Owning Pets

I don't quite get the concept of "owning" animals as pets. Isn't it unethical to own an animal simply for personal pleasure and entertainment? We are horrified by owning one another (slavery) yet we own other animals. We are animals, too.

What reasons do you own pets?

 

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My cats live with me and I care for them, I do not own them.
They are free to leave whenever they want

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I got them from the shelter and they were the last two of a nest.
They have to live somewhere, right? So why not with me? I like having cats around. Plus, I think I take care of them better than many other people would.

 

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Q, I've thought about the same thing.

Basically, the pet should be free to leave at any time; if they then choose to stay, then it's fine.

 

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So what should be done with pets that can't leave whenever they 'want' (goldfish for instance)?

 

Goldfish aren't intelligent enough to know that they are in captivity.

 

Err.. that's not the point. They could just swim off if they weren't held in an aquarium or bowl. Are you saying that only pets that are able to realize it when they are being held in captivity should be able to leave whenever they want?

 

That's the only time when it is relevant.

 

So what animals would that include?

 

Humans, of course. And the few others that are sapient.

 

What are the "few others that are sapient"?

 

I was raised with animals that earned their keep.
We currently have 2 cats because they keep our yard free of moles and our house free of mice. They earn their keep.
If we lived on a farm/ranch I could see owning a dog since it could protect/herd the other animals.
I just have a hard time keeping a pet for companionship. I understand why others do it, but its not my mind-set when it comes to animals.

 

What happens to them when they no longer earn their keep?

 

Probably other primates, and dolphins. These are the only others that could seriously be considered 'persons', and even then it's a stretch.

Does this mean we are free to violate other animals? No. Dogs and cats feel pain, and so we ought to treat them humanely; in essence, I'm only defending the idea that it is justified to eat meat, and I'm sure you wouldn't disagree with that. Anyways, I digress.

 

They have earned their keep and they are retired. Most dogs work til they die. You get into the truck with your gun to go hunting and leave that dog behind, you are gonna have one very upset dog.

 

..and then they die. Most pets can't survive by themselves, genius....

And if they could talk, I bet most pets are happy to be taken care of...

 

That's why I said if they want to

 

That is the result of pet ownership and the irresponsible people who own them. If it weren't for pet ownership in the first place, there wouldn't be shelters.

 

Uh, I don't think cats and dogs have the intellectual bandwith to make such choses. Food is their primary concern.

 

Ah, so you support slave labour?

 

I think that one could call into question the ethics behind domesticating animals in the first place, but now that it's been done we have a lot of animals in the world who couldn't possibly fend for themselves. We can either kill them off, or care for them. Actually, it was suggested by a documentary I watched that the domestic dog evolved naturally (to a point, obviously).

Certain pets do make me cringe a bit, though. Birds, for example. That one just seems a little off. When I was a kid we had a couple birds, and they were very... well, for one they were mean little shits, but they also seemed very agitated.

Of course, if you're going to condemn pet ownership then you also shouldn't eat livestock.