First of all, I like dogs and have had a couple over the years. I also think that anyone who tortures animals (insects don't count!) has serious issues. That said, these kinds of stories are just absolutely baffling and frustrating to me. You have an abandoned/stray domesticated animal that is on the verge of death and public resources and manpower are spent in efforts to save said animal. All for what? The animal is just going to sit in the pound and get euthanized after a week. All that effort just goes toward delaying the inevitable so money can be needlessly thrown away. Sure, every once in awhile these stories are, ahem, inspirational enough to grab ahold of the public's ears (and hearts) which may very well result in the animal getting adopted. Though, one could argue that the new owner would've potentially adopted a different pet from the shelter had the new famous animal not emerged. This, in effect, could similarly result in the animal, who would've otherwise been adopted, getting euthanized. Basically, an animal is going to die whether the one in peril is saved from death or not. Saving life at all costs is something that is worthwhile for humans. Most animal-lovers believe domesticated animals should have this treatment, but don't necessarily care about rest of the animal world. How does one draw the line between animals worth saving and ones that aren't? tl;dr version: I'm with knote32
You drew a line when you said its worthwhile for humans and that insects don't count, did you not? If you can pick out humans for special treatment, why can't we also select other animals for special treatment?
That's where they get all the crow that Razorback fans have to eat during football season every year.:grin:
Touche. I did leave myself open for that one; though, I meant to indicate that I was joking. I suppose what is at the heart of this issue is more on the value of life--a topic better suited for the debate+discussion section--so I'll try to not be instigative. I would more or less echo the sentiments of some the posts previous to mine that would rather see the resources going towards saving a human instead of an animal. I personally feel that special treatment for humans should take precedence and priority over special treatment for animals. People that treat animals like humans are as psychotic as the ones that torture animals. Okay sorry, maybe that last line was a bit inflammatory :grin:...
Animals are rarely treated like humans, but I don't think there's anything particularly wrong in doing so every now and then out of human compassion. Just prosecuting someone for animal cruelty isn't the same thing as treating animals like humans or putting animals ahead of humans. I mean, there's clearly no comparison between the punishment given for brutally killing a dog and brutally killing a human (leaving aside war, where human life tends to be devalued).
durvasa: I more or less agree with everything you said there. Perhaps my posts have been more in reaction to the PETA-type of person--none of which have really shown any presence in this thread! I think I'll just go back to my room and argue with my imaginary adversary now...
