Animals and Man

Animal rights has been a pursuing war of conservation and protection but can it be regulated? Should humans make an effort to become vegetarians and leave animals alone? Are we subject to what we have known all this time that we have dominion over the animal kingdom?
by Frank Brooks
(libertarian)
Monday, August 30, 2010

Animals are a huge issue right now and we are beginning to change the way we relate to them as human beings. The establishment of animal rights is almost being written as if there were a constitution for the wild kingdom. Animal cruelty is being subjected to stricter laws and guidelines are being pursued to establish their safety. Personally I am partial to the treatment of all creatures and they like humans deserve to be protected. It is just a matter of what fashion animal rights is administered that concerns me. Like anything else we can even take the safety of animals in general over the line. Some would definitely say there is absolutely no line to be drawn except for the stern law that no animals should be harmed period. It would be hard to establish that form of enforcement when you take the food chain into mind. That brings up the issue that human beings do not belong in the food chain at all and we are more or less herbivores.

Well I have looked over what is an excellent fight to ensure animals are safe and it is not exactly fair for humans to suffer for what comes natural to us. People say animals are defenseless but if you ever watch the Discovery Channel more than most are totally capable of protecting themselves. Call it what you want because humans have the upper hand. Just remember process of elimination, and survival of the fittest. Anything that can be said like that is considered inhumane but the fact is that it is true even if human beings never existed.

If you really had to make it clear just about everything we do concerning any creature is inhumane. We really don't have a right to consider an animal a pet for our amusement and think that is any different than other things we do. I am sure many people have pets that love them but those pets also have to follow rules. We enslave them pretty much because we desire their affection or they serve a purpose. Which this is fine for me because I believe animals like human beings serve a purpose in life and have just as important of a job to do as humans on Earth. They are responsible for ecological balance and help human beings survive. I am one who believes that when God said we have dominion over the animals he gave us a right to be in control. We are smarter than them so it makes a whole lot of sense we would be in charge of living things in nature. The only problem is how we act upon this right with reasonable responsibility.

I think dog fighting is one of the most inhumane acts ever established. The way the animals are treated as a whole is terrible. The torture and brutality in its entirety is flat out ridiculous. Dogs were not meant to be forced into combat for money because dogs usually have no interest in killing each other. I spent a great deal of time as a child around wolves my friend's mother raised for preservation and she explained the hierarchy of them. The wolves established their own pecking order to survive as a pack. This was a natural order that most dogs pertain to. They only fought over who was the alpha dog on top but very rarely and usually when a wolf was coming of age.

As much as I admired the preservation of these animals I also learned that not all animals are the same mentally. I knew many people who raised chickens and had several roosters. What I learned about the roosters is they love to fight. They absolutely love to prove how it said that they are king of the roost. It is part of their nature to be an alpha creature and a singular one at that. So when it comes to the act of cockfighting I am not partial to it or offended by it. The birds require no training and are usually in very good care longer than ones raised to be eaten. Immediately people would say I was biased for even saying such a thing but from what I have researched and seen for myself, cockfighting isn't as inhumane as people play it out to be. I have seen worse treatment of animals at the circus which I am not a big fan of. What a lot of people do not understand is that roosters are the livelihood for people in certain countries. Cockfighting is the national sport of the Philippines and provides them with ample revenue from tourism. We have no right to march into Manila and tell them to stop something they have been doing for centuries just because we have an opposing opinion on it. It's really not as severe as it is perceived.

Similar to cockfighting is bullfighting which is a pastime. Yeah it is brutal but what people don't understand is the bull that dies is honored and eaten by the people who kill it. Usually the bull chosen for the event is one that is in its prime age to be slaughtered and killed regardless. The entertainment value is what makes activists oppose but it still serves a purpose of culture. Catalonia was the first region of Spain to outlaw the events but it is still being done other places and will continue for a long time. Despite the cultural value of bullfighting in Spain I would not expect most Spaniards to be animal haters. Just like everyone else they believe animals have rights to be protected in a humane way.

There are certain things that take place involving humans and animals that activists want to end forever. Horseracing, Falconry, Cockfighting, Bullfighting, Dog racing, Hunting, and Fishing are examples of what is on the hit list. These are examples to me which I don't think are to unreasonable at all as long as they are regulated in a fair fashion. Really all of these things serve a purpose of preservation that is being overlooked by the violent or competitive nature of the events. If everything is handled properly then the animals benefit just as much as humans do from any of these practices. We cannot forget that the reason any of these sports were created came to be when humans wanted to be more involved with animals to begin with. Humans have an interest in the abilities of animals and have established ways to present their excellence. It is really an honor for us to have interest in animals and to show their great ability.

Hunting and fishing are being vigorously pursued as acts of inhumanity. Well that is something we have been doing since humans first existed on Earth. You really can't say that will ever stop and to try an end these practices is a war that will be lost. The only real way to solve a problem in that effect is regulation. When regulations are put into place it benefits the animal in question and the practice of choice. Everybody is well aware of the show Whale Wars and what they are doing to preserve the whales is equally ignorant as it is liberating. Whale hunting is justifiable for some cultures but the excess of it is not for others. Instead of watching Eco-Terrorists chase around whaling ships putting their lives at risk they should have a written code of laws. Personally I think whale hunting should be done in intervals of ten years off and on. This allows plenty of time for repopulation and ecological balance. To tell certain cultures that have been whaling longer than others have known whales to exist is unfair to them but we can put a rule in place to ensure the whales will survive. This compromise will benefit the whales and the whalers in dispute.

There are certain things we should have no tolerance for and we must all agree to end. The Black Market senselessly kills endangered animals for ivory and there is no point to it other than profit. We really do not need ivory as a resource and it is nothing more than a luxury to be had. That is something we must put primary focus on because it has no place in this world. As far as animals being slaughtered for furs that must have a strict order upon it as well. I wouldn't call an Inuit a barbarian for wearing a fur coat but if you're in Hollywood wearing fur on a ninety degree night you should be ashamed. The senseless batter of seals for coats is outrageous and should be tightly regulated. It should only be accepted in places where something of that value would be considered reasonable. Animal furs do have a value of comfort and protection but the fashion of it is not so appeasing. When you consider the efforts made to put any fur on the market consider the place it is being presented. Russians value fur for many reasons but take into mind that Russia is also extremely cold in places. Just because they tailor the fashion of fur and wear it does not make them inhumane. It is just how we perceive the credibility of where or what culture justifies the use of animal hides. If it is done with reason and respect we shouldn't judge anybody holding the privilege of resource.

If we let animal rights activists have everything they want accomplished the world would be a very different place. Imagine if you could no longer eat meat or poultry, and hunting was abolished. That is really the goal that most of them have in mind. In fact many animal rights practitioners believe by evolution we were never supposed to eat the flesh of animals to begin with. If you try to explain the sharp canine teeth in a human skull they will tell you they are for the purpose of eating nuts and dense fruits or vegetables. Well I think that is ridiculous considering we have an acquired taste for meat. We are exactly what an omnivore is defined to be along with other creatures. We are natural predators just as common as a lion or tiger would be if we desire a meal from an animal. They can try and mark up a chalk board all they want with cucumber eating excuses and I am still not buying it. We have dominion over the animals and we are top of the food chain. That is the truth so it is only subject for us to be reasonable with conservation and protective measures. If we follow regulation and reason we will have our ecological balance and animals will continue to strive as they have in the past. This is another issue that can never be one sided or it will defeat the purpose. Not everyone was born to drink milk and eat grass religiously. If that were the case we would be cows.

Did you like this article?
If you did, Thumb It!
18 thumbs so far

Facebook Share: Share

Share on Twitter

©2010 Frank Brooks, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Monday, August 30, 2010
Last modified: Thursday, September 2, 2010

The views expressed in this article are those of Frank Brooks only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Frank Brooks is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

Report violation by Frank Brooks of Nolan Chart LLC's terms of use policy.