People and animals can have a mutually beneficial relationship. People can own horses and use them on their farms or for horse-back riding and even in competitions. Horses usually enjoy this, as long as they're allowed to run around in fields for most of their lives and are only kept in their stalls during the night. Usually horses love to be ridden and let out to run around with their owners. I mean I hate using the word owner. To me, it's "Pet Mommy." I mean I don't like the idea of capturing and trading animals for money, because that's generally what I consider to be animal exploitation, since living beings should never be "owned" by someone else. But in this day and age, it's kind of difficult to not do this, since that's our form of trade, and if you want to be a horse mommy, then you have to shell out some money for one. Otherwise, how are you going to get one - go steal a wild horse from its natural habitat? I think this is pretty much unavoidable these days. The same goes for cats and dogs. Anyway, the point is, as long as you're treating animals fairly and giving them enough room to roam free and giving them plenty of love and attention, I don't see anything wrong with it.
Here's something I do have a problem with: Keeping animals locked up in tiny cages and tanks in your home. This is why I hate pet stores. They capture innocent snakes, rabbits, fish, etc. and sell them for their own benefit. The animals don't have a choice. They are forced into this and are kept in tiny cages and tanks their whole lives. Animals live much shorter lives in captivity, on average, and tons of people take in exotic animals and don't understand exactly how to properly take care of them. My cousin's old roommate took in a baby Ball Python. When I met him, he was already dead, because she didn't keep his tank warm enough. WTF. This is something that happens all too often. But cats and dogs are a different story. They were bred to need families to take care of them. For the most part, they usually can't survive in the wild. And they need loving parents who take care of them, give them lots of space to run around and play, and give them lots of love and attention, just like the horses I mentioned. But seriously, guys, don't give pet stores your money. Pet stores should be put out of business. All they do is exploit animals. Buy your pets from shelters. You'll save a life. Buy your pet food and toys from your vet. The vet is more likely to know what type of food is best for your pet anyway. If you want to read more about this, read my note "Dodger Logic #54: Animal Tips, If You Will."
Something else I hate: I've told you guys this before. I hate when animals are exploited in any kind of way, such as those stupid pony Mary-Go-Round things at pumpkin patches and fairs. Also I hate the set-ups with "giant rats" in cages and "giant pythons" in tanks at fairs. I hate bull-riding, because those bulls are constantly hit with whips and forcibly angered. I hate circuses, because those animals are hit with whips, forced to do their masters' bidding, and live in cages their whole lives. I hate animal testing, as an animal gets absolutely no benefit from this and has no choice in the matter. It just has to sit there and be injected with toxins that make their eyes swell up and their hair fall out, or they have a cream rubbed on them that makes their skin itchy. And then, when these "scientists" are done with them, they dispose of them. I'm against the fur and hide industry, because instead of using hide from animals that have already been killed for their meat, they use perfectly good animals and simply kill them and remove their hide and move on with their lives. In my mind, in this day and age, where there are all kinds of things we can use for clothing, there is no reason to kill an animal for the soul purpose of its hide. Yes, killing an animal and taking all it has to give is a fantastic way to go about it, if you ask me. Eat the animal's meat, and then use its hide for clothing. That's great. I think animals should be used for all they're worth if they are to be used at all, but that's not how the fur and hide industry works. These animals are born to be tortured and die, and they have no say in it. All of these things should be illegal.
Yes, I eat meat. I love meat. And I believe that it's ok to eat meat, as long as you eat animals that were treated right in life and in death. That means eating wild caught fish, as well as free-range chicken and eggs that were never pumped full of chemicals or hormones and were fed an all-vegetarian diet. That means eating animals that came from farm or that you hunt yourself and NOT giving your business to the mass meat production industry. (If you want to learn more about this, read my note "Dodger Logic #16: Don't Be a Vegetarian; Instead, Change the System.") Here's the thing. Snakes eat frogs. Cheetahs eat gazelles. Bears eat fish. It's natural to eat meat that comes from animals below you on the food chain. All sorts of animals do it. We are animals, and we are naturally made to be omnivores, which means we eat both plants and meat. It's the reason we have canine teeth, advanced stomachs and digestive systems, and appendixes (which used to function in aiding the digestion of raw meat.) As long as we do it the right way and don't overeat certain animals or destroy any habitats with our eating patterns, I don't see anything wrong with eating some meat.
That being said, a lot of environmentalists are against hunting. Now, hunting purely for sport is aboslutely wrong and should be illegal. That include fishing just to play "Catch and Release." But as for hunting for food, I only get if you are against this if you're a vegetarian, pesketarian, vegan, etc. But if you eat meat, then there is absolutely no reason to be against hunting for food. On the contrary, it is much better to do this than to fuel the mass meat production industry. If you hunt an animal and kill it fast with a bullet, you know it died quickly and wasn't tortured to death. Also, you know that animal lived a full, free life without torture or being confined to a tiny living space its whole life. Hunting is under-valued and overly-criticized. Hunt away, my friends! - As long as you're hunting for food, not fun.
There is a way to live alongside animals and have a mutual beneficial relationship with them. When I shout animal rights from the rooftops, I don't mean that we should altogether leave animals alone. Yes, that would be great, but that's not realistic, and it's not really necessary. I have 2 dogs, and I love them to death. They seem to love me too, and they are super spoiled. They have plenty of room to run free and get plenty of food and attention. They are well-taken care of. That's how you have a mutually beneficial relationship with an animal.
See? Humans and animals are definitely tied together!
These are too funny.
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