“Pets:” The Problem of Treatment
It is important to understand as a preliminary matter that
animals are property; they are things
that have only extrinsic or conditional value. That is, they have only the
value that we, the owners of animal property, accord to them.
Although many of us who live with dogs, cats, and other nonhuman animals value
them highly, even these animals are property as far as the law is concerned. Dogs,
cats, hamsters, rabbits, and other animals are mass produced like bolts in a
factory or, in the case of birds and exotic animals, are captured in the wild
and transported long distances, during which journey many of them die. All of
these animals are marketed in exactly the same way as are other commodities.
Although some of us may treat our companion animals well, more of us treat
them poorly. Many dogs spend less than two years in a home before they are
dumped at a pound or otherwise transferred to a new owner and many who adopt
animals give them away, take them to shelters, or abandon them. (There are
almost 300,000 animals on Petfinder.com as of the writing of this entry.) We are all
aware of horror stories about neighborhood dogs on chains who spend most of
their lives alone. Our cities are full of stray cats and dogs who live
miserable lives and starve or freeze, succumb to disease, or are tormented by
humans. Some people who claim to love their companion animals mutilate them
senselessly by having their ears cropped, their tails docked, or their claws
ripped out so that they will not scratch the furniture.
You may treat your animal companion as a member of your family and
effectively accord her or him inherent value or the basic right not to be
treated as your resource. But your treatment of your animal really means that
you regard your animal property as having higher than market value; should you
change your mind and administer daily beatings to your dog for disciplinary
purposes, or not feed your cat very much so that she will be more motivated to
catch the mice in the basement of your store, or kill your animal because you no
longer want the financial expense, your decision will be protected by the law.
You are free to value your property as you see fit. You may decide to polish
your car often or you may let the finish erode. The choice is yours. As long as
you provide the minimal maintenance for your car so that it can pass
inspection, any other decision you make with respect to the vehicle, including
your decision to give it to a scrap dealer, is your business. As long as you
provide minimal food, water, and shelter to your “pet,” and do not beat your
dog “too severely,” any other decision you make, apart from torturing the
animal for no purpose whatsoever, is your business, including your decision to
dump the animal at the local shelter (where many animals are either killed or
sold into research), or have her killed by a veterinarian.
Many years ago, I adopted a hamster from a law school classmate. The hamster
became ill one night, and I called an emergency veterinary service. The
veterinarian said that the minimum amount for an emergency visit was $50 and
asked me why I would want to spend that amount when I could get a “new” hamster
from any pet shop for about $3. I took the hamster to the veterinarian anyway,
but that event was one of the first times my consciousness was raised about the
status of animals as economic commodities.
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When I reject your initial premise.
You say
" animals are property; they are things that have only extrinsic or conditional value. That is, they have only the value that we, the owners of animal property, accord to them."
This is demonstrably false. I understand from a legal aspect, this may be correct, but your argument focuses too closely on legality, which is a small part of the overall argument.
I just wasn't moved by your argument.
working in the vet field I see how people view and treat their animals ....most of them treat animals like their car or other "loved" object that serves a perceived need ( entertainment , combat lonliness, etc)....allowing them to care for their animal and not care about the pain inflicted upon other nonhuman animals like pigs and cows.
Progressisdead-Cant agree more. I have had the misfortune to live next to animal hoarders. Most had no contact with their animals at all,but they collected them like objects. I am gulity of abucting 4 cats from two different animal hoarders because I just could not keep watching them neglect their animals and breed more and more....
And the most amazing thing is that this is all perfectly legal - yes in Australia there is no law that actually makes it illegal to neglect your cats so long as they are fed. They can be sick, full of parasites and producing kittens twice a year. If I called the shelter- the shelter would put the cats down- so I stole them kept 3 and rehomed the others.
I broke the law .
"working in the vet field"
That is an argument from authority. The field you work in has nothing to do with anything, and is a cheap way to pretend your opinion has value that exceeds another's.
"I see how people view and treat their animals "
No, you see what YOU WANT TO SEE. It's a well know problem, called confirmation bias, and you're a perfect example of it.
Your argument, honestly, really has nothing of substance or value at all.
Thank you for speaking so eloquently for those we primarily regard as our property. Having worked with people concerning “their pet’s” nutritional needs. I was always heart-broken concerning our ignorance of their basic needs and rights as sentient beings. I can only assume it is because of our own lack of consciousness and self-love.
Thank you again.