This thread is meant for philosophical discussion. It is not meant to condone any sort of behavior but rather to explore the logic behind certain laws. Here goes:
We have a pet dog named Rocky. He isn't a guard dog or a hunting dog. He doesn't really do anything useful. He is just a pet that my wife and kids enjoy having around. It is okay for us to own an animal.
My friend Arrie raises chickens. He controls whether or not they reproduce. He eats their eggs. When he chooses he kills one of them and eats them. It is okay for us to kill an animal that we own. It is okay to eat an animal that we own.
Deer season is starting. There are lots of deer out there. I do not own them, but if I lie in wait and kill one, then I can claim its carcass as my own. I can cut it up for meat and take its skin and skull as trophies. It is okay to kill an animal that we don't own. It is okay to kill it, eat it and make trophies from its body.
So, we can own pets. We can modify our pets by doing things like removing their claws or sexual organs to suit our purposes and make them more enjoyable pets. We can keep animals for the sole purpose of killing and eating them. We can even lie in wait for animals that no one owns and kill them in order to make food and trophies.
Our state has a law prohibiting cruelty to animals. Here is a link to the code section:
Indiana Code 35-46-3
It is not legal to torture an animal.
Yep, we can kill them, eat them, hang their skulls and skins on the wall, remove their claws and sex organs, but if my neighbor wants to torture an animal just for the pure fun of inflicting pain on a helpless animal, he can't do that.
Here is my dilemma: I'm okay with pets, ok with farming and ok with hunting, but I am not ok with cruelty to animals. But if I am ok with hunting and farming, how am I logically opposed to torture? My gut is telling me that torturing animals is wrong, but my brain is having trouble reconciling it with my other beliefs.
Please discuss.
We have a pet dog named Rocky. He isn't a guard dog or a hunting dog. He doesn't really do anything useful. He is just a pet that my wife and kids enjoy having around. It is okay for us to own an animal.
My friend Arrie raises chickens. He controls whether or not they reproduce. He eats their eggs. When he chooses he kills one of them and eats them. It is okay for us to kill an animal that we own. It is okay to eat an animal that we own.
Deer season is starting. There are lots of deer out there. I do not own them, but if I lie in wait and kill one, then I can claim its carcass as my own. I can cut it up for meat and take its skin and skull as trophies. It is okay to kill an animal that we don't own. It is okay to kill it, eat it and make trophies from its body.
So, we can own pets. We can modify our pets by doing things like removing their claws or sexual organs to suit our purposes and make them more enjoyable pets. We can keep animals for the sole purpose of killing and eating them. We can even lie in wait for animals that no one owns and kill them in order to make food and trophies.
Our state has a law prohibiting cruelty to animals. Here is a link to the code section:
Indiana Code 35-46-3
It is not legal to torture an animal.
Yep, we can kill them, eat them, hang their skulls and skins on the wall, remove their claws and sex organs, but if my neighbor wants to torture an animal just for the pure fun of inflicting pain on a helpless animal, he can't do that.
Here is my dilemma: I'm okay with pets, ok with farming and ok with hunting, but I am not ok with cruelty to animals. But if I am ok with hunting and farming, how am I logically opposed to torture? My gut is telling me that torturing animals is wrong, but my brain is having trouble reconciling it with my other beliefs.
Please discuss.