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Tuesday, 20 February 2007 16:05 |
| | Janese Johnson |
Animals have been domesticated by many cultures throughout history. In the U.S., we primarily consider cats, dogs and horses as pets, not food or clothing.
Cats were first domesticated in Cypress 8,000 years ago. Dogs were domesticated in the Northern Hemisphere around 12,000 years ago.
It is believed that man originally developed a relationship with dogs for protection and hunting. In exchange for protection, humans fed the dogs (wolves). A form of trust developed between the species that is now understood as companionship. During the Middle Ages, dogs became a status symbol and selective breeding resulted in dogs with the most desirable traits. Selective breeding combined with companionship gave dogs such high status that many cultures have not used them for meat or fur.
Horses
were originally used for meat and clothing until about 5000 years ago.
As a means of transportation and, later, a beast of burden, horses
proved very useful to many cultures.
In some
cultures, cattle, pigs, or white buffalo are considered sacred and
off-limits for food and clothing. Other cultures use cats, dogs and
horses for meat and their hides.
Now that we have
become more of a global community, what happens when one cultureís pet
is another cultureís food or clothing source? This is an ethical
conflict that cannot be ignored in a global market.
Because many
Asian cultures do not value cats and dogs as pets, they are used
instead as a source of meat and fur. Recent information has revealed
the cruelty in which some Asian cultures kill their cats and dogs.
Similar to our
undomesticated dog, the wolf, they have an undomesticated dog called
the raccoon dog. The raccoon dog looks like a raccoon, but is really a
dog. The fur of the dog has a unique beauty that is used for clothing.
It is illegal to
kill cats and dogs for their fur in the United States, but it is not
illegal to buy the raccoon dogsí fur from Asia, and that is what some
retailers have done. JC Penney had some trimmed Raccoon dog fur coats
in stock over the holidays selling for $349.99. The label read
ìraccoon.î on it.
Those who purchased the coats did not know that they
were purchasing dog fur. When J.C Penney was exposed, they removed the
coats, marked out the raccoon, and put them back in the stores for
74.99.
Maceyís, Ralph
Lauren, and J. Crew have all stopped buying the fur from China. What is
upsetting about this situation is the cruelty that these poor creatures
suffer at the hands of humans so that we humans may have ìbeautifulî
clothing.
Horses have been
another controversial issue in regards of its value as pet, work
animal, or meat. Recently a truck carrying 41 horses and a mule had an
accident on the highway. It was discovered that all these animals were
going to the slaughterhouse. Since we do not eat horses in our culture,
the horsemeat gets shipped to Europe and Asia, and eaten as a delicacy.
Fortunately for these horses and mule the Humane society stepped in and
many are now enjoying a life as a pet. One of the horses was an old
racehorse that had such a personality. They were able to track his
history due to a tattoo that he was given as a racehorse. It turns out
that because he was not the ìbestî racehorse but just a good one, he
was passed around until he was not seen as useful, then sold to the
slaughterhouse. There is a bill in the Senate that has been
reintroduced January 17th, 2007. This bill will in essence make it
illegal to slaughter horses for the purpose of food overseas. So please
write your congress. The Humane Society has a link through their page
for this.
Perhaps one day
we will come to a place where we can value all life, but until then it
is up to us to be a voice for the animals that cannot speak for
themselves. If there is any cruelty or inhumane act done on any life,
it seems to be our place to stand up for that. So whether an animal is
a pet, food, or hide is really up to us to decide. We can make a
conscious choice right now and stand up for all life.
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