Guest guest Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 If one avoids leather, avoids patronizing businesses that promote animal cruelty in any way, or otherwise avoids supporting practices Vegans consider unethical, then obviously choosing a cat as a pet goes against one's mindset. On Sunday, January 4, 2004, at 11:21 AM, wrote: > So then, here is the ethical question of the day......is it VEGAN to > keep a cat (a known carnivore) as a pet? > > Any who seek outside themselves to blame Have revealed the fear that they can barely name. --W B Kek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 > Gandalf the Gray <gandalfthegray86 > Sun Jan 04, 2004 07:14:01 PM US/Central > The Stewarts <stews9 > Re: No Cats For Us, Please; We're Vegan > >>> So then, here is the ethical question of the day......is it VEGAN to >>> keep a cat (a known carnivore) as a pet? > > Being vegan, here is what I think: Keeping a cat per se is not against > the ethical principles of veganism. There are a few cavets to heed, > however. > > (1) Cats are carnivores, pure and simple; if my knowledge serves me, cats > cannot be forced into vegitarianism, either, for biochemical reasons. > This is not unethical per se, either, as it is the cat's nature to be a > carnivore, and it would be unethical to try to force them to be something > that they are not because you say they ought to be. > > (2) However, support of the meat-production industries per the purchase > of commercial cat food is probably against the ethical principles of > veganism. The truth is that most pet food is made from the cheap parts > of meats made for consumer consumption by humans; cat food, more than > likely, is indirectly supporting industries in the same way that buying > Blue Bunny brand milk is. These companies, in our current > nickel-and-dime society, are pressured into unethical practices including > buying up small farmers and ranchers, and making the factory farms that > nearly every vegan finds unhuman (not just inhumane). > > (3) If one could avoid buying commercial cat food, and additionally > ensure that either the cat does his or her own hunting or gets his or her > food via means of " ethical " slaughter, then I would argue it is perfectly > ethical to keep a cat. Similarly, if you are vegan and a farmer, having > a cat on your land, living off rats and what-not, is not unethical -- > cats hunt, that's just how they are (and killing off all the cats to keep > them from hunting would be just as bad, arguably far worse). Of course, > that raises the more general question: > > (4) Is it ethical to keep pets? Considering we have two dogs in the > house, whom we regard as members of the family, I would say that at least > some of the time it is. It depends on how you few the pet (this is > starting to sound like a pro-slavery argument, sorry!) But if you treat > the animal well, and don't subject it to cruelty such as denying a large > animal room to exercise, etc. then what is wrong with it? The trouble > with the cat in the barn is that it is not really a part of the family > complex, it's just ... there. It's artificially been inserted into a > natural environment. > > (5) --Since this is an ethical problem, there is really no solid answer. > > My conclusions, however, would be that it is ethical to keep a cat, if > somehow you could avoid supporting the cruelty of the industries that > your veganism tells you that you shouldn't. And if you feel that the > point of being vegan is more akin to a morality issue ( " it's wrong of ME > to take life, but not for my neighbor " ) than a political viewpoint, too, > then it might just be okay for you to support those industries (even > though I feel you're being unethical) through buying food for your little > kitty. > > Certainly, though, you should think before you act. And if you have a > cat -- keep the cat, and feed it, too! (You shouldn't get rid of the > poor unethical beast!) And if you are getting a cat, period, then do one > ethical thing: go to a shelter. > > SAS > > Your search among books, word upon word, may lead you to the depths of knowledge, but it is not the way to receive the reflection of your true self. --Dogen, in The Practice of Meditation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 that gandalf guy said it better than i ever could. go, gandalf, go!! melody www.melodysmusic.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 This is the best argument I've read!!! Well said and I would say that I agree with this. Was this from your son the vegan? , The Stewarts <stews9@c...> wrote: > > > > Gandalf the Gray <gandalfthegray86@c...> > > Sun Jan 04, 2004 07:14:01 PM US/Central > > The Stewarts <stews9@c...> > > Re: No Cats For Us, Please; We're Vegan > > > >>> So then, here is the ethical question of the day......is it VEGAN to > >>> keep a cat (a known carnivore) as a pet? > > > > Being vegan, here is what I think: Keeping a cat per se is not against > > the ethical principles of veganism. There are a few cavets to heed, > > however. > > > > (1) Cats are carnivores, pure and simple; if my knowledge serves me, cats > > cannot be forced into vegitarianism, either, for biochemical reasons. > > This is not unethical per se, either, as it is the cat's nature to be a > > carnivore, and it would be unethical to try to force them to be something > > that they are not because you say they ought to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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