To find people who dislike animals a bit cold in general

[Tinhatattheready]

Yes it’s probably goady. Yes I’ve made an apt name change but...

Honestly - anyone I’ve ever met who’s “not an animal person” always seems to be a bit... off.

I’m not talking about those who are say scared of dogs, or a bit mistrustful of cats. I mean those who are very much “it’s just an animal” (and no I don’t include farmers in this either.

I know plenty of people who are nervous of animals and they’re lovely / but have known maybe around 3 people who really are jist “who cares” and they are not so nice.

Well

I have to agree with you op. I'm not very keen on people who think animals are 'just animals' either. I think it's an important distinction between people who don't want or like pets (which is fine with me e everyone has different interests) and people who don't care or are completely indifferent about animals in general. I find the latter cold.

@lughnasadh

I find the exact opposite to be true.

The 'animals are nicer/kinder/better than humans' brigade tend to be utterly lacking in emotional intelligence.

They are the kind of people who lack the ability to understand the nuances of human nature, and hide in the unchallenging one dimentional r'elationships' they imagine they share with animals.

People who recognise that animals shouln't be treated cruelly, but that they really are not on a par intellectually with humans are much more aware generally.

Nature matters, ecosystems matter, a balance on the planet is important. But an animal is just an animal.

People who say they are not animal types are generally using it as a way to signal that they aren't going to ascribe emotions/intellectual attributes to an animal which are unrealistic.

A sort of reaction against the kind of people who say an animal dying is on a par with the death of a person.

I don't look at a puppy and think 'aww, cute' any more than I'd think a worm, or a tortoise, or a chicken was cute. I don't hate them, I'm not cruel to them, but I have no real interest in them.

Animals don't really register with me, but nor do lots of other things unless I have had some particular reason to seek them out/take an interest.

Absolutely 100% this. It's the crazy animal obsessives who have a screw loose.

Yes they are... See you next Tuesdays

Don't give them the time of day

@Tinhatattheready

Sorry but those talking about keeping houses clean and dog poo to me are the ones I mean. How do you feel about children messing up your home etc?

You think it's cold not to want my house to smell of dog??

Zelda killing an animal for food which happens in the wild is not the same as disliking an animal or wanting to hurt it for no reason

I really don't think theres a correlation between not liking animals and being cold/lacking empathy.

I'm indifferent to most animals but I don't think I'm a cold person.
I think people who are completely gaga over animals are a bit odd but I'm definitely not going around kicking puppies and stomping on cats and I wouldn't stand by while anyone was cruel to an animal.

I do not particularly like animals. I would never keep a pet, and I dont particularly enjoy going to farms or zoos to look at them.
However, I am 100 percent against animal cruelty, seeing as I am a normal human with feelings I obviously think those who harm animals are awful. I am also a vegan because despite not enjoying the company of animals, I think they should be left well alone and not eaten or interfered with by humans.
You should clarify your point because what you seem to be saying is that those who dislike being around animals dont care for their welfare which is incorrect.

Yabu. I'm an animal lover, I can't imagine ever forming a very close friendship or relationship with someone that doesn't love them. But I don't think it's because everyone in the 'can't stand cruelty but don't want a pet and they don't really do it for me group' is cold. We'd just be too different. Much like I can't imagine forming a close friendship with someone that hated the outdoors, or wanted to spend all their free time at art galleries or spas. And my idea of a good time would no doubt be their idea of hell.

I think preferring animals to humans is a perfectly valid sentiment. It doesn't necessarily have to mean you'd choose the life of the former over the latter.

However I do find some very vocal 'I'm the biggest animal lover ever' types to be so callous, not to mention hypocritical that I struggle to be civil, let alone friends. The type that will leave a pet suffering because they say they love it too much. And get all holier than though about euthanising o injured wildlife or culling because they 'could never harm an animal'. Yeah, because leaving an animal in pain or starving and to a slow death is really the mark of a true animal lover.

The concept vegans are bigger animal lovers is also balls. Fair enough if you're producing all your own food. Otherwise I can't see any difference between directly killing an animal to eat, or indirectly killing it to commercially produce plant based food.

And unless you're in that minority of vegans that doesn't want to on an individual level, a view I can completely respect, but accepts that the best thing for animal welfare is for other people to eat ethically produced animal products, you're essentially hoping to expand the live export industry to other countries with even lower standards, which in my book is about as far from being an animal lover as anyone can be.

Hmmm I don't know - see I am not really into animals but don't really admit it for this very reason (that someone will judge me for it). I am definitely a very warm person though (I can come across as blunt at times but definitely a warm & caring person). That said I could happily never eat an animal again as I am not that keen on it because of the psychological side i.e. the moment I think about the animal I can be really put off and there is a lot of meat I just can't eat for that reason. I don't think everyone fits into the same box to be honest.

@snappycamper tbh yes. I’m not saying you should have a pet / bit someone who’s horrified at their house smelling of dog for twenty minutes isn’t my type of person

I wouldn't say I dont like animals but I dont get all soppy over them like some people do. But I do think some people can be hypocritical with it for example a work colleague said I was odd for.not being a massive animal lover and was going on and on about how much they love animals, whilst tucking into a ham sandwich!

( I must admit I do have a soft spot for pigs!)

I love dogs but I don't love the smell of dogs.

I'll never trust anyone who doesn't like animals. Anyone who can be cruel to them are cowards of the first order.

Not liking animals and being cruel to animals are nowhere near the same thing. I know plenty of people who wouldn't stroke a dog but would still intervene if they saw someone hurt one.

I do find it difficult to visit friends with pets though. They all know I’m not keen on animals and accept me for that but it’s so awkward when the animal comes up to me expecting to be petted. I do find it fascinating and cute but I don’t want to pet them.
Thankfully my friends mostly just laugh at me.

“I don’t look at a puppy and think” “Aww cute”

I just can’t understand that.

I dont call myself a particular animal person, I am not a cold offhand person. However, I like cats and would have one as a pet if I could but circumstances out of my control prevent this, and I am happy to hold a friends pet rabbit or guinea pig. I would never hurt an animal and always help one in distress.

I also cant stand touching raw meat makes me feel really queasy and feels wrong. I do eat some meat but not everyday.

But still I dont feel like an animal lover as it were. No desire to go to safari parks etc, or hold a snake and I dislike bats and rats. Not over keen on dogs but i was bitten by a hyper one once.

Not liking an animal and been cruel to an animal is not the same thing.
Animal cruelty is disgusting.
I don't like animals as pets I've enough to do without looking after a pet. We never had a pet as DC maybe that's why.
I rehomed the hamster.

The amount of joy having a dog brings to my life is absolutely immense. Seeing a dog in the street and saying hello to it instantly brightens up my day.

I feel quite sad that some people don't get the joy from dogs/cats/animals that so many people like me do.

I went to school with a girl who hated animals. At the time I thought to myself she'd likely end up a psychopath. Well, I wasn't wrong.

I think it depends though because there's just not really liking them or having any interest in them and then there's actually hating them. If someone hurts or kills animals they're likely to do the same to a human. There's many cases of butchers, farmers, hunters ect killing people, probably because they are already able to kill an animal.

@VoldemortsMaid this is what I mean! Hey don’t expect everyone to get a pet - bit I’d rather be friends with someone who find joy in animals

Humans ARE animals, people.

Vegetarians are cruel, unthinking people.
Everybody knows that a carrot screams when grated.
That a peach bleeds when torn apart.
Do you believe an orange insensitive
to thumbs gouging out its flesh?
The tomatoes spill their brains painlessly?
Potatoes, skinned alive and boiled,
the soil’s little lobsters.
Don’t tell me it doesn’t hurt
when peas are ripped from the scrotum,
the hide flayed off sprouts,
cabbage shredded, onions beheaded.

Throw in the trowel
and lay down the hoe.
Mow no more
let my people go!

Don't agree at all.

I have heard this lots of times from people who have one dog who they leave all day at home, alone, while they work.

I have never witnessed a correlation between those who don't love animals and empathy. Just like those that "love" animals don't necessarily have empathy.

God there's a lot of unpleasant people responding to the op's post. Ironic about the ones who feel that animal lovers lack intelligence. Ha! Are people really that ignorant? A basis for intelligence is emotional intelligence. Animals are sentient beings. Look up what the word means. Humans are generally shit. It's only the clever ones who realise this and make the best of it.