• Tempus Fugit@lemmy.world
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      13 hours ago

      Please feel free to enlighten me on how forcing animals into shelters against their will and not giving them the attention and time they would get in their natural habitat is any different than jails or prisons for humans.

      I’m not even anti-pet ownership, but I’ve come to terms that owning a pet is unethical 99% of the time.

      • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        99%?

        Cats domesticated themselves, the ones living around people found that they had a higher chance of survival if they stayed around humans. Humans kept them around as they hunted pests and this lead to them breeding more and so we have modern domesticated cats.

        They live longer, they have shelter when they want it, they roam outside when they want to. They get attention and affection from humans and play or fight with other cats.

        Dont know if i would call that abuse

        (From google)

        Around 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, wild cats (specifically Felis silvestris lybica) were drawn to early human farming settlements to hunt the rodents that infested grain stores. Cats with a more tolerant, less fearful temperament thrived, creating a natural, self-driven selection process.

        • Tempus Fugit@lemmy.world
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          11 hours ago

          I don’t disagree that there is mutual benefit from pet ownership, but I believe animals should be left to their own free will.

          I love cats, but they would roam outside if we let them. Cats then decimate bird, small mammal, and pollinator populations.

          I don’t judge those that own pets in a negative light at all BTW. In fact when I visit friends I typically devote a majority of my time loving on their pets. I just think it’s important to remember that we’re forcing these animals into situations they didn’t advocate for. At least to me it is unethical.

          • 7101334@lemmy.world
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            9 hours ago

            I love cats, but they would roam outside if we let them. Cats then decimate bird, small mammal, and pollinator populations.

            And cats already exist, in huge numbers. So the alternative is to euthanize them or keep them as indoor pets (obviously neutered / spayed just in case, and so they don’t piss everywhere lol).

            So… pet ownership seems like the best choice of the 3 options to me. It may not be the cat’s preferred option in all circumstances, but in a net-good sense, it’s the best choice.