Your thoughts on animal rights

[Earniel]

Well said BoP. You know your speech reminds me a bit of the elves from LOTR. They too try to keep their realms intact.

[BeardofPants]

Thanks, Earniel. It is something I feel strongly about.

[cassiopeia]

I agree with you BoP. Although I don't eat meat, I know it is natural and what helped get us to this stage. I don't like wild animals in captivity, but if thats the only way to ensure that they don't become extinct, then we have to do it. I despair at the loss and rainforests and such, but I don't think I can give up the luxuries in my life for it. I can't see how this destruction this can be stopped in the near future.

[Erawyn]

That was great BoP
It's not that i think coal plants are less harmful, and i agree with JD that if we did switch to electric cars there would probably be more coal plants which would not be good. In my opinion fossil fuel emissions are the biggest pollution problem that we've created. Since we have a limited source of these fuels we might as well make the switch to a clean fuel sooner rather than later, and I think electric cars are maybe the first step to making these changes. Of course electric cars will never be mainstream while governments are making so much profit off of oil.

[Blackboar]

Hmm...

I think its strange when some vegetarians (i.e lots of my mates!) just wince at the sight of meat because of the little cute animals! Then when it comes to other animals like insects and snakes they are just like "Kill them! Kill them! and I am just like "Hey they are animals too! Dosn't mean just cause they are not cute dosn't mean you can kill them!"

And all my other mates, the ruthless ones, eat meat all the time, not really caring at all. (This description actually describes me a bit) then when it comes to insects and snakes and stuft they are justlike "Don't kill it! It's really sweet" Then picks it up and starts cudding it like a baby!

[Blackboar]

What do you think about this?

[Elven Archer]

i think it's silly how some people think animals are just like us. and they should have all the same rights and stuff. I don't think you should mistreat animals though,like neglecting them and beating them and whatnot.i also think its silly how vegitarians or animal rights people squash bugs but are so against eating and killing them,like you said. i don't get how vegitarians think it's okay for other animals to eat other animals but not okay for us to eat other animals. when we're basically animals anyway.

[cassiopeia]

I am a vegetarian because the way animals are treated before they are slaughtered, not because I think it is wrong to eat animals. Yes, I kill spiders (quickly and painlessly, hopefully), but that is a far cry from keeping an animal in a cage with barely enough room to move and pumped full of drugs.

[BeardofPants]

Elven Archer, we ARE animals. And I don't squash any bugs except for flies....

I am vegetarian because I object to the WAY animals are exploited. I have no problem with people going out to kill for their dinner, but do you have any idea how much wastage there is in the meat industry? I used to work in a delicatessen, and sometimes we used to throw away whole cuts of meat. The wastage is appalling, and people seem to forget that an animal died to get the meat in the first place. I got so sick of people complaining: "Oh it's too fatty" "It looks dry" "I don't want that piece, it's too big" etc. For gods sake! That animal gave its life up, and all you can do is friggin' complain?!

[Dunadan]

I think it's morally wrong to subject animals to unnecessary suffering, but I don't think it's wrong to exploit them. If we hadn't, we'd never be sitting here getting excited about LOTR. In my view, animals have some rights, but not as many as people.

It would be great if we could move to a more ethically pleasing arrangement for the food industry, but I think that's out of the question as long as we have the economic system we do.

The thing that really annoys me is the anti-vivisection brigade. They seem to care about animals which are furry or fluffy more than they care about human suffering.

cheers

d.

[Miranda]

Originally posted by Dunadan
I think it's morally wrong to subject animals to unnecessary suffering, but I don't think it's wrong to exploit them. If we hadn't, we'd never be sitting here getting excited about LOTR. In my view, animals have some rights, but not as many as people.

It would be great if we could move to a more ethically pleasing arrangement for the food industry, but I think that's out of the question as long as we have the economic system we do.

The thing that really annoys me is the anti-vivisection brigade. They seem to care about animals which are furry or fluffy more than they care about human suffering.

cheers

d.

Its a hard subject to comment on really. I'm totally against using animals for make up tests etc but I really can't come out and say I'm against all animal testing because without it my Grandad would be dead and so would I! I don't think there'll ever be a solution to this sort of thing- there's no clear area to draw the line between what's acceptable and what isn't. Mx

[Dunadan]

Originally posted by Miranda
I don't think there'll ever be a solution to this sort of thing- there's no clear area to draw the line between what's acceptable and what isn't. Mx

I agree that it's really hard to do, but I think we have to try. In fact, I think we do it pretty well. The regulatory system for medical research is fairly strict as far as when and how animals are used. Sometimes people flout the rules, but they are a minority: it's not worth the risk of losing your licence.