To think she’s a bloody hypocrite?

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

One of my friends claims to be very anti-greyhound racing, she’s constantly sharing ‘You bet, they die’ type posts on Facebook. Only it seems that racing is the only form of animal exploitation that she seems remotely bothered about. She’s one of these Facebook oversharers, so is often posting photos of meal ingredients that her and her DC are going to make/do. She uses supermarket value mince, battery eggs etc. Whenever she takes her DC to the seaside they have donkey rides and she’s on holiday at the moment and posting photos of a sea lion (who is kept in a tiny tank in a theme park) doing a show, and her DC posing with said sea lion.

It’s not just me, is it? She’s a massive hypocrite?

you would be hypocritical if you thought it was ok to torture, kill and eat cats.

OK, I love dogs but eat chickens - am I hypocritical?

YANBU. Complete hypocrisy to care about one type of exploitation but not another.

I thought battery hens were illegal in the uk. Where do you live?

I can't see the issue with eating value mince personally though?

Where is she on holiday?

Most of us will be posting on MN with phones/computers/tablets that have involved human exploitation, somewhere down the line.

So I guess we're all hypocrites.

I think when you start trying to draw other people’s lines it gets dodgy. In an ideal world, we’d all be vegan only eating locally grown non-gem organic veg, wear undyed clothes made from organic cotton produced in high paying adult only workshops, etc, etc. But back in the real world life isn’t like that.

My line is that I don’t eat intensively reared meat, milk or eggs. But a vegan may say well there’s no point doing that if you eat cheese.

I always think it’s better to do something than nothing.

YANBU. I know someone who is well-educated, intelligent. She has posted both selfies with drugged tiger and gripping the back of a dolphin on fb. WTF?

I disagree with all the posters going on about eating meat being just the same.

With respect, it isn't. Eating meat is something the vast majority of us are raised doing. It's a normal part of everyday life, something you do without thinking.

Paying for a donkey ride or to see a sea lion show is something you do actively, it's not an everyday thing. And I think it's very strange for someone who is vocally anti greyhound racing to not care about sealing imprisonment.

Well does anybody care about this when choosing their phones/computers?

I don't see how milking cows is cruel? It's not as if the farmers are depriving calves of their mother's milk. So what is the issue there?

That's just what they do. Cows, like other mammals (including humans) only lactate after giving birth. So they are artificially inseminated, become pregnant and after a few days the calf is taken away. Cows make milk for their calves and then humans steal it because they like the taste.

Male calves are seen as waste products (beef herds and dairy herds are not the same thing) so sold eg for pet food or veal - that's the industry that the live export demos some years ago were targeting.

The natural lifespan of a cow can be more than 20 years. A dairy cow will have a much shorter lifespan as they are slaughtered when the milk yield drops to a point that means they are no longer economically viable.

@bluntness100

I thought battery hens were illegal in the uk. Where do you live?

Cages in the UK are supposed to be ‘enriched’ so the old fashioned tiny single ones aren’t supposed to be used any more. But they’re not free range - better than they were but not great.

Also we import eggs. The enriched cages are EU law but some countries haven’t really clamped down on any farmers using the old style cages so they’re still in use, and those eggs are still being eaten in the UK.

I can't get too much on my high horse about most of it as I eat meat and dairy, but I think donkey rides are a bit cruel and unnecessary (and thought they went out with the ark, TBH), and the sea lion in a tiny tank doing a show is quite sad.

I think donkey rides are a bit cruel and unnecessary

Sorry, I don't live in the UK, but am curious about the cruely involved in donkey rides, could someone explain.

Donkeys, that used to play an important role in our working life are no longer wanted anywhere. Surely it is a good thing that they can be employed giving happiness.

IDK. You could say I'm a hypocrite because I don't eat meat or fish or slaughterhouse by products, but I do eat eggs and dairy products. You could say people who are happy to wear leather but abhor the wearing of fur are hypocrites. I don't think it's quite the right word, though.

@Lizzie48

The RSPCA page here lists some welfare issues for dairy cows in the UK. Fewer people will listen to PETA on the subject, but I think their point of view is well worth paying attention to.

I think I do more harm consuming dairy than I ever could by going back to eating meat and it is something I feel genuine guilt about.

mostdays is right. Hypocrite is not the right word. Maybe inconsistent? I personally think it's better that you care about some animals than about none, even though the latter would be more (insert appropriate word here. Consistent?).

Coyoacan, I admit I haven't researched this, but I think there are issues about how they're sometimes kept when they're not working – and when they are working, they're made to stand about on a beach potentially without adequate water/food/shade/rest. Also, I don't know how much fun they have trudging up and down the same route carrying kicking, banging-about, noisy kids.

I do love donkeys and I don't disagree per se about their continuing employment/existence, though.

TomRavenscroft the Donkey's care comes under strict legislation in the UK. Rest periods, access to water etc is monitored. They are probably more ethically treated than the rest of the human staff in seaside resorts.

I'm Vegan etc, but my GC have donkey rides. You should do what you can.

I'll admit that whenever any goes on about the eating of dogs in other countries, I think "but it's OK for pigs?" who are as intelligent as dogs and most farm yard animals have a strong bond with their young. Ricky Gervais says he wants to kill a Chinese man who was killing a dog to eat. It looked a lot kinder than any abattoir, or the milk production line.

I think that we do need to look at new legislation around all dog breeding, including racing and hunting dogs. In the past nine years a Horse has died every two and a half days from racing. We all contribute to Human and Animal suffering somewhere down the line.

As said, you just do what you can.

I can't stand people who harp on about how meat eaters can't possibly love animals.

I DO love animals actually. I absolutely adore my pets. No one has the right to tell me how I feel.

No, I didn't love the random cow that's on my plate. I never met it and it tastes delicious.

Just because I eat meat doesn't mean I can't possibly love any other animal.

I guess by that logic, we're all hypocrites. Great for the cause we're interested in, but not others.

The biggest genuine animal lovers i know, are all meat eaters, they tend to be fishermen as their hobby, and can beat any vegan/vegetarian hands down in any debate.

My problem with horse-racing is that thoroughbreds now have legs so thin that they are plagued with problems their entire lives.

YABU.

People can feel strongly for one particular cause over others and there is nothing wrong with that.

I am against greyhound racing (and all use of animals for sport/entertainment generally).

But I eat meat.

Militant Vegetarians/vegans would call me a hypocrite for this but I don't see it like that. I feel strongly for banning use of animals for entertainment but not about vegetarianism.
That's my personal preference and opinion.

'In an ideal world we'd all be vegan'

That would be terrible for bio-diversity.

Compare a Field of broccoli to a field of grass for grazing cows. Broccoli covered in chemicals, sterile environment, devoid of all animal life - insects, bees, worms, little birds, rabbits all gone. All these Animals would be present on the organic field of grass.

some people just really love dogs in particular. I say this as a vegetarian! Its not really that bad is it.... at least she likes that animal even if she doesnt give a shit about any of the others.
I mean where do you draw the line? People could have a go at me because despite being usually vegetarian I eat fish on special occasions and I own a pair of smart leather shoes for weddings and things.
I do get people saying 'why bother then!!'
Personally I think every little helps and people should be encouraged to show compassion for animals as that actually may help them branch out into showing compassion for ALL animals.... calling someone a hypocrite is not likely to have any good effect at all!

It always astounds me how much store people set by what they see on FB and how much it winds them up.

You’re in control of your own timeline and what you see or don’t see there!

YANBU. If most people knew the cruelty involved in getting animal products to their plates it would turn their stomachs. It’s not old Macdonald on his picturebook farm. It’s cement factories with pus and misery.

We choose to ignore it because meat, eggs and dairy are yummy and ethically produced products are expensive.