I totally agree that all animals are capable of feeling pain and fear. Hunting them in the wild is still taking an animal's life away from it. And humans have little idea if that animal is feeding young in a burrow -so the little ones will die from starvation. Animals also form strong and enduring bonds of affection with each other and do grieve when a 'family member' disappears. Humans rarely think of those things.
But even worse than that, is the looming prospect that animals, due to demand for their meat, will end up being bred for lifelong imprisonment in less-than-ideal circumstances, or factory farmed.
I never had a rabbit as a pet, but know that they do form loving bonds with their people and other animals in the family.
I also agree that those plastic packs of square or round shaped meat in the supermarket have de-sensitised people, so they are emotionally distanced from the reality that what they are eating is an animal which is capable of deep feelings and has life needs, just as we have.
So have names like "pork", "beef", "mutton" etc Those names have come to mean "food" -not "animal".
But even worse than that, is the looming prospect that animals, due to demand for their meat, will end up being bred for lifelong imprisonment in less-than-ideal circumstances, or factory farmed.
I never had a rabbit as a pet, but know that they do form loving bonds with their people and other animals in the family.
I also agree that those plastic packs of square or round shaped meat in the supermarket have de-sensitised people, so they are emotionally distanced from the reality that what they are eating is an animal which is capable of deep feelings and has life needs, just as we have.
So have names like "pork", "beef", "mutton" etc Those names have come to mean "food" -not "animal".
