>I find the act of castrating an animal horrific, first because of the violation of its bodily autonomy and second because genitals are not just a piece of meat

>I find the act of castrating an animal horrific, first because of the violation of its bodily autonomy and second because genitals are not just a piece of meat but alter how the brain works which to me means it's also a violation of the mind. I think people who care about animals should think twice about having a pet if it means forcing that kind of procedure on a living being. There are two different situations, though: preventing reproduction and preventing potentially undesirable hormone-fueled behavior. You don't need to castrate just to prevent reproduction. I don't think there'd be anything wrong with performing a vasectomy, for example. I'm not sure if there's a similar analog for female animals, though.