Crosspost from https://lemmy.world/post/13527741
this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
70 points (87.2% liked)
WTF
4590 readers
1 users here now
founded 2 years ago
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Care to explain how this is any worse than what we already do with cows or pigs without invoking cuteness? What about what we do to rats which are just as socially/emotionally intelligent as dogs (and compared to many breeds more so)?
I really, genuinely, fully don't think you can.
I really, genuinely, fully don't think you'd care to listen. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the social emotional capacity that dogs have far exceeds any other domestic animal.
I've never understood why some people think emotional and human-based social capacity are the metrics by which we should value an animal's life. I would think that their ability to feel pain, fear and sadness would be a better way to judge whether it's ok to inflict harm, especially unnecessarily, on another species. Can you help me understand your reasoning?
We can measure an animal's ability to feel pain, but fear and sadness are emotions, the exact thing that I'm talking about.
You do know that Rats act very similar to a miniature dog yeah? They very much have an ability to express emotions similar to dogs. While I understand where you're coming from, and personally could never condone the actions done above, Its hard to deny that in some cultures Dogs don't have that connection that we value.
Ah I think I see what you're getting at. I thought you were saying it's a dog's unique ability to convey emotions specifically to humans by mirroring our behavior that made them more valuable than other animals.
It sounds like you're saying they have emotions that other animals do not.
While it's true we can't measure emotional intensity in animals, we can certainly observe their behavior and see that they will cower, flee or scream to indicate fear, and call out or wail to indicate sadness (something that has been observed in dairy cows separated from their calfs). I think anyone who's spent time around these animals would agree that they certainly have the capacity to feel these emotions, and I don't see why that's any different from dogs.