To Love Or To Kill: Man Against the Animals

We watched a movie today in class with the same title as this blog entry. it was discussing the way that we treat animals. And "we" was not just Americans. It was everyone in the world.

The movie opened with talking about using animals to help the criminally insane. The animals help to calm them and there are less suicides and such when there are animals present. this makes sense, animals do have a very calming effect on people. This is why we love them so much.

Later in the movie, they were discussing a pet cemetery. Many people I know would say that this is a crazy idea and it is a ridiculous waste of time. But, I feel that it is not. I for one know that a pet often becomes a family member and is very much loved. My cat recently died, and I had a hard time functioning for a few weeks afterwards. She was more than a pet to me, I got her shortly after my uncle died and if not for her I am not sure how messed up I would have been. After showing the pet cemetery and such, they talked about dressing your pets up. I think that is ridiculous, but now I think I am a hypocrite: when my family went on vacation this summer, we had our dog stay in a dog hotel and spa. This is overboard, but it is because we love our pets as if they were family.

Shortly after this I had to stop watching the movie and plug my ears. From what I gathered, the movie was talking about how they eat cats and dogs in the east. I find this disgusting and horrifying. But, then I have to stop and think about it. There are places in the world where it is horrifying to eat a cow. They would probably be appalled at seeing a video where people are eating such creatures. In the east, it is normal to eat cat and dog meat. This is mainly based on custom. This means that the moral status of an animal is not constant throughout the world. This creates a bit of a problem. if we as humans are supposed to be responsible for moral patients, shouldn't the moral status of these moral patients be constant throughout the world?

Just a little side note: I almost threw up, because I could still hear the screaming of the dying animals, and would absolutely prefer to not watch the rest of the video. it was quite sickening.