17 of 50

Yes

Write now Article Tools

Animal rights have absolutely gone to far. Animals in some cases are treated better than humans. Popular culture has humanized animals to the point that people project human motives and feelings onto pets and wild animals. Animal rights activists care more for animal rights then for human life. We sometimes forget that nature is cruel, far more cruel then most humans even those accused of animal cruelty.

People pamper their pets to the point of absurdity. Just a few minutes of watching the show, "The dog whisperer" should be enough to convince anyone of this point. On this show adults constantly show that they are willing to discipline their children but not their pets. The show's star Caesar has to continuously remind people who successfully raised children that spoiling their pets will lead to bad behaviour. Just a quick search online will show that people are buying everything from charms to nail polish for their pets.[1] One wonders if the people spending all of this time and money on their pets ever consider how much good they could do for their fellow man if they used the same resources to help others.

I call it the "Bugs Bunny" syndrome. I like cartoons as much as anyone, "Bugs Bunny" is one of my favourites, but showing cute little animals outsmarting humans and being clever in some way makes people humanize animals more. Animals are not human nor do they have the cognitive ability to understand human emotion. For children who grow up further and further from nature it becomes easier to associate the concept of rabbit with bugs bunny then with a burrowing rodent that is the primary source of meat for many wild predators.

Animal rights advocates such as PETA place animals above humans. Animals have every right to kill each other for food and live in the natural cycle, but PETA believes that humans should never kill an animal for food[2], medical testing, entertainment[3], or learning purposes. PETA has even gone to the lengths of creating a comic book like flyer of propaganda and handing it out to children of fishermen at docks.[2] One wonders how the PETA activists would react to someone handing out fishing flyers to their children. Some Vegans have even allowed their own children to die rather than use animal products[4].

Nature can be cruel. Life feeds on life, it is part of the natural cycle. Unless Vegans come up with a way to synthesize the basic proteins, fats, and other substances needed to sustain life they will by necessity feed on other living creatures. People who worry about animals that are slaughtered for food may have never considered how cruel nature is. Almost any natural death for an animal will involve pain. Imagine the natural cruelty of an injured deer that is disembowelled while alive by a pack of wolves. Any animal in nature that is weak enough to be preyed on will be.

As humans we should attempt to minimize animal suffering but we should never ever place animal well being above the good of other humans. Animals die and in nature they die painfully. Killing to eat is natural and probably a more humane demise then the one they would have in nature. As Penn and Teller made clear in a recent satire PETA and animal rights activists care more for animals then humans.[5]

Resources
1. http://www.pamperedpetscatalog .com/
2. http://www.fishinghurts.com/fe at-newcomic.asp
3. http://media.www.dailytexanonl ine.com/media/storage/paper410 /news/2004/07/09/TopStories/Pe ta-Demonstrates.Against.Circus -692421.shtml
4. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18 574603/
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =pYKdsIHE3is

Learn more about this author, Odin Kyle.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Have 'Animal Rights' gone too far??
We want to hear your view. Write now!