Ignorance is at the heart of animal abuse. Rank ignorance. No education, no awareness. Where’s the enlightenment? These people are in the dark.
It is time to see real progress in animal welfare. For too long educated people have put up with animal abuse by the uneducated of the world. The world needs to tackle poor education with more commitment. Also, I don’t find it easy to say but religion and ignorance can be bedfellows.
Christianity
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” – Genesis 1:26
Add that attitude to a blinkered, ignorance and you have: ANIMAL ABUSE on a grand scale. Perhaps it is time to get rid of religion; to enter an age of enlightenment and humanism. It surprises me that intelligent, educated people believe in religion.
If you believe in dominion over animals (and I don’t) you must also take on the responsibility of relating to animals humanely.
Commerce + ignorance = animal abuse, is also another equation. The drive for financial profit drives animal abuse.
I have to have hope that somehow there will be a gradual enlightenment through education. In the distant future (it won’t be sooner) humans will stop abusing animals. Or is it so ingrained, the human dominance over animals, that we will never shake off the need to abuse them?
Genesis 1:26 does not imply that humans are free to abuse animals. Abuse is a perversion of the condition of dominion. It also applies between strong and powerful people, and the weak and vulnerable. The only moderating factor can be morality which is obviously lacking in some people with the aggravating problem of a sadistic personality. The answer is not easy but adequate punishment as a deterrent springs to mind. The point of the Ten Commandments in the Christian religion is to give people a code of civilised conduct which benefits all. The idea of the claim these basic laws come from God, not from Man, was to make them more authoritative to believers. These laws were then used as the basis for man-made laws and the appropriate punishments. which permeate the Judeo-Christian civilisation. All people whether believers or non-believers thus face the real consequences, not just the imagined wrath of God. On the other hand in the Qur’an the Sura verses 2:106, and 16.101 abrogate (supercede) all previous laws and commands including notably the Ten Commandments which explains a lot. Some Muslims are kind to cats simply because Mohammad was kind to his cats, but that kindness does not apply to Christians and Jews. Qur’an 8.12, ” Terrorise and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an.” All religions are not alike. I do not see that Genesis 1.26 legitimises cruelly to animals. It is an example of equivocation which uses a vague non-specific term in a specific way.
Thanks a lot Harvey.
Dumping all religions would be a great start to improving the lot of all other species.
Daily I see examples of the ignorant garbage pumped out by all the religions (maybe not Jainism) that place anything except humans at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Why must we cling to the nonsense of religions and their oppressive obstruction to intelligence and free thinking?
It will always be a huge heartsink moment for me when I see that generally humans do not understand the word “dominion” This lack of understanding leads to a lot of abuse and neglect for animals.
I am pleased that you agree with me on religion. It is dangerous concept, human constructed. I don’t want to upset anyone but religion has caused so much violence and hatred. What’s the point of it?