Animals and Society

I think it is very interesting to see the changes in how animals are viewed and treated by humans in today’s society. The first relationship that humans had with animals was primarily a predator-prey relationship. Humans would hunt animals to eat and use for other things such as clothing, tools, etc. Humans eventually domesticated animals that had suitable characteristics for use on their farms. Horses and oxen were used in the field and for transportation, dogs for guarding, cats for pest control. Humans then selectively bred these animals for those purposes. The roles these same animals have today have radically changed however. This can be seen both positively and negatively. Surveys have shown that the majority of households view their pets as part of their family. Anthropomorphizing our animals may not be the best thing. On the one hand animals (especially companion animals) are treated better, generally. They have better living conditions for one. Also animals are thought of as being sentient beings deserving of respect and basic rights. Sometimes this gets taken to the extremes. People forget what their animals were originally bred for. Dogs that were originally bred to work are often left at home all day locked in the house. Then when these animals redirect their pent up energy or their breed-specific behaviours they are punished by their owners. I think that we have in some cases gone too far with treating our pets like family. I think that there is still a difference between a dog and a human and that dressing your dog up in clothes, taking them to a restaurant and allowing them to sleep in your bed are going too far. So many of the designer dogs I see have behaviour problems because they no longer know what it is to be a dog. Our society has very little to worry about in terms of food and shelter that we now have the luxury of treating our animals as humans. But is this okay that some animals live a more luxurious life than many humans do? Not just in developing countries but the homeless people in our own cities. What about the dog who has just inherited millions from their deceased owners while many humans have to choose between food and shelter? Though I am a self- proclaimed animal lover I feel that we have as a (mostly developed) society forgotten that animals are not humans and that though they should have the right to be free from harm and have access to necessary food and shelter, it should not be at the expense of our fellow human beings.