http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ingrid-newkirk/one-of-many-animals_b_1836537.html
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So, animals are conscious beings, capable of understanding cause-and-effect relationships, forming abstract thoughts, solving problems, using language, making tools, exhibiting long-term memory, and showing empathy, in many cases with skills that are superior to those of humans. But more importantly, animals can comprehend when they are being abused and killed, and they feel anxiety, fear and pain, just as humans do.
so you mean we shouldn't act all domineering and exploitive to the "lower classes" of animals anymore? :blink:
Humans first. Anyone who thinks that animal welfare should be placed ahead of human welfare, or that animals are better than humans and the rightful inheritors of the earth, is welcome to go feed themselves to a tiger or shark. I say this, because the original article link has lots of crosslinks to peta.org.
All that said, there are more and less caring ways to kill animals. In Canada, for instance, chickens have to be gassed to unconsciousness before being killed in the slaughterhouse; this is done by putting them in a chamber and flooding it with carbon monoxide. The US hasn't adopted this as a standard yet, and so in some slaughterhouses you see chickens screeching for their life, clearly fearful of whatever's coming next.
Still, just as humans exposed to too much killing of other humans get desensitized to it, humans exposed to too much killing of animals get desensitized. If you don't want to see some apparently-horrendously-uncaring people, don't go to a pig ranch.
Quote from: Thorin on August 29, 2012, 11:04:20 AM
Humans first. Anyone who thinks that animal welfare should be placed ahead of human welfare, or that animals are better than humans and the rightful inheritors of the earth
just an fyi, the article I linked is surprising in that some scientisty folks are saying that "unique to humankind" consciousness might actually not be absent in animals. Ditto for stuff like using technology/tools, emotional connections/community, etc.
But I agree, humans first. We win. In the future some other species (or extra-terra-estrial life) might knock us off the pedestal, but for now we've earned that spot. Luckily more and more are recognizing that with our power we need to exercise it intelligently and with the future in mind, i.e. responsibility comes with it. /spiderman
Because as a certain fictional scientist pointed out, just because we CAN do something, doesn't mean we SHOULD do it (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57460854-10391704/first-mri-birth-video-reveals-what-childbirth-looks-like-from-the-inside/).