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Original poster

I don't want to get a family pet due to ethics

253 replies

Markinsomerset · 26/08/2015 19:01

Hi,

My wife really wants a pet and thinks it is very valuable for the children. However ethically I don't agree as cats are responsible for distroying lots of species. Dogs I think its very unfair for as each day I'm sure they feel like they are being abandoned each time they are left alone. Can't guarantee that the suppliers are ethical.

If everyone got rid of their pets then no one would go hungry in the world. They just seem like a selfish interest IMO.

Who is right?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
21
Lagoonablue · 26/08/2015 20:08

Think OP is getting a rough time, it's good to consider these issues.

Lagoonablue · 26/08/2015 20:09

Also YY to rescue pets. They are there anyway and need a home.

pigsDOfly · 26/08/2015 20:13

Don't think OP is coming back.

howabout · 26/08/2015 20:23

I hate dog poo all over the pavements and cat poo in the garden. I live in a built up area. There are too many pets already. DD is highly allergic to cats. We have trees full of songbirds and squirrels and foxes to keep the vermin at bay - I am bringing my DC up to appreciate wild animals doing what they do. If I lived in the countryside I might consider a pet but otherwise no. Don't think I am really doing my bit for husbanding Worldwide resources with my stance though.

MyCarHasBrokenDownAgain · 26/08/2015 20:25

Get a snail! Available in a range of sizes to suit all pockets, need minimal care, and very environmentally friendly as they eat leftovers! Grin

I don't want to get a family pet due to ethics
DawnOfTheDoggers · 26/08/2015 20:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CalleighDoodle · 26/08/2015 20:37

I got a goldfish a few weeks ago. I also have a cat. The cat has behaved impeccably (so far) and not eaten the fish. Nothing at all wrong with my cat's morals.

BoneyBackJefferson · 26/08/2015 20:43

OP, it looks like your only mistake was thinking that you could have a serious discussion about this.

RiceBurner · 26/08/2015 20:45

YANB totally U.

I often think about the pet situation and am rather on the fence.

The pros are that many pets do bring a lot of love and comfort to people. Plus dogs can be trained for useful jobs eg sheepdogs, guidedogs, policedogs and cats can help keep out vermin.

Disclaimer: I don't have any pets at the moment, but I am sometimes tempted to get a dog.

The cons, (re pets), as I see it are

  • the killings (mostly cats, but dogs too sometimes),
  • the attacks, (mostly dogs but cats can attack sometimes too),
  • the disgusting poos we have to avoid treading in, (both dogs and cats as cats poo on my grass all the time, and not everyone picks up after their dog on the pavements/in the parks),
  • the huge "industry" of pet food, cos I do think dog/cat food is big business now. They are not just fed from household scraps (cos vets dispprove) and the special "pet food" is no longer "stuff from the abatoir floor" I think? Isn't it proper "food", (rabbit, chicken, fish etc), which ppl could eat if they were hungry enough? (Tho obviously pet food is not processed to the same food hygiene rules so we can't eat it due to the way they prepare it.)

Also, I sometimes feel pets are captive/not free, so sort of hostages? And while many pets are well cared for, a lot are not. So there's a huge responsibility which comes with owning a pet ... to make sure your pet has a good/fun life, and while we'd all like to think we will make a perfect pet owner, we often fail to live up to our own high stds?

The only way I could convince myself to get a dog/cat would be to take in a stray/abandoned/mistreated pet. (Rather than see it PTS.)

I really couldn't go down the pedigree puppy/kitten purchase route, as I do feel uncomfortable at the money we spend as a country/civilisation ... on pets/pet welfare.

Of course, we humans are the real problem ... with our ever expanding numbers, taking over all available habitat/resources in a selfish manner. We are a plague upon the earth! And responsible for the ongoing mass extinction phase. And surely dogs and cats would be far happier being/living free with their own kind ... without us around?

So maybe have a pet instead of a child?! Or a child instead of a pet? But not both?! Grin

HoneyDragon · 26/08/2015 20:54

It's an interesting argument op. But not when you do it. I just think you don't want a pet.

As for the separation anxiety this is what I came home to yesterday. My dog throwing herself at me after pacing the house in my absence. My dog has no fucks to be given.

I don't want to get a family pet due to ethics
Degustibusnonestdisputandem · 26/08/2015 20:59

Pets bring much joy to a lot of people. By your logic we shouldn't have children either, surely another human is far worse for the environment?

Liara · 26/08/2015 21:01

Get hens. They eat food scraps (reducing food waste) and give you eggs to boot. And actually, they are my dc's favourite pets (we also have dogs and cats!).

Just make sure you close them in at night, or they will be gonners. Just about everything likes to eat hen.

froomeonthebroom · 26/08/2015 21:06

My cat has killed a couple of baby sparrows. Sparrows eat all the peas I plant so the cat is actually feeding the world by killing them.

How do you like them apples OP? Grin

FithColumnist · 26/08/2015 21:06

Jesus, man up OP.

wankerchief · 26/08/2015 21:06

My dog just ate the cats food a threw it up on the just mopped floor.

I could kill the greedy bastard and send him to the poor

TSSDNCOP · 26/08/2015 21:10

Killing machine Hmm

fastdaytears · 26/08/2015 21:12

Plotting the end of the world. To be fair she probably actually is but I won't tar all cats with the same brush.

I don't want to get a family pet due to ethics
fastdaytears · 26/08/2015 21:12

Ahh where did my munchkin go?

I don't want to get a family pet due to ethics
fastdaytears · 26/08/2015 21:13

Oops sorry it did upload after all. I thought she might be too evil for MN. That would be a first.

EatDessertFirst · 26/08/2015 21:15

Aaarrrrggghhh!! He cometh to cute us to death!

I don't want to get a family pet due to ethics
fastdaytears · 26/08/2015 21:17

Aww Eat does he have a white moustache? Terrifying!

HamaTime · 26/08/2015 21:17

Get a snail! Available in a range of sizes to suit all pockets

I don't agree, ethically, with keeping snails in pockets

catzpyjamas · 26/08/2015 21:19

YABU.
Some health benefits from having a pet: (from this article)
Dog owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets.
People with dogs have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those without pets. One study even found that when people with borderline hypertension adopted dogs from a shelter, their blood pressure declined significantly within five months.
Playing with a dog or cat can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax.
Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than those without pets.
Heart attack patients with dogs survive longer than those without.
Pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets.

EatDessertFirst · 26/08/2015 21:22

He does indeed fastday. Terrifying!

Our black and white one has a frightening piratey eye patch.

I don't want to get a family pet due to ethics
EasyToEatTiger · 26/08/2015 21:25

Don't get a cat then. Simple. You can fit a cat with a bell so they can't creep around in silence. The oldest dog in UK was a vegan border collie who lived to the age of 27. We domesticate animals so that we control their lives. Even if you are a vegan or a vegetarian remember that plants feel pain too.