- If the outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion tells us anything, it's that people are capable of genuine moral outrage at the needless killing of animals. And good for them. Animals are conscious beings capable of feeling pleasure and pain, and we have an obligation to make their lives as good as possible.
But in a given year, the typical American will cause the death of 30 land animals, and 28 chickens, by eating meat. And these animals aren’t just killed, they effectively live lives of constant torture and suffering — not directly at the hands of the people who eat them, but at the hands of the meat producers who sell them.
But sadly, I'm with you, I imagine my carnivorous cravings for feeding my muskels' growth demands are birding up.
- Everyone likes animals, so killing them is wrong, right? The fact is that there’s far more nuance to the argument than that.
- Walt has been photographed with at least one lion kill, previous to the one that caused the current furor, as well as other animals native to Africa. It’s been reported that he paid up to $55,000 for this latest hunt. That’s at least $100,000 that he’s personally put into African economies, money that wouldn’t have been spent if there weren’t lions to hunt. That’s money which is a specific economic motivation for conservation. How much money have you and your Facebook friends contributed directly to big game conservation in Africa? I’m guessing that for most of you, it’s much, much less.
Semi-related:
Eating meat is morally equivalent to killing a lion?
Hubski mocks your moral reasoning! And provides the proof!
1. Lions are a different species than chickens, duh!
2. He didn't eat the lion! Chicken tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood.
3. I heard a talk radio idiot make the same argument!
4. The author is taking advantage of a popular story to promote an agenda! That's an outrage!
Got more?
- It seems to me that you only pardon the sins that you don’t really think sinful. You only forgive criminals when they commit what you don’t regard as crimes, but rather as conventions. You forgive a conventional duel just as you forgive a conventional divorce. You forgive because there isn’t anything to be forgiven.
Yeah, I'm kind of on board with this. The major difference being that chickens are killed for food, whereas this lion was killed for fun by a douchebag.
I think it is closer to false equivalence in this case. But I'm all up for anything that makes people rethink over-consumption of meat.
"Hmm, how can I harness a viral event to fit my agenda?"
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Can't you just buy free-range chicken and eggs? Free range chicken is easy to find in the UK.
"Free-Range" and "Cage-Free" here in The States is such a loose standard, it's laughable. The conditions can just be as unhealthy and unsafe for the birds as battery cages. A lot of cage-free chickens live in cramped indoors, never seeing the light of day for their whole life.
There are proper EU standards for free-range; also the standard for organic chicken and eggs are even higher.
I am not so sure, but I don't know anything about it. tauta_krypta, would you be willing to look into it? Do the rules vary by country? How are they enforced?
Here are some things to consider:
1. Chickens that are bred for eating are not so good for laying eggs. Chickens bred for eggs are not so good for eating. The result is that male birds of the egg-laying breeds are not very valuable. What happens to them?
2. Hens naturally lay fewer eggs or stop laying eggs in the fall when the weather gets colder and the days shorter. How do Europeans get eggs in the winter?