Is It Ethical to Keep Pets and Other Animals?

[skjl47]

So in this, like all crimes, follow the money.

Well people like animals more than they like other humans in many cases.

Hello; From time to time I get to agree with Ulu. These comments I do agree with. My newest college student neighbor is going to be a small animal vet. I live in a rural area with a small herd of black angus as my neighbors to the north east. I asked him why not go for large animals. Of course it is the money to be made I discovered. For the sake of all people it would seem being a large animal vet is the better thing but small animal vets can make more money. I have heard of vet bills for small dogs being in the many hundreds of dollars for simple things.
I know it was a different time in my youth but dogs did not go to a vet much in my neighborhood. I do not ever recall a cat being taken to a vet back in the 1950's. You did the best you could for the dog and if it was in too bad of shape you put it down and out of misery. Not a thing I ever wanted to do but I have done it. Watch the old movie "Ole Yeller".

people should buy rescues.

Hello; Note the word "buy'. Follow the money again.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Hello; Note the word "buy'. Follow the money again.

It is usually cheaper to buy rescue dogs than bred dogs. But yes, it does cost money.

 

[Dalfrey86]

Oh just thought of this one... brought the extra butter popcorn too
Who is really harboring the pet... per se?
Think about it, the environment can sustain us as humans but are we the ones sustaining a pet or is a pet showing us how to live better with the environment?
Tank fish for instance, they have basic requirements that are naturally provided for but as we intervene and keep them in captivity are we an addition to or a hindrance to the success of the species?

 

[Deadeye]

Not sure, it depends on the species. The pet trade has made bala sharks and dwarf puffers bear extinct in the wild, but it also helps to raise awareness of other animals, basically turned the crested gecko from literally extinct to one of the most popular pet reptiles in the world.

 

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

I think animals like dogs and cats are good. Things like Great Pyrenees can be controlled by a few walks or daily dog park visit. More exotic pets, like Capybara’s or Monkeys should not be kept by private zoos, only public zoos. I believe so because I think public zoo’s usually want to teach people about animals (and make money), but it is cool to see exotic animals like that. Things like Zebra’s at zoos tho....

My family has 2 cats, a dog, 2 tortoises, Madagascar Hissing cockroach colony (new addition a few days ago), a Bearded Dragon, and a colony of normal roaches to feed lizard.

The cats we let roam around the neighborhood until dusk, because we have a major Coyote problem in our area.

Our dog, Rocket, which is (DNA test revealed) an Australian Cattle Dog, Irish Setter, Treenwalker Coonhound, and Border Collie mix. He is just plain white with spited ears; I don’t know how he is all that. Especially because he was a rescue. But, we take him on visits to a local dog park every day. On the weekends, twice a day. Completely fine. No problems.

We have a Bearded Dragon. Bearded Dragons just wanna spend their life eating and basking in the hot Australian Sun. My family lives in San Diego, 15 minutes from the beach, so it is hot enough where we need to mist him. He has a 65 gallon inside, where he stays at night, and a 500+ gallon chicken wire DIY Cage that was converted from a sandbox out back. He is quite boring. All he does is lay around, waiting to be fed, and basking in the sun. We mist him down several times a day. I don’t believe he needs anything else.

We also have 2 baby Desert Tortoises. We house them in a chicken wire covered cage, the frame being wood so that we can easily pick it up and move it to a different spot. The thing is easily 10 feet by 10 feet. It’s about a foot tall. We usually let them have free reign around the yard, but being 2-3 years old, we always need to be aware. We check on them every hour or so. We feed them greens, and they always find something to chow on while they are moving around. Our fence is totally tortoise friendly, and there is no way a tortoise can get out. When it is night time, we house them in a DIY wood box (maybe 5x3 feet). I don’t think they need anything else.

We added a new addition to our house; a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach colony. We have about 14 in a 20 gallon long. They are super cool, and distinguishable. There is one that is the biggest I take out and hold. I created a natural habitat for them, along with loads and loads of paper towel cartridge tube thingys. This is the thing that I would be considerate on the border of not a good idea. I think we are getting a 125 tall for them. Then they will breed and have some room.

Lastly, the Dubio Roaches, which I don’t think of as a pet, more like a food. I created a natural habitat for them with leaves, and toilet paper cartridge things, because they find that in the wild ?. They have everything they need, and could want.

Now, back to the article ?

I agree with some parts, like hens should be housed in a slightly humane way (though they still pump them with steroids ?). I think monkeys, toucans, yaks, and other exotic animals should not be kept as pets because they need space. But if it is a certain space, with certain requirements, then I think that would be fine. But nobody will go through every animal species saying “oh, this species needs at least one dead palm tree, a 1/4 of an acre plot, and it needs to have at least 30 plants”. I am not really sure what to say, or why you posted this, but this is the longest post of mine, and it was damn fun to write lol.

Pics Please! Sounds too good!

 

[Ulu]

What if I have to eat my own fish? My Dog? What if I love my little bunny, and I eat him when he gets fat?
I won't starve. I live in farm country. But if people have to eat animals, when is it moral?

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Okee

 

[Ulu]

. . . From time to time I get to agree with Ulu. . . .

Then I should take note of the fact. Mucho gusto.

. . .Follow the money again.

Of course the money isn't in and of itself bad and all profits do not lead to crime, or at least to a willful crime.

Now there are so many codified crimes that it is statistically possible, and highly likely, that each adult citizen is in violation of something somehow.

 

[esoxlucius]

Then I should take note of the fact. Mucho gusto.



Of course the money isn't in and of itself bad and all profits do not lead to crime, or at least to a willful crime.

Now there are so many codified crimes that it is statistically possible, and highly likely, that each adult citizen is in violation of something somehow.

..........how very true.......and even more likely that they aren't even aware of it!

 

[skjl47]

Of course the money isn't in and of itself bad and all profits do not lead to crime, or at least to a willful crime.

Hello; Again I agree with this comment. The pet trade is, of course, a for profit business. I do not have a gripe with people doing business. The theme of this thread perhaps leads us more to the unpleasant side of the hobby, both for the dealers in pets and us as keepers of the pets. No point in spewing out a bunch of issues with the dealers, perhaps one will do. I am thinking of the practice some years ago of collecting marine fish using a toxic chemical. (I forget the name of the chemical) The collectors would inject the chemical into the nooks and crannies of a reef. The fish would be stunned and float out to be collected. The fish seemed to recover and would be sold. AS I recall it was some time later the fish would succumb to the delayed effect of that collection method. I think that practice is now stopped, which is a good thing. My guess is other more current examples can be found on the commercial side.

On the hobbiest side there are multitudes of threads and posts in this very site about very poor care practices of our fellow fish keepers. I recall one recently about a sick fish where the nitrate concentration was never given even tho the ammonia and nitrite numbers were given. My suggestion was to up the amount and frequency of water change (WC) as the WC schedule reported did not seem enough. That thread has been silent for some time now so we do not have a resolution of the situation. There are pretty much regular threads about sick fish here and when we can get deep enough into the situation it is often learned the fishkeeper has made a mistake. A mistake sometimes because they did not know better but still a mistake. I do not think people buy fish or other pets with the intention to do harm, but the history seems clear.
I no longer encourage people I know to start into the fish keeping hobby. A while back a friend who has an empty 55 gallon tank was at my home looking at my tanks. He wanted to know if he could just put some water in the empty 55 gallon as it sits and get some fish. I tried to talk him out of that since the tank has sat empty since the two Oscars died in it a few years ago. Two baby Oscars in a 55 put into the tank and no WC done over time. They are tough fish but eventually did die from the conditions. He wanted to refill the tank as it sits and go with it. I gave a long list of things to do and hope he will not try at all but figure he may.

I may have this bit wrong in some fundamental ways but have been thinking the "Rescue pet" thing going on has been a successful advertising scheme. I do get the notion of potentially "saving the life" of an animal and understand how such a thing can be a feel good emotion. Not sure this helps in the overall scheme of things.
Back in the days of fur coats and fur hats one of the strategies was to make wearing such things unpopular. The thinking being if demand went down then those who killed and collected the animals would not need to kill and collect more. My guess is the animal shelters get the animals for free from them being turned in. My neighbor found some kittens recently and promptly took them to a shelter. Same happens for dogs is my guess.
Anyway if the overall situation is that there is too large of an overall population of stray or feral animals, then the solution would seem to be to cull a number of those strays. I have not been hearing about a supply shortage of cats and dogs. In fact from time to time stray dogs show up in my area where it would seem people dump them off.
Back to the fur trade example for a comparison, it would seem to me that if the "rescue pet" theme continues to be successful then perhaps the puppy and kitten mills will continue to produce more product and thus keep the whole thing going. I have had at least two examples of outcomes near me since three houses near me have become college student rentals. Currently my newest student neighbors have two "rescue" dogs. Both rescued by the same young woman. One is a decent dog while the other is a psycho. Makes me glad I erected a fence between the properties. I figure that dog will get someone eventually as the woman will not keep it on a leash.
The other example was in a house near me. A three bedroom house wound up with seven students living in it ( a violation of the lease as it turned out) and they had among them seventeen dogs. Six adult dogs and after a bit 11 puppies. If it had not been for the barking it would have been amusing to watch. I talked to some of the students and found most of the dogs were "rescues". I guess my point is the emotional notion of rescuing an animal sometimes leads people to wind up with more animal that they can properly keep.
The neighbor who lived a bit closer to the seventeen dogs was furious about all the dog crap in his yard as he had not put up a fence. He has left and now his house is a student rental.

Just some thoughts.