Hypocrisy in moral treatment of animals

[Count of Montesano]

Last night I was listening to Chris Rock make a joke about Michael Vick and Sarah Palin. The point of the joke was a black man goes to jail for 2 years for dog fighting, while nobody bats an eye when a popular white politician regularly shoots wolves and mounts moose heads on her wall.

This got me thinking: why is there such hypocrisy in terms of animal treatment? For example, why are traditional white sports where animals are ruthlessly killed (aka hunting) acceptable whereas similar black sports like dogfighting are illegal? Why are people ok with slaughtering millions of farm animals yet flip out if someone kills a dog or cat?

And before you say that hunted animals or animals slaughtered for meat get a quick and relatively painless death, that's absolutely not true in many cases.

IMHO, there are two ways to bring morals into alignment. Either:

1. Hunting is outlawed, except perhaps for bow hunting which at least gives the hunted animal more of a chance. People eat far less meat and also insist the highest standards in slaughtering so that animals do not suffer.

2. Basically anything goes. If you want to kill your neighbor's dog, you could still be charged of the crime of property destruction but not animal cruelty. If you want to kill a stray cat, nobody should care.

[Veliky Kaiser Theos]

While I agree that people are generally hypocrites when it comes to animals (I'm no exception), I disagree with the example:

1. Shooting wild animals is more humane than letting them grow weak, so they can be torn apart by another animal. I'd rather be shot than torn apart.
2. Dogfighting is a much slower and more painful death.

[Phier]

The concept is not about animals directly.

A domesticated animal like a dog is a companion, trusting of the owner/master, and a victim much like child abuse. I think we put WAY to much emphasis on our pets as 'part of the family' in the west but it is what it is.

I've had to put down several dogs in my lifetime (aka kill) precisely because they were acting more like a wild animal than a domesticated one.

[Lord Zhang Ku]

The concept is not about animals directly.

A domesticated animal like a dog is a companion, trusting of the owner/master, and a victim much like child abuse. I think we put WAY to much emphasis on our pets as 'part of the family' in the west but it is what it is.

I've had to put down several dogs in my lifetime (aka kill) precisely because they were acting more like a wild animal than a domesticated one.

You killed a domesticated dog for acting like an animal in the US? Isn't that kind of illegal?

[Phier]

You killed a domesticated dog for acting like an animal in the US? Isn't that kind of illegal?

The dogs attacked family members and exhibited other violent traits. I took them to the vet (being the oldest child I got the fun job there) and the vet gave them what amounts to a lethal injection.

When I was a very young child I was attacked by the family dog and would have been killed if my grandmother was not there. If you know where to look I still bear scars from that. That dog was put down as well.

About the only real question is why my mother decided to keep having dogs (these were show dogs)

[Ancient Aliens]

Animal cruelty can only be inflicted on animals that are self aware of themselves, and of the cruelty of their condition...for the third time. Most game is not self aware, cats and dogs are.

[Misery]

Animal cruelty can only be inflicted on animals that are self aware of themselves, and of the cruelty of their condition...for the third time. Most game is not self aware, cats and dogs are.

I am sorry but are you sane?

How can domestic cat be sane but lion is not, or wolf and dog... do you understand biology and evaluation?
What would you consider a horse, they can be both domestic and wild animals?

[Playfishpaste]

Harman supposes that the variable nature of ethical opinions on animals is evidence of either emotivism or moral relativism. It makes sense we should care only for some animals since we love only some animals. Further it makes sense we shouldn't take animal rights too seriously since our moral framework involves bargaining with other, talking rational agents, rather than agents that can't participate in this bargaining.

[Col. Tartleton]

If not for imaginary laws I am able to kill people who annoy me with the only penalty being retribution from the deceased's family and friends.

[boofhead]

I never knew dog-fighting was a ''black-sport''. It's been practised by many people throughout the ages, just like cock-fighting.

The difference in the examples you provide is only in how clean the killing is.

[Basil II the B.S]

Dogfighting is a ''black'' sport? What? If Chris Rock wants to play the race card to whine and get some more money, he'd better try to look at little less ignorant.

[In3x]

Firstly, as people have already said dogfighting is not a black sport.

Secondly, in Scotland we have to shoot deer otherwise they will starve to death, this is because there are no wolves left to keep the deer population under control.

Thirdly, bow hunting is far far far more inhumane than hunting with a gun, one clean shot to the heart and the animal dies instantly, do you know how many arrows it can take to kill an animal such as a deer or boar? I would be surprised if the animal cares whether it is being killed in a fair or unfair way, but I bet they care whether they suffer hugely in the process or not.

Fourthly, Phier is totally right, if a domestic animal is out of control, ie it attacks humans, it is a no brainer to put it down.

Fifthly, humans regularly put down their own pets if they are suffering extraordinary pain, I would argue humans should be allowed the same, and many hunts are culls to stop the animals from starvation or disease.

Sixthly (????), what do you think of a lion when it kills its prey, do you think evil? Animals hunt each other, humans are no different, but at least we try to minimize the suffering or our quarry.

[saglam2000]

I dont think animals deserve any sort of rights. They never asked for any, they never will so we dont have to give them any.

[Playfishpaste]

I don't think retards deserve any sort of rights. They never asked for any, they never will, so we don't have to give them any.

[saglam2000]

I don't think retards deserve any sort of rights. They never asked for any, they never will, so we don't have to give them any.

But we do have a concept of human rights, retards are still human. Animals are not, we eat them and use them for our own gain i don't see why they need rights.

[Basil II the B.S]

But we do have a concept of human rights, retards are still human.

But retards can't ask for rights, never asked and never will.
And that alone makes your reasoning heavily flawed.

Animals are not, we eat them and use them for our own gain i don't see why they need rights.

Yes, you enslave other living beings. Be proud of that. Slavery is so pathetically human after all.

And what about rapists, or genocidal maniacs? How are they superior beings compared to a cat and a dog?
Sorry, some humans can hit lows that animals could never reach, and still enjoy rights.
Therefore it's either, we extend rights to animals as much as possible, or we remove them to whoever doesn't behave good enough to deserve them. And you really wouldn't like the second option, because you may not like having your rights removed for not showing the right degree of ''humanity''.

[Col. Tartleton]

Well we throw away broken things and we abort sick babies for their own good... I don't see why not.

[Blaze86420]

Its typical western hypocrisy. A whole city will riot over the death of one dog but nobody will give a about the millions of fish that suffocate to death just so we can have tasty tuna sandwiches. And don't even get me started on the way they cook crabs and lobsters.

Poor fish.

[Maverick]

I've had to put down several dogs in my lifetime (aka kill) precisely because they were acting more like a wild animal than a domesticated one.

The dogs were probably hanging with a tough crowd.

...

You had several troubled dogs OR maybe you have the problem?

[In3x]

The dogs were probably hanging with a tough crowd.

...

You had several troubled dogs OR maybe you have the problem?

Maybe they weren't all his dogs? Maybe he just sucks at training dogs.