tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.comments2009-03-25T11:29:51.859-03:00a.r. hubScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636021843786596571noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.post-72017506040742977222009-03-25T11:29:00.000-03:002009-03-25T11:29:00.000-03:00Pets are a REALLY tricky issue (for me anyway). T...Pets are a REALLY tricky issue (for me anyway). The problem for me is that pets are commodities, and any time you have marketable, fungible commodities, you have people cutting corners and generally exploiting them for profit. As long as there is a pet industry, animals will suffer at the hands of pet stores and puppy mills.<BR/>On the other hand, of course, many companion animals are members of genuinely loving and positive relationships with humans. I credit the dogs I've had as pets - at least in part - with opening my eyes to the sentience and individual personalities of all animals. Having a friendship with an individual can be a lot more meaningful than words in a book or even videos of suffering animals.<BR/>I don't feel this is an issue I need to take an absolute stand on at this point. There are some answers I just don't have.<BR/>At the very least, if someone wants a companion animal, there's no justification for getting one anywhere other than a shelter.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03218201654440005223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.post-78071911625796874422009-03-25T10:31:00.000-03:002009-03-25T10:31:00.000-03:00Francione's argument in support of birth control m...Francione's argument in support of birth control methods as a means to end the "institution of pets" doesn't follow because it stands to reason that deontological ethicists must take as a foundational premise the right to bodily security. It seems, therefore, that Francione's strained argument ends up being consequential, not deontological.<BR/><BR/>I would argue that if prior existence is truly a problem for the animal rights discourse, fundamentally changing the institution of "pets," mirroring our relationship with children, for example, is the correct option. <BR/><BR/>Furthermore, moving into Aristotelian ethics whereby a companion animals’ “telos” is understood as being fulfilled through strict birth control methods given our domestication of them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.post-74580551690639960122009-03-25T01:50:00.000-03:002009-03-25T01:50:00.000-03:00I don't know where I read it, but found it again a...I don't know where I read it, but found it again at the end of this .pdf file, that no pelts sold at the auction in North Bay this past January. <BR/>http://www.ifaw.org/Publications/Program_Publications/Seals/asset_upload_file586_53311.pdf<BR/>So I'm hoping you're right.Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13588189915614594566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.post-61545144042694307002009-03-06T19:01:00.000-04:002009-03-06T19:01:00.000-04:00I like that (the Buddhist saying). Given Buddhist...I like that (the Buddhist saying). Given Buddhist beliefs about killing (as I understand them) I suspect it is meant literally. Thanks Joan.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03218201654440005223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.post-64930131290226278692009-03-05T23:02:00.000-04:002009-03-05T23:02:00.000-04:00I have no idea why when I read your last quote - t...I have no idea why when I read your last quote - the most intimate experience most of us have with animals begins when they are dead and we eat them" - I giggled. It brought to mind my former husband who was a chef and he would literally groan with pleasure when he was eating something that he had just cooked that was really really good. I don't think there's too many more intimate experiences one can have than closing your eyes and putting something in your mouth and letting a taste sensation overcome you - unfortunately it's the flesh of another sentient being that is allowing you to have such a overwhelming experience. There's a Buddhist saying that you become the graveyard for every piece of animal you eat.<BR/><BR/>JoanJoan Sindenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04457437859009705213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.post-36853284218891550712009-03-03T13:15:00.000-04:002009-03-03T13:15:00.000-04:00"This campaign seems based on PR. Wild seals, baby..."This campaign seems based on PR. Wild seals, baby ones in particular, make better headlines than 'vicious' minks, otters or foxes, or rodents like chinchillas."<BR/><BR/>Yep. One of the main reasons the anti-sealing campaign has been so successful is that seal hunts don't take place on private property. Once the seal hunt ends (and I do think it will end in, well, not too many years) I don't see a whole lot of people from that movement tackling, say, Nova Scotia's mink farms. <BR/><BR/>As an aside, Nova Scotia is the largest mink "producer" in Canada.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03218201654440005223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248351585424618348.post-10412028906019585002009-03-03T12:31:00.000-04:002009-03-03T12:31:00.000-04:00It's doubtful that Europeans will drop their taste...It's doubtful that Europeans will drop their taste for fur products; they're too deeply imbedded as high end fashion in certain countries (i.e. France). I question whether seal fur makes up more than a fraction of the market - it seems to me like other mammals are going to continue getting slaughtered because their conditions simply haven't been addressed by campaigners. This campaign seems based on PR. Wild seals, baby ones in particular, make better headlines than 'vicious' minks, otters or foxes, or rodents like chinchillas. I am sure that DFO will simply work with EDC to make sure that we develop new markets for seal pelts rather than breaking this cycle of violence.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551677681779042498noreply@blogger.com