Does keeping a pet go against nature?

Many people say that it is cruel to keep pets (im not one of them btw)

What are your views on this? I can see to a certain degree how people can think it is cruel and unnatural.

Many people say that it is cruel to keep pets (im not one of them btw)

 

What are your views on this? I can see to a certain degree how people can think it is cruel and unnatural.

I think it's unnatural (how can it not be?) but only cruel if you treat them cruelly..... the only exception (anyone remember The Cat Who Walked by Himself? http://http://www.boop.org/jan/justso/cat.htm) is animals that choose to be 'kept', like cats and dogs.

I'm not sure about the morality of keeping animals that need to be caged, even tho' the cages are for their own protection, to stop them wandering off and being eaten.... But, then you look at how some caged animals obviously enjoy being taken out and cuddled and stroked, and wonder if something that gives pleasure to both parties can be morally wrong? It's a difficult one, imo!

I don't think it's cruel if the animal receives the care and attention it needs and wants.

It could be seen as unnatural. However, if a domestic pet is left to live in the wild, that too is unnatural.

Keeping wild animals caged is one thing but dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, gerbils etc. are bred as domestic pets. You may be used to seeing rodents in the wild but these are wild rodents. The ones you see in cages at people's homes are domestic rodents and no I don't think that is unnatural.

I'm sure it once was, in the process of breeding from wild animals to get the domestic animals. But not anymore.

There are many, many unnatural things going on in the world but it doesn't make them cruel or wrong.

Keeping wild animals caged is one thing but dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, gerbils etc. are bred as domestic pets. You may be used to seeing rodents in the wild but these are wild rodents. The ones you see in cages at people's homes are domestic rodents and no I don't think that is unnatural.

 

I'm sure it once was, in the process of breeding from wild animals to get the domestic animals. But not anymore.

 

There are many, many unnatural things going on in the world but it doesn't make them cruel or wrong.

But, going by that, Lotti, if one were to breed slaves into captivity it would make it morally right? I know what you mean but I guess the question is, is it right to breed living things to a life of captivity? You'd presumably say yes, as long as they're happy, and I wouldn't disagree with you in some respects, but.....

It's a bit like breeding animals to be eaten imo - do we really have the RIGHT (as opposed to the ability) to do this to another species?

But, going by that, Lotti, if one were to breed slaves into captivity it would make it morally right? I know what you mean but I guess the question is, is it right to breed living things to a life of captivity? You'd presumably say yes, as long as they're happy, and I wouldn't disagree with you in some respects, but.....

 

It's a bit like breeding animals to be eaten imo - do we really have the RIGHT (as opposed to the ability) to do this to another species?

SHsheff - Good question!

Well, no not really - but it's so different. Slaves don't enjoy being slaves, there's no way you can 'breed' a slave and look after him/her so he/she's happy. It's just not in human nature to be worked like that and enjoy it.

However - As far as I know - as I am no Dr Dolittle,

Pets love being pets, they love the human interaction (and interaction with the other animals they live with, if they do). They love the routine they are given and if all their needs and wants are met and more, then they live a happy life.

Working animals love working - there are the exception but most border collies love herding (my mate's border collies herds us all on walks), dalmatians love horses and working with horses, labradors love retreiving (although I know some...)

Slaves are humans and no human likes to be kept for a specific job and that's it.

As far as breeding animals to eat them - well I eat meat, and I try to only eat free range but I know people will disagree when I say, they lead a happy enough life up to the end and they don't know what will happen. When I think about it, I don't really know what to think about whether it's morally right but then I think 'is there actually anything morally wrong?'

If they weren't bred so we could eat their produce or eat their meat, why would they be bred? There would be no/very little need for them so would they be bred at all??

I think the honest answer to the question is that YES- it's unnatural, but can anybody genuinely say that there is anything about our lives that is truly natural these days? We aren't hunter gatherers any more- I'm typing on a computer that could in no way be described as natural.

But there's an enormous difference between 'unnatural' and 'cruel'. Even in hunter gatherer times there's evidence that dogs and cats lived with humans, in a symbiosis that must have had benefits for the animals as well as the people, or they wouldn't have lived with it.

Most animals that are kept as pets have a much nicer life than their wild counterparts- living up to 4 times as long is indicative of this, and anybody meeting a friendly and happy house cat or dog can have no doubt that the individual animals are contented with their lives (I have 4 cats all lying round the living room and purring as I type).

However, I don't believe that this gives us the right to take animals from the wild or keep animals in inhumane conditions. By this I don't just mean cruelty in the physical abuse sense. Animals that naturally cover large distances in their days are likely to be bored and understimulated by being kept in captivity, and animals that are naturally solitary will suffer by being kept in groups, while social animals will have big problems with being kept alone. Truly wild animals should remain so, in my opinion.

Hi i dont think it cruel having a pet i have got a staffy and i treat him like one of the family.Even when i go out i buy him sumat so it how people look after their pet whether it cruel or not:thumbsup:

*watches beagle snoozing on sofa*

Nope, it's not cruel.

This hunting hound is not equipped to provide his own shelter or food, and I can assure you he doesn't think having (*pauses to count*) one cage, 2 baskets and 4 separate blankets at his disposal is in the least bit cruel. You should see him snuggled up with the teddy bear his 'dad' bought him for chrismas last year too

So exactly how did you figure out keeping pets is cruel (given we already know how much you hate dogs Spyro )

Spyro didn't say he thought it was cruel, Strix

He says some people think that way

I don't think that keeping pets is cruel. I think if they're kept in the right environment then its perfectly fine. It could be said that its not natural, but if I realeased any of my dogs into the wild, I imagine they'd be dead within a week.

I think keeping small rodents in small cages is cruel. Rats, Mice, Gerbils etc must get so bored of being in those tiny cages some people put them in. A larger cage, however, is fine in my eyes. Again, I think if these animals were released into the wild, they too would be killed.

I think keeping rabbits (who aren't rodents, btw, they're lagomorphs ) in hutches outdoors is unnatural. Where in a rabbits natural environment do you see a rabbit exposed to the cold air during the night? Rabbits live underground in the wild, and are kept warm that way. In captivity, rabbits are amongst the worst treated animals there are. People view a rabbit as a second class pet - something you can chuck in a hutch at the end of the yard, get out once a week for a cuddle, feed once a day and thats it. But thats not it, rabbits are social animals, should really be kept in pairs if they aren't around humans a lot, and they're better off indoors. My rabbit lives in my bedroom, and is 'content' with his surroundings, isn't caged at all, eats a healthy diet, and gets as much excercise as he wants. I don't think keeping him this way is cruel. If any of the other forumers saw him they'd know that the way he's kept isn't cruel. He doesn't have to fear predators getting him during the night, his water will never freeze over, his food won't be frost bitten and he'll never be lonely because he spends a lot of his time sitting with me.

So in conclusion, it all depends on how you keep your animal as to whether or not its cruel, but if you keep any animal its going to be unnatural, so to speak. But these animals were bred to be in captivity, and their parents for many generations have never been wild. (And that is definately true for rabbits - its impossible to breed a wild rabbit and a domesticated rabbit together. Which means that the rabbit I have in my house doesn't have any wild ancestors for probably... 30 or 40 generations or more who were wild. All rabbits still have some of their wild attributes to them - like how they hate being picked up, etc - but none would survive in the wild. If you released your rabbit near a warren of wild rabbits, they'd kill it. Because a wild rabbit and a domesticated rabbit are about as similar in genetic makeup as a human and a horse.)

Ive said this in another thread but once again....

Keeping animals that have been bred into domestication over hundreds of years is not wrong or cruel. These animals know no different and are unequiped to handle life in the wild. The instincts that once kept them alive and are to an extent still present have been dumbed down to a level whereby they are not enough to keep the animals alive and healthy if was left to its own devices. Indeed when people release domestic animals into the wild they are in effect signing a death warrant.

The keeping of pets has gone on for too long for us to decide it is wrong now. Instead it is up to the owner to do whatever is necessary to provide the domestic animal with a quality life.

Spyro didn't say he thought it was cruel, Strix

 

He says some people think that way

I was about to give you a terse reply about searching Spyro's threads, but having checked my facts, you can't search for the ones I'm thinking of because I've deleted them

Learn to spot trolling posts Lotti