Why do people think it is morally acceptable to kill animals?!

you bring up sin....but God gave us the animals for food. If we didn't eat them they would be over populated, and we would be mal-nurished.

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Simple. People disagree with you that "animals have the same desires and feelings as humans."

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Humans are omnivorous animals. If it is ok for chimps to kill and eat meat why would it be wrong for humans?

There are several species of animals out there that would eat you without a second thought.

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Equating animals with humans nullifies your argument.... If you feel morally bound to not eat animals...you should act accordingly...but remember...MANY people consider meat FOOD.

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Sweetie, if you are going to bring religion (sin) into this issue at least get your facts correct. In the Bible God clearly gives a list of animals we are to use as food. Cattle, certain birds, fish. He also gave us vegetables and natural herbs for a well rounded and healthy diet. It is this 'killers' opinion that there are only two reasons to EVER harm an animal, one is for food and the other is ending their suffering when there is no hope. I happen to love animals and nature, my home is filled with live animals we call 'furry babies' because we believe you can not ever OWN another living creature. I will admit that if I see the body of an animal killed for food, I'm unable to eat the meat later. Thank God for supermarkets.

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why not? murder is a sin? food we buy are already dead. Even God gave animal food to Moses in the dessert, and jesus gave fish to 5000 people. There is a lot of meat eating in the bible.

when I talk to an animal, that's when I will stop eating meat.

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You have one view, others have another.

Just because other people do not share the same principles as you,it doesn't mean they are wrong, just different. In fact, your views on this subject is very much the minority view that's why the vast majority of people are omnivores not vegetarians. In general,our common views and practices are a product of long experience as a race. Other animals eat other animals. People are also just animals killing and eating other animals. What has become reprehensible is the manner by which we obtain our food especially animal food.

By the way, outright killing of an animal without purpose is not a right and is just as punishable under certain circumstances. Killing an animal for food is another issue altogether. And even the latter is subject to laws and regulations.

Murder is also defined (and this definition is the universally accepted one) as the malicious killing of another human being. legally, it does not apply to non humans. if you want to extend it to animals, then the loons who say plants have feelings too or have life can also claim that vegetarians are plant murderers too.

I'm curious as to what the answers were in the Philosophy section where you first posted this. Can you post the link?

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well fist of all it's not considered sin to eat animals cuz god GAVE us animals to eat, and animals are def not humans, they are not humans, they live, eat, mate and die. Maybe it's stupid to kill animals but not everyone thinks that way and it's not sin, well if it is considered sin you must be tlking bout a differ religion to me.

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"you bring up sin....but God gave us the animals for food. If we didn't eat them they would be over populated, and we would be mal-nurished."
I quote from someone else...
Overpopulated! Ha! The animals used- are forced to get pregnated! Forced! This so called asumed overpopulation is a figment of people imagination. It would be just like other animals. The mountain lions or other predators (before we ran them out) would keep the cycle in check.
"He" may have given the world animals for food- but I don't think he wanted the world to abuse it.
And do you think the Indian (India)culture is mal-nurished?? They have lived off veggie only foods for thousands of years. If we are mal-nurished- then why do we live an average of seven years longer? Do people even realize that milk is another calfs milk. That would be like keeping a human impregnated for her entire life- and selling her breast milk for profit. I don't know about you but I don't think the animals in the wild hunt for another species milk. Sorry had to get that off my chest.. the question:
I believe people are uninformed- that is why they think its acceptable. People don't research- they are close minded. They have yet to walk the many paths of life. Not every one believes in a god either- what then. If the world had to kill their own meat- skin it- I doubt a whole heap of people would be signing up. At least not the 300 or so million people that reside here in the states. What they don't see they won't care! I didn't know about the animal cruelty till last year- i wish I could have been informed earlier.

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Reading the answers to your question is really depressing. People are so flippant about animal suffering, spewing things about canine teeth and dominion and animals not being able to talk....I bet you a million dollars that the people who are saying these things couldn't sit through a 10-min slaughterhouse video without averting their eyes. And I bet they wouldn't be so nonchalant if the tables were turned, and they were being slaughtered while fully conscious.

Is it really that hard to have empathy for living creatures who are powerless to stop us from abusing them?

I think a lot of it has to do with how we are raised. When kids first realize that meat comes from animals, many get upset and talk to their parents about it. The parents respond by saying it's ok because animals are raised to be eaten; they're here for us to use.... and of course kids trust their parents, so they begin to perceive animals as "things" that are here for us to use / exploit / abuse.

I remember one time at school, this kid found out that hamburger is made from cows and he actually spit his burger out in disgust. I laughed along with the other students, thinking he was so stupid for not knowing that beef comes from cows....and it never even occurred to me that there might be something bad or strange about eating the flesh of cows.

So, I guess childhood conditioning is one explanation.

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I totally agree!!

When people tell me I ''need to eat meat to live'' I can get seriously frustrated! Then I can get defensive about my beliefs.

We obviously don't need meat.

Meat eaters don't care what gets hurt in the process of making their greasy burgers. I find it selfish. Just my opinion. :-)

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They don't understand pain when they aren't feeling it themselves.

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Hi, Hala, they think it is acceptable because it is for their own need and greed and they think they cant survive without it.

If people had to kill their own animal, skin and gut it, there would be a hell of a lot more veggies in this world!

People also kill for "sport", In my mind these people are really disturbed, how can you justify killing an animal for "fun"?

When the fox-hunting was postponed due to the foot and mouth, the fox population didn't increase(which throws their argument of "if we didn't kill the foxes we would be over run".
nature looks after itself.

So if we stopped slaughtering animals for food they would not be taking over the world!

People also think its acceptable because they believe they are a higher species, and therefore they have the right to do it!

And the weakest excuse ever is 'because i like my meat'.

Even the non-believers use the reason that God gave us them to eat!

((veg hugs)) x

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We didn't climb to the top of the food chain to become vegetarians.

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I can't agree with you that an animal life equates to a human life, or that killing an animal is as serious as killing a human being.

I'm a vegan and I choose to be so in order to minimise as far as I can my personal contribution to animal exploitation and suffering. However I value human life way, way above animal life

I don't use the term sin as I'm an atheist, but murder is a crime and is the deliberate killing of one human being by another. Killing an animal is not murder, and nobody really believes it is. After all, if you knew someone had killed people, or had colluded in killing people or had paid for and eaten the flesh of those killed - would you still call them friend, eat with them, visit their home and welcome them into yours? I wouldn't, and I bet you wouldn't either.

Yet we all have family members and friends who eat meat, and we don't shun them or recoil in horror. That's because we KNOW that killing animals is not on a par with killing humans, however much we wish it didn't happen. It's not murder.

Similarly if a loved pet dies we feel sad, perhaps very sad, but we don't feel the devastation of grief and mourning that we do when a loved person dies. Anyone who thinks they do or would feel the same about it has never been bereaved.

So while I wish animals weren't killed for food, it is not the same, morally, as the killing of a human being.

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It's morally acceptable because by killing animals we fulfills human's needs.

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Well, according to your perameters, maybe hunting is actually more humane than farming livestock. At least there is some semblance of respect for the animal, and it gets to live it's entire life in the wild before its killed.
U r right, we should be allowed to kill people too.
Maybe the next ice--age will bring some really cool dangerous game animals.

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Because they taste good, and we need to eat them to survive.

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