4 ms·

I generally agree with you. How do you feel about domesticated animals as pets, like cats, dogs, fish, etc? Or farming animals like chickens and cattle?

by mrks_ 10y ago

cm3 10y ago
Some animals are domesticated in ways that they wouldn't survive without humans, and there are species which are held just for the amusement of humans like a fish in a home aquarium. Chickens and cattle are special because they're predominantly single purpose branches of the original species and would most likely not survive in the wild. Dogs and cats can survive, and there are different breeds of those which have a higher or much lower chance of survival. The absurdity comes in with dog species that were bred to be small or look a certain way and are riddled with diseases or low survival chances on their own. The same kind of dog breed wouldn't survive in nature and propagate, but we believe it's acceptable to breed tiny dogs for purses or mean looking terriers that have genetic disadvantages leading to life-long ailments. This may sound controversial, but before we protest the farming of animals whose single purpose is making furry clothes or food for humans, where those animals (like cattle, fish) wouldn't exist otherwise, we might want to fix the cruelty that's going on in some parts of the pet industry first. To answer your question, yes, most domestication of fish falls into the same unnatural cruel captivation like caging birds, but most cat and dog domestication evolved naturally. One has to recall that domestic dogs are the result of selective breeding human friendly branches through ages. Even with those, we have dogs like German shepherd that have built-in physical conditions which are unlikely to have existed with human-intervention-free natural selection.
- cm3 10y ago
  With all that being said, some instances of us trying to preserve species which leads to survival only under human controlled institutions, is probably more to appease the guilt of humans having done things which led to their extinction. If there's no reasonable chance of, say, releasing a panda into the wilderness, then I'm afraid it's only for preserving fresh genetic material and reducing humanity's feeling of guilt. If we were serious about all of it, we would take measures to not invade on their homes, but look at LA, where wild cats visit parts of the LA hills settlements or bears in Alaska or Canada or boars in Europe. We rule the geography and want to build cities in all kinds of places all the while trying to preserve the population of fauna and flora. Something has to give if we keep using the same mechanisms.

I generally agree with you. How do you feel about domesticated animals as pets, like cats, dogs, fish, etc? Or farming animals like chickens and cattle?

by mrks_ 10y ago

I generally agree with you. How do you feel about domesticated animals as pets, like cats, dogs, fish, etc? Or farming animals like chickens and cattle?

cm3 10y ago

Some animals are domesticated in ways that they wouldn't survive without humans, and there are species which are held just for the amusement of humans like a fish in a home aquarium. Chickens and cattle are special because they're predominantly single purpose branches of the original species and would most likely not survive in the wild. Dogs and cats can survive, and there are different breeds of those which have a higher or much lower chance of survival. The absurdity comes in with dog species that were bred to be small or look a certain way and are riddled with diseases or low survival chances on their own. The same kind of dog breed wouldn't survive in nature and propagate, but we believe it's acceptable to breed tiny dogs for purses or mean looking terriers that have genetic disadvantages leading to life-long ailments. This may sound controversial, but before we protest the farming of animals whose single purpose is making furry clothes or food for humans, where those animals (like cattle, fish) wouldn't exist otherwise, we might want to fix the cruelty that's going on in some parts of the pet industry first. To answer your question, yes, most domestication of fish falls into the same unnatural cruel captivation like caging birds, but most cat and dog domestication evolved naturally. One has to recall that domestic dogs are the result of selective breeding human friendly branches through ages. Even with those, we have dogs like German shepherd that have built-in physical conditions which are unlikely to have existed with human-intervention-free natural selection.

cm3 10y ago
With all that being said, some instances of us trying to preserve species which leads to survival only under human controlled institutions, is probably more to appease the guilt of humans having done things which led to their extinction. If there's no reasonable chance of, say, releasing a panda into the wilderness, then I'm afraid it's only for preserving fresh genetic material and reducing humanity's feeling of guilt. If we were serious about all of it, we would take measures to not invade on their homes, but look at LA, where wild cats visit parts of the LA hills settlements or bears in Alaska or Canada or boars in Europe. We rule the geography and want to build cities in all kinds of places all the while trying to preserve the population of fauna and flora. Something has to give if we keep using the same mechanisms.