What's Your View on Animal Rights?

[legend forge]

I know it may sound cruel... but I don't think animals have the same sorts of rights as people at all. I love animals and there are not many things that upset me more then animal cruelty, but still. They are not humans. If an animal has to die for a human to live, there is no question in my mind who to choose. That goes for food, we are biologically built to consume meat as well as plants so I will consume what my body needs to live. Animal testing is incredibly important from a medical standpoint, and I have many family members who would be DEAD if not for it. PETA pisses me off because they are telling me that MY LIFE and the life of my parents doesn't matter and we should all die. Literally. I have a family history of diabetes, and insulin would not be possible without animal testing.

I am not saying that animals have no rights, just we need them to live. They kill other animals for food and other things, why should we be different?

 

[Don Savik]

snip

All of those quotes are pretty naive and stupid. Humans are primates yes, but our intelligence puts us apart greatly from other animals. To say that there's no difference between a cat and a man is pretty poetic, but hilariously stupid. Enslaved the rest of animal creation? *facepalm* Human civilization cannot expand with animals roaming wherever the fuck they want. Maybe lesser companies/countries kill animals inhumanely, but we have laws. We do what we have to. Animal testing? Would you rather it be on humans? or not at all? and what the hell is compassionate hunting?

 

[ran88dom99]

stop eating them

 

[Don Savik]

stop eating them

make pigs taste bad, than I might reconsider

 

[Stew Coard]

ANIMALS HAVE RIGHTS!!!! the right to be tasty
http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2011/10/27/ricks-cafe/

 

[Srs bzns]

I eat meat and support animal testing for necessary medical research. However there's a lot of fucked up stuff that would make you sick to your stomach that goes on in some countries in the process of doing these things. Real unnecessary cruelty happens in so many slaughterhouses in third world countries - real fucked up shit. Recently an undercover Australian reporter got some first hand footage of what happened to the Cattle we sent to Indonesia. She went to several slaughterhouses and the results were shocking to say the least, basically all of Australia was in an uproar and this is just one country.

To think here in Australia we've just reintroduced live exports to those countries.

My opinion on animal rights, its a good song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBp9mNOFDLk

In all seriousness eating animals or animals bred for game I'm fine with, if they're being treated well. However people have different definitions of 'treated well' it seems.

 

[BoredAussieGamer]

I'm OK with farming meat, fishing (in a sustainable way) and hunting (purely for the sake of food).

PETA are simply eco-terrorists who impede medical science.
I'm OK with use of lab mice for experimentation, but very few animals else.

However, people who make dog fighting rings (FUCK YOU MICHEAL VICK!), partake in Bull fighting, cock fighting, whatever, they are utterly detestable.

PS: Meat is delicious, and Bacon makes just about anything awesome.

 

[SD-Fiend]

i'm for animal welfare not animal rights. they don't really deserve them until they either learn to talk or build something complicated

 

[Professor_Page]

Animals should have the right to vote and the right to a fair trial.

Unfortunately for you they cannot either hold a pencil to mark their voter cards nor be swayed to one political ideal or another so their votes would be random if not completely unreadable. animals have only one right, the right to be tasty and served with mashed potatoes.......ok but seriously i agree with most of you guys and gals. killing for food is fine but dont be a dick and just do it to be cruel.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

stop eating them

Sorry, but it's too darn tasty. It really, really is. Plus, some animals eat other animals. If we gave them rights, we'd have to, by law, force them not to eat other animals.

 

[Rin Little]

I'm not a vegetarian or anything (I would probably starve if I tried to be) but I do support most animal rights. Hurting/killing animals for the hell of it with no real reason (and yes I get that hunting season is partially for population control) is a load of bullshit. I watch shows like "Animal Cops" and it makes me want to go and curb-stomp every asshole that neglects and abuses a pet. The fact that I tend to like animals more than people doesn't hurt either. All in all, I have respect for animals, but I also respect the food chain.

Recently on Conan O'Brien he addressed the lawsuit PETA is making for whales working at Sea Worlds and other similar places.

Actually I hate Sea World, PETA is stupid for trying to sue in that manner, but I'm not a fan of places like Sea World. This is mostly because of how they obtain they're dolphins. There's a movie called "The Cove" which is nothing short of disturbing. It's a documentary based in this small town in Japan where they have a dolphin slaughter between the months of September and I think March. And I'm not exaggerating, it's literally a slaughter for the dolphins that aren't chosen to be shipped to places like Sea World. It's a pretty informative movie, thus my hatred of parks like SW.

 

[XT inc]

So far my stance on animals, is that if we are going to eat them, treat them with the utmost care and respect.

Let's face it they are damn tasty, I can't see a future where I have completely stopped eating meat, or animal byproducts, unless they are all gone.

But I can more than do with out red neck hoo ha's snapping chicken legs, abusing cows, and all the other horrible shit we know they do before they get killed.

Just be humane and everything will be fine, animal cruelty annoys me because the animal can't really fight back.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

Being superior to animals means we should be responsible when exploiting them. It doesn't give us the right to be cruel to them.

This, very much this.

I'm probably going to advocate my views poorly, I'm extremely tired but I'll try to bring some semblance of reason to my statements.

I'm a strong advocate for animal rights, and when I was much younger I did join PETA along with a host of other organizations (WSPA, RAN, WWF, etc..). At this point in my life though I'm very much against PETA; not because of what they're trying to accomplish, but the means they're using. Demeaning and threatening people will never encourage them to see your views, you'll only push them further away, and in some cases they'll end up becoming exactly what you're fighting against. While any other day I'd be happy to see an organization garnering so much attention, far too much of it with PETA is negative.

Anyway, enough about PETA. As for specifics, I understand people eat meat, it's just part of life. I wouldn't have a problem with it if the animals that were used had a healthy life, weren't pumped full of drugs or forced to live in repulsive conditions.

It's a touchy subject for me I suppose. We don't have the right to treat animals as disgustingly as we do. And the fact people so easily disengage from the fact the food on their plate was once ever a living creature saddens me thoroughly. I have many reasons behind my beliefs, but for now I'll just surmise it all by saying the way we treat animals now is devastating to their potential; could you imagine what the world would be like in a few hundred/thousand years if we didn't restrict the ability for animals to adapt?

 

[Vivi22]

3: Eat little meat, You dont have to scarf down meat all the time, Veggie burgers can be good too.

Meat and the saturated fat we get from it are important parts of the human diet. Vegetarian alternatives are less ideal (being basically void of any fats), and by extension, less efficient options if proper human nutrition is the goal.

My opinion is simple: an animal shouldn't be abused or mistreated, but there is no reason to stop eating them when we are omnivores. We can raise meat ethically, and we can kill/hunt it in ways which minimize suffering. And more importantly, all parts of the animal should be used whenever possible.

I find it funny when people say we shouldn't kill them at all though. Not only does such a statement ignore millions of years of evolution, it implies we should stop doing what comes naturally to not just us, but thousands of other species. We need to eat to thrive and meat is part of our diet. You wouldn't see a Lion choose the life of it's prey over sating it's own hunger. But we like to believe we're more than the animals we consume. To believe such a thing is folly. We may be more intelligent, but we're still animals.

 

[Craorach]

PETA are some of the most revolting scum ever to walk the earth.

I believe in Animal Rights. I believe we should treat animals well, I love my pets, for example...

... but to PETA, simply having pets means I'm some kind of monster.

We should treat animals well, we should have rules to protect them, but that does not mean we should deny our nature and live even more unsustainable lives, nor let them run rampant, as the "Alpha Predator" of the entire world we have responsibilities that go with our position.

We should protect animals from cruelty, help them so they do not suffer, farm and breed them intelligently and with a sense of morality. We should not shut them in tiny cages, nor create "pretty" or "posh" breeds that suffer terrible medical conditions because of selective breeding for certain features. When they are sick, we should heal them. When our society or "progress" harms them and their homes severely we should make an effort to change or stop what we do.

But we must also remember that we have, for all time, affected the world in which they live. We should prevent overpopulation caused by us destroying predators and providing massive quantities of scrap food, for example. To not do so is only going to cause more suffering in the long run.

Furthermore, I absolutely support the testing of MEDICAL products on animals before they are tested on human beings. While I do not like the idea, animals are lower on the food chain than humans.. this is nature.. and while the testing of cosmetics and the like is abhorrent because those items have no real value to society, the testing of medical products saves lives and even trickles down into veterinary use.

 

[Syzygy23]

I am a firm believer that animals have the right to remain delicious.

 

[gabe12301]

I think animal rights are taken care of well enough in the civilised world by now.

A two week old human foetus has more rights than an adult chimpanzee... Think about that for a while...

That's what I meant by "well enough".

So a being that can think, learn, feel emotion, express individuality and possibly comprehend basic language should have less rights than a group of cells with about as much cognitive ability as a pebble?

Are you implying that an undeveloped human is worth less than a damned monkey? What will the monkey possibly contribute to society?
If I had to choose between a chimps life and a pregnant lady's kid that wouldn't even be an option.

but anyway, I don't support killing anything above or on the level of a dog, But It's not above or on the same level as a human. No exceptions.

 

[Raven's Nest]

evolution is a load of bs i have never seen an animal change to another kind of animal there is no recorded history of it. other then Microevolution but that is not the same thing you can breed dogs all you want and you will get a dog every time.it may be a big dog or a little dog but its still a dog that is a fact. (there is some varying degrees in intelligence but they will never build a space ship or get anywhere close to it)

Just because you don't understand something doesn't make it not true... Perhaps go and talk to a biology professor, i'm sure they'd be happy to sit down and explain it. It's really quite a fascinating process you see, if you understood the basic principles of how and why every living organism undergoes the process of evolution you would understand that perhaps the greatest living, walking animal on the planet ever... Is probably the humble cockroach...

 

[Keepeas]

I'm one of those people who doesn't think anything should get in the way of good solid scientific research.
If you do want to get in the way...well that's just selfish(usually).

Don't get me wrong, I love animals...but the findings yielded through scientific research justify the means.

Does PETA fight for ugly looking animal rights as well?
Most animal rights activist I've talked to don't give a fuck about anything that isn't furry and cute...hypocritical bastards.

 

[let's rock]

I believe that if you want to be a vegatarian or not wear fur, go ahead, but don't act like I have to do exactly the same