nail a cat to a fence and leave it to die (ok maybe cats but definitly not dogs!). And so one goes down the line until some cruelty is tolerable, eg in vermin control. Somewhere you make a choice as to what is acceptable to you. No absolute measure, just what you feel is OK. There are no absolute rigts, only what a society choses to bestow. So the reason to give them rights is so you feel comfortable living in your particular society. |
#9
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
[ QUOTE ]
It all comes down to one's personal feeling of the society one wants to be part of. I would not like to live in a society where, for example, where it was ok to to nail a cat to a fence and leave it to die (ok maybe cats but definitly not dogs!). And so one goes down the line until some cruelty is tolerable, eg in vermin control. Somewhere you make a choice as to what is acceptable to you. No absolute measure, just what you feel is OK. There are no absolute rigts, only what a society choses to bestow. [/ QUOTE ] Well said, I'm glad you pointed this out so I don't have to ^_^ A line must be drawn somewhere; we may be averse to harming cute puppies and kitties, but what about mice? Skunks? Cockroaches? Amoebae? On the other extreme, we know from a look at history that human beings are capable of including even other people in that no-rights line. Consider Nazi Germany, where the citizens openly supported genocide. I too would not want to live in a society where people nail dogs to the fence...mostly because that's indicative of a very sick race of PEOPLE there. I hate cats too, but I could never derive pleasure from torturing them. If I did, I imagine I'd also have a slew of other problems that would make me a danger to society and other people. (Perhaps what I'm saying is, regulating kitty torture isn't treating the disease, it's treating the symptoms) [ QUOTE ] So the reason to give them rights is so you feel comfortable living in your particular society. [/ QUOTE ] Well, if the problem actually is there, then yes, I'd say that's a pretty good reason. Excellent post [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] |
#10
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Re: Should abusing animals be illegal?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] The same logic could be applied to murder. People could still do it and wierd legal issues ccouild and have arisen. But maybe you think muder should be legal too because it satisfies your premises. [/ QUOTE ] This is true, because I pumped out a quick, stupid answer. I should have mentioned that I believe human beings should have rights that animals quite simply don't have. Society should put humans first because we're the ones who contribute to it. Animals, by contrast, are food, clothing and entertainment to us. I really don't see any reason to protect their rights. [/ QUOTE ] Vagrants, the homeless, mentally retarded- can i torture them as well? Secondly cats dogs and other animals were domesticated because they did contribute to society- cats control rodent populations (and are still useful in this regard) dogs have been used for transportation, hunting, home protection, entertainment and food. Both species have gained from these relationships which is why they exist. |
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