To think we could ban pets and use these instead

We could ban kids (ban for the environment, often grow up to cause trouble) and just have robot dolls instead?
Or robot partners instead of husbands and wives?
Or dating apps instead of speaking to people?

It'll probably all happen, but some people still believe an actual connection with a living creature is important.

OP doesn’t want your crippled rescue dog to roam free.

They want your crippled rescue dog to never have existed in the first place to need to be rescued. Especially yours with those selectively bred features.

Da fuck 🤔 this crippled (rescue dog) would not manage well in a pack roaming free.

Nope her job is basically a hot water bottle who sits on you at all times staring soulfully into your eyes while you feed her treats.

Not a bad idea in many cases.

Most of the dogs that exist in this country have been bred. if this stopped and all dogs were spayed, most breeds would die out.

There are lists of breeds that shouldn’t exist and wouldn’t survive in the wild anyway.

Also it’s not that extreme to think that we shouldn’t be mass breeding cows and drinking the milk of their offspring after they have been taken away from them.

Let's pretend that's a serious suggestion.

Dogs have been domesticated for millennia, how many generations would it take for them to return to an independently wild-living state?

Where are these packs of dogs going to live wild? Particularly for the earlier generations used to being fed, they are going to hang out near human habitation, where they will be regarded as dangerous; spreading disease, predating on livestock / wildlife / children /adults who move too slowly to get away from them. As dangerous animals, human are going to kill any that they find. I suppose that should mostly take care of the later generations of dogs - there won't be any.

You are advocating for the extinction of species. A bit like the vegan extremists who stated there should be no cows as humans shouldn't be eating beef and drinking milk.

For someone who thinks they're advocating for animal welfare, you have no grasp of the law of unintended consequences.

In the case of cats, they very much own you, not the other way round. The AI thing is at the very beginning, human like robots as companions and house keepers etc is very much on the distant horizon. It’s a bit like astro turf, fake plants etc, it’s completely an individual choice and both completely different in reality

Most people also have kids to improve their lives or to feel fulfilled.

Ah, so the emotional support I get from my cats, without which I would almost definitely have committed suicide a few years ago, are still a strain on the world's resources and have no right to live? I was literally contemplating the best method when my boy came over & snuggled up in my arms giving me such a look of contentment at being there. After a dreadful start in life he loved and trusted me, which was enough to pull me back from the brink.

But no, in some people's eyes he was a useless waste of resources 😖

You would also have to consider that not all dogs even from the same litter can be trained to be support animals. So what do you do with the rest of the litter if say only 2 of 8 Labradors turn out to be suitable - kill the remaining 6?

The sheer joy it brings me when I get in after work and my current 2 come running to greet me, not just for treats (Girlcat does like her treats) but for the fuss and attention I give them. I suppose you could class them as "enslaved" as they are indoor only cats, but both are happy and healthy and Tobias especially would have died if he was still stray or even going out due to his FIV (Feline Aids).

You dont want to have a pet dont have one. Why would you want to ban for those who want them?

Also pet owners are not really owners. They look after their pets and care for them like children.

I bought my dog.

I am autistic. and I wanted a particular breed because I knew what I could deal with and I knew what to expect from that breed.

FWIW I had to wait over a year for him as they are not a common breed any more (they used to be but now are a vulnerable breed).

I do think there is a point to keeping rare breeds going - we do that with farm animals, so why is it so different for a dog?

No decent pet person buys their pet. Rescue centres and word of mouth serve adequately, and in the case of cats, the Cat Distribution System does the job. (Breeders should all be put out of business)
But all this about the wastage of scarce resources to feed pets is going a bit far, considering what they eat.
I think the children comparison is legitimate, and certainly when it comes to the third or fourth child. Their food could go to other mouths just as cat kibble might be repurposed as a nutritious human snack.
(Oh, and we don’t ‘buy then discard’ these animals, either, any more than parents abuse, even murder, their infants. Which is to say, there’s always a bad lot to be found somewhere)

You cant pontificate about resources without considering other popular human interests: flying across the world for a holiday as a matter of course every year; driving a bloody great fuel-hungry Pantechnicon up and down the lanes to drop one kid to a school within walking distance; buying disposable cheap fashion; outdoor heaters all over the place, and so on and so forth.
(Not to mention dabbling in cocaine and weed, ignoring all the deadly aspects of the drugs trade for a dinner party frisson)
For all you know, that rabbit fancier down the road indulges in no frivolous activity which in any way harms the planet unlike her neighbour with three kids and an SUV but definitely no pets.

Mine has been trained by a recognised organisation (ADUK). And he sat a test. And he passed. So he is certified. But there is not central register of recognised institutions that train dogs in the UK.

He wears a harness with service dog on it.

he is trained to pick things up for me, help me with doing things such as opening the kitchen cupboards and alert me when I am heading to a melt down (I have autism and physical disabilities).

But because he’s not a guide dog or a hearing dog I am questioned all the time. I have to always have his paperwork in my bag.

I suppose under this scheme I would just be challenged even more.

Agreed! My cat is indoor/outdoor, she's 100% not enslaved - how do I know? she shows me every single day when she returns to HER HOME for food, cuddles and a cosy bed to sleep in.

What on earth is your point? There are a lot of children who live in abuse in neglect, should we ban people from having kids and have AI create virtual kids instead?

There is nothing immoral about owning a pet if you got them from a rescue. That's how I got mine after it's previous owner died, so me adopting my dog was certainly more moral than letting it spend it's days in a kennel...

Rage bait post if I ever read one, but I'll bite anyway.

How can you state "I absolutely love animals amd totally understand the value of having them" and in the next breath say they should be banned. No animal lover would support a ban on pets.

I'm all for tighter regulations on animal 'ownership' and I'm not going to tie myself in knots over the use of the word 'ownership' - particularly when it applies to 'cat ownership' - I don't own the cat, she owns me, she owns my DH and she owns the house despite not paying the mortgage!

I wonder how many people that think this could replace a dog have ever had a dog?

Why should I not be allowed to pay a fee to rescue my cats?

As long as you comply with Lucy's Law.

One that has been trained by a recognised institution. Not an emotional support dog.
The ones that uk airlines recognise.

Define a proper service dog please.