After reading a news article yesterday entitled “Teen Girls Accused of Setting Kitten Ablaze” which described teenage girls setting alight to a kitten for “their own amusement”, I was reading through the visitor comments in which various people had made their stance clear about what they might consider to be justice for such a crime. The comments included “I’d burn them (the girls) and laugh.” And “I think they should be put into a mental institution so they can receive the proper care”. This of course is no surprise to hear how sentimental people feel about the life of an innocent kitty, these comments did however come across as somewhat hypocritical.
Why were these girls torturing a kitten? Amusement.
Would it have been more morally acceptable if they would have asked another individual to torture and kill the cat? When this question is asked to most people they would confirm it is just as unacceptable. When asked if they consume animal products most would reply “yes”, when asked why they eat meat, most would reply “I like the taste”.
This poses an awkward dilemma for those who eat meat and other animal products…
Why is it morally unacceptable for the girls to torture a kitten for amusement but it is morally acceptable for an individual to pay for another individual to kill / enslave / torture other sentient beings because they like the taste? Surely as excuses go there is little difference.
There is no disputing that animals feel pain as humans do and farmed animals feel pain just as our companion animals do? So why do we continue to knowingly cause suffering when we can choose a life of doing no harm? Buying free range does nothing for animals, with DEFRA guidelines animals can be kept in barns by the thousands and still be sold as free range, free range organic beef means nothing accept the usual chemicals that are pumped into animals to stop them getting infections and diseases are not used. There are no guarantees with a humane existence and most of all there is no ethical way to take another animals life.
Veganism as a compassionate lifestyle choice therefore should be the baseline for our moral stance in regards to the interests of the animal kingdom. Veganism is healthy, it removes you from the ongoing loop of exploitation of animals (including humans) and environment, not to mention it has been shown to be a much cleaner healthier dietary choice for human beings. You can find out more about veganism from www.vegansociety.com or email us info@stopanimalcruelty.co.uk for more information and meal ideas!
Further reading about the Abolitionist approach to animal rights can be found on Prof. Gary L. Franciones site www.abolitionistapproach.com
Chris
