For the sake of discussion, let's talk about animal cruelty...what is
it? As I asked before, is animal castration cruel? Is spaying or
neutering a pet cruel? Is it cruel to not allow animals to select their
own mates? Is it cruel to de-claw an animal so it doesn't wreck the
furniture or hurt other animals it lives with? Is it cruel to force
animals to only mate with those of its own breed? Is it cruel to force
an animal to carry a human on its back when that is clearly not natural
to the animal? Is it cruel to design an animal that cannot reproduce
naturally? If it is slavery to forcibly tie a human being to a pole or
make it carry someone else's load against their will, why is it not
slavery to do that to an animal? Shouldn't tying an animal be illegal?
Are any of these above mentioned cases examples of "might makes right"?
If so, how? And if not, why not?
Should it be legal to take away the rights of an animal if it aggresses
against another animal and doesn't make restitution? Would it be moral
to force feed a duck that was aggressive with other ducks on the farm
and refuse to apologize and make restitution, but immoral to force feed
a peaceful duck who respected the other ducks on the farm? If so why, if
not, why not.
While we are discussing it, is it cruel to prune a grapevine and force
it onto a trellis? Is it cruel to create a fruit tree that cannot
pollinate and reproduce naturally? Is it cruel to deny plants the
ability to reproduce because we have taken their fruits and seeds which
are their potential offspring? If so why and if not, why not?
Now, from another perspective, is it cruel to forcibly deny someone the
ability to make a living and support their families because they make
food or clothing from animals in a way that some people think is cruel
to animals and others think is not? Is it cruel to deny someone medicine
because some people think the medicine is sinful or might actually be
unhealthy? Is it cruel to take away the livelihood of someone who makes
a living in pornography or prostitution because some people find those
livelihoods degrading to the G_dly nature of human sexuality? If so
why...and if not, why not?
Everyone knows that torturing human beings is wrong. We don't have to
have a discussion about that...do we?
Mike