this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2023
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Is it different for you if someone said having pets or “animal friends” instead of owning?
Well, do they own the animals or not? I think ownership of other animals is part of my core issue.
Owning the animals, then calling it another name is worse in my view. Especially animal friends, I think owning another living thing but calling it your friend is the foundation of a unhealthy relationship. You purchased the animal. I do not have friendships that begin with buying them.
You're applying morality to animals, who don't give a shit about such things. As long as you take care of them and treat them well, they're happy.
Honestly? Fair point. I find it hard to not extend this to animals but it most likely isn't something animals consider at all. I mean, dogs likely all have William's Syndrome, so they are happy with how we treat them in most scenarios. But owning animals I think leads to a lot of secondary animal cruelty caused by breeders and abandoned pets.
That's true - humans gonna human, so we're prone to treating animals under our care like shit. And also true that dogs have been domesticated by us so long that they'll often remain loyal even when we mistreat them. It's the mistreatment of animals that's the problem, not the ownership itself.