Companion animals and animal groups

1553: 

It’s difficult writing about the issue of ‘not using animals for human convenience’, because it seems to attack almost everyone, not just the meat-eaters and the milk-drinking vegetarians, but those who themselves eat only a plant-based diet but who buy meat and milk for their companion animals.  Just about everybody is an animal-user, thus each one is encouraging the killing of animals.  This makes it impossible for them to support a ‘no-use’ principle, if only because they can’t justify their own position.

Look at the people who keep animals in their homes.  Some animals may have been rescued, but however well loved they are, they have no freedom and no natural life.  They are the property of a human.  They are owned as ‘pets’, and usually treated as playthings.  They’re often socially isolated, neutered, micro chipped, medicated and, of course, fed at the expense of farmed animals.  So whether we eat animals ourselves or feed ‘animals’ to dogs and cats, most people are making use of animals, and aren’t free to promote Animal Rights.  Some few refuse to feed their companion animals meat and use specially prepared plant-based supplements to provide nutrients essential to the animal’s health, but most companion animals are carnivores and to deny them meat is in its own way cruel – it isn’t, after all, their choice to abstain from meat.

As a member of an animal group, maybe you’re doing some really great work to help other animals, and in some ways the equation might feel morally balanced because of that.  But if you have animals at home, you're not in a position to strongly enough condemn the routine use of animals.  There might be some relief for your conscience, by not feeling so bad about continuing certain animal-habits.  And your fervent support of the work to stop battery farming, to ban live exports, to illegalise mulesing of sheep, etc, is extremely commendable, but there are so many other horrors which fall below the radar.  Any amount of exposing-of-the-worst-cruelty is useful and essential, but it seems to have little effect on the millions of customers who depend on the Animal Industries.  Most animal groups don’t speak out strongly enough against routine animal use, because they fear alienating even their own staunchest supporters.  Most of these groups do what they do very well.  Activists work hard and in a voluntary capacity, attempting to stop the worst abuses.  But the same groups neglect to address the bigger picture - the need to persuade the public not to use animals.  Even some vegan groups concentrate on health and food, and apart from the most radical groups, aren’t addressing the fundamental issue of an animal’s right to live its own life, whether the animal is a pig or horse or cat.  The good work some groups do, rescuing animals, exposing cruelty, promoting vegan food is great, if only it wasn’t just about that.  As much energy needs to be put into promoting the idea that animals are not here for human convenience.  One of the main jobs of any animal rights group is surely to set trends for the future.  To nudge public attitude away from the idea that humans have ‘dominion’ over animals, which is conveniently translated as ‘animals were put on Earth for us to use'.