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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

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Original poster

to think its hypocritical to be outraged about Cecil the Lion?

156 replies

screenjunkie · 01/08/2015 23:23

I think it's disgusting what happened and upsetting.

I'm also a vegetarian and I'm starting to become a vegan now too.

Why are people so outraged by the death of a lion when they probably ate meat the same day?

So because a cow/pig/chicken maybe isn't as interesting or as exotic as a lion it's life is less valuable?

I'm not preaching for people to become vegetarians because its a very personal choice and a big lifestyle change. But aibu to think it's hypocritical to be outraged over a lion when you probably contribute to another animals suffering daily?

OP posts:

cheshirecat23 · 02/08/2015 00:58

If everyone on the planet stopped eating meat then wouldn't we have to kill animals anyway because they were eating all our vegetables?

Maybe I should take myself and my inner voices to bed now...

Original poster

screenjunkie · 02/08/2015 01:01

If everyone on the planet stopped eating meat then wouldn't we have to kill animals anyway because they were eating all our vegetables?

We're already killing our planet by breeding cattle.

Ever wondered why California has such a bad and constant drought?

OP posts:

AvaCrowder · 02/08/2015 01:04

I quite like your inner voices cheshirecat

cheshirecat23 · 02/08/2015 01:04

*We're already killing our planet by breeding cattle.

Ever wondered why California has such a bad and constant drought?*

Well yes, point taken, but my question was if we didn't kill animals then wouldn't we find that our vegetation was eaten by them? Surely there'd have to come a point where we'd need to cull them?

cheshirecat23 · 02/08/2015 01:08

Thanks Ava. Sometimes I could punch them out x

BackInTheRealWorld · 02/08/2015 01:09

If we ate lions there would be fucking loads of them now. Lion farms all over the place.

Original poster

screenjunkie · 02/08/2015 01:10

Well yes, point taken, but my question was if we didn't kill animals then wouldn't we find that our vegetation was eaten by them? Surely there'd have to come a point where we'd need to cull them?

Who knows?

If the whole world turned vegetarian over night then probably yes there would be a cull.

If everyone turned vegetarian at different rates then the demand for meat would start to decrease and the number of animals bred for the sole purpose of being food would also decrease. So potentially no cull.

Regardless it's never going to happen.

OP posts:

HoneyDragon · 02/08/2015 01:11

Lion Bars are nice, I could go with one of them right now.

Wish you could still get the white chocolates ones, they were fucking fabulous.

Original poster

screenjunkie · 02/08/2015 01:14

If we ate lions there would be fucking loads of them now. Lion farms all over the place

Thats so true.

Maybe at some point there will be, you can already easily buy zebra, kangaroo, ostrich and crocodile meat.

OP posts:

BadLad · 02/08/2015 01:18

I think you are right - it is hypocritical.

I felt sorry for the lion. But I eat meat for just about every single meal, and love it. I am doing nothing at all to reduce my consumption.

So if you call me a hypocrite I can but shrug and say I suppose you're right.

cheshirecat23 · 02/08/2015 01:20

We're already killing our planet by breeding cattle.

Ever wondered why California has such a bad and constant drought?

screenjunkie You can't say "it's never going to happen" as a comment to prop up your point of view. Animals may not be bred for food, but they will still breed. Unless we introduce some sort of contraception which in itself may cause some outrage.

Not all cattle/pigs/fowl are domesticated and, unchecked, there would come a point where they would have to be culled if a vegetarian society was to become dominant. So killing animals to survive would become one and the same wouldn't it?

I've actually enjoyed rather too much Shiraz and being a newbie I'm not keen to argue..

CordeliaFoxx · 02/08/2015 01:22

Honey my local FarmFoods sell the White ones, and Peanut ones. Worth a look if you have one local to you.

BackInTheRealWorld · 02/08/2015 01:24

Easily? Maybe you live in another country from me because in the UK most butchers don't sell these products.
However, if they were a common meal product then they wouldn't be nearing extinction. You know there would be no such thing as cows now if we didn't eat them?

I don't want to be part of a 'civilisation' that makes any creature extinct (except maybe wasps) but let's not pretend that vegetarianism keeps all animals in existence.

Original poster

screenjunkie · 02/08/2015 01:33

You can't say "it's never going to happen" as a comment to prop up your point of view.

I didn't use it to prop up my point of view . I don't believe the entire population will turn vegan so I don't believe a cull will happen.

I did say this after answering the question. If you feel I did not answer it well enough for your liking then thats just tough.

Animals may not be bred for food, but they will still breed. Unless we introduce some sort of contraception which in itself may cause some outrage.

Would it really cause outrage seeing as we already do this? As a child I grew up seeing myxomatosis and learnt from a young age what a cruel race we are.

OP posts:

Original poster

screenjunkie · 02/08/2015 01:38

Easily? Maybe you live in another country from me because in the UK most butchers don't sell these products.

Yes by simply clicking a mouse, just like on Amazon. There are websites in the UK that provide all the meat I mentioned and you can also easily buy ostrich from places like Aldi.

You know there would be no such thing as cows now if we didn't eat them?

Really? What evidence is there of that (genuinely interested)

I don't want to be part of a 'civilisation' that makes any creature extinct

There are sadly quite a lot of animals that have already been hunted to extinction.

OP posts:

CordeliaFoxx · 02/08/2015 01:45

You can ostrich etc in Iceland btw, I haven't bought it, but friends have.

CordeliaFoxx · 02/08/2015 01:48

*buy

SunshineAndShadows · 02/08/2015 01:57

On an individual basis its unlikely to matter to an individual animal whether it it is a cow, bred as part of a population for beef, or a lion bred to be 'wild' what matters to that individual is that its had a good life, not whether we deem its life to be worthy or not

Becauseicannes · 02/08/2015 02:49

It's disgusting to kill an animal for sport.

Ilovecrapcrafts · 02/08/2015 04:22

Screenjunkie diary cattle (breed of) were extinct in 17c. Diary industry reintroduced them

www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235185/The-Life-of-Dairy-cows.pdf

RachelRagged · 02/08/2015 11:43

Jericho has been killed too . .. Its like a plan . .B'TARDS

MrsGentlyBenevolent · 02/08/2015 11:59

Jeicho has been spotted alive and well, reports of his death seem greatly exaggerated (thank goodness).

Mrsjayy · 02/08/2015 12:04

Its the brutal hunting that people were outraged with yes meat eaters know cows are not hugged to death being vegitarian doesnt give anybody the moral high ground

Anniegetyourgun · 02/08/2015 12:25

Nah, nobody thinks your views are important OP, don't worry about that. It's Sunday, we're faffing around on Mumsnet instead of gardening and some random bod has said something rude, so others are being rude back. It's all a bit of fun, and unlike the subject matter, nobody's getting killed.

As a philosophical point though, since you've raised it, I don't think having somewhat conflicting standards is necessarily hypocritical. If I were to say what a damned shame someone killed that lion even though I had been off shooting lions the previous week myself, that would be unarguably hypocritical. If I say it's a damned shame someone killed that lion whilst tucking into a chicken that someone else had killed for me using methods I haven't even bothered to enquire about, it's perhaps a bit thoughtless but maybe I just like lions more than chickens (except when cooked), which is surely my prerogative. Or maybe I care about the conservation aspect rather than the cruelty - chickens ain't dying out any time soon. Or maybe I go with the argument advanced by others on this thread, that killing something to eat is morally defensible whereas killing something for amusement is not. All sorts of reasons you may feel are insufficient, but which are not hypocritical. I just draw the line in a different place to yours.

Oh, and in the days when I wore makeup I went cruelty free as soon as I found out about it. That was very likely some years before you were born; these issues are not new. Makeup, unlike food, is entirely unnecessary. Guess that makes you more of a hypocrite than me, eh? Actually I wouldn't use that word, I'd just say your standards are inconsistent. Again we're drawing the line in a different place.

unlucky4marie · 02/08/2015 12:31

Yanbu but yanbu to expect any support here, people in the UK are sociopathic with their feelings towards animals.

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