Man bites dog.

There was an interesting article in today’s news. A man living in New Zealand, killed, cooked and ate a dog. He was investigated for animal cruelty. The investigation revealed that he killed the dog humanly. According to NZ law, there is nothing illegal about humanly killing an animal and eating it. Case closed.

However, the comments from people reading this article raised some interesting viewpoints.

Reader’s opinions about eating dog seemed to fall into three discrete camps. Two of which were logical, but the third one, I am not sure. I would be very interested in reading opinions about the “third camp”.


The first camp believes that it is wrong to eat any animal and therefore wrong to eat a dog. Their argument against eating dog is based on the following

• Given that it is wrong to eat any animal
• Recognizing that a dog is an animal
• Therefore, eating a dog is wrong

Whether you agree with the premise or not, the logic of this argument is clear.



The second camp believed it is ok to eat animals and therefore ok to eat a dog. Their argument is based on the following

• Given that it is ok to eat any animal
• Recognizing that a dog is an animal
• Therefore, eating a dog is ok

Whether you agree with the premise or not, the logic of this argument is clear


The third camp believed it was ok to eat animals, but not ok to eat a dog. I could not follow the logic of their argument.

Now, it is not my intention to start a discussion whether it is ok to eat animals or not. That is a personal opinion. What I would like to discuss is the logic of the third camp.

Is it logical to believe that it is ok to eat some animals but not others?
Or is this argument based more on emotions and culture as opposed to logic?

How is eating a cow/pig/goat/lamb/rabbit different from eating a dog?
With the exception of the cow, the rest are all mammals which some people keep as pets. These are also mammals which other people choose to eat as food.

Should dogs be exempted? If so, why? If not, why? If so, why not other mammals?


And is the position based on logic or emotion/culture?

 

Yes, it's emotion and culture. We view farm animals as (cows, pig, sheep, chickens, etc). In India, the cow is sacred so imagine what they think of us? In one way, you could say that the dog is sacred in the United States.

We typically do not eat monkey brains or eyeballs either, nor bull balls or larvae....etc., etc.

 

I guess you've never been to a Texas nut cookin'?

 

It's all emotional. We "West" breeds dogs for work & pets. There are areas in the world where if it's moving and has protein - it's food.

Besides - could you kill, cook & eat this:


Doubtful. But this:


FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!

 

i have no problem with someone who raises dogs for FOOD eating them, but if a dog is a pet- unless there's a famine or emergency where there's no choice but to eat the dog- I personally couldn't do it for emotional and relationship reasons. the same thing would happen to me if i had a pig as a pet. I could still eat bacon but THAT pig is my buddy.

that said- if this dude simply said to himself- " i wonder, what does Fido taste like?" and humanely killed, cooked and ate his pet, I would NOT wait around til he got curious about human flesh... ick.

 

I have read articles of dog ranches in the Phillipines where the ranch owner has dogs for pets and dogs as a food business. They are able to emotionally keep the two separate. I am assuming that a traditional animal farm can operate the same? A pig that is a pet can be considered separate than the rest of the pigs who are raised as a product. One you form an emotional attachment and the other you don't.

I don't know if I am capable of such emotional compartmentation.


It is interesting that you mentioned eating humans. In the blog, there was a fourth camp of people that took your comment and went far to an extreme.

Of course I don't understand the logic these extreme people were using to indicate a connection between eating an animal and eating a human.

While a human is an animal and the relative value of a human as an animal can be debated, most people around the world eschew chewing on chums... which can be an other almost interesting thread on "that" cultural trait.

Does any one have experience with owning an animal as a pet and also having the same species of animal as a food product? Rabbits come to mind. If so, did you have any problems separating your emotions?

 

i think you can compare it to human relationships. you form a bond with some people and not with others- the idea of kissing a certain male human is repugnant while the idea of kissing another is bliss! it's about emotional attachment, not species.

i could see having a pot bellied pig as a pet and NEVER thinking of it as pork or dreaming of eating hit, but i'd have no qualms about continuing to eat pork from his cousins bred for food. it can go down as far as fish-some you eat, some you care for.