bigfellascott wrote:I think you are deluding yourself if you think that you haven't been responsible for pain and suffering of animals in your lifetime, we all have in one way or another (directly or indirectly) just by the mear fact you use an animal to sustain your life/lifestyle you have somewhere along the line caused harm/fear etc - you can try and justify it how you like but you'd be a hypocrite if you think you haven't and thinking just because you didn't directly intentionally cause harm/fear etc doesn't negate that fact.
(Do you honestly think that because you killed your fish as quickly as possible after you caught it that somehow that makes you superior or a better person than those who let theirs die slowly in a bucket? You've both caused fear/harm/pain to the animal, yes yours was slightly more humane but the fact still remains you caused suffering to an animal as we all do when we kill them for our benefit (your kidding yourself if you think otherwise).
We've all benefited from the misery and suffering of animals and just because you do it in a "more Humane" way doesn't negate the fact you caused suffering to an animal (we do love to tell ourselves that but it really is a lie at the end of the day) cause no animal wanted to die to just keep us alive hey.
Where do you keep getting this view that I feel superior to other people because of the things I believe in? Where did I claim I was this saint you keep confusing me with that has managed to go through life never having caused pain to an animal?
I disagree that killing any animal requires you to inflict pain or suffering upon it. I never said that killing a fish as soon as you can means it suffers no pain or fear, or that it makes you superior to the guy fishing beside you that doesn't. The fishing I did was in The Ord, taking catfish for the Aged Care Centre at the Aboriginal community I was working at, I wasn't fishing for pleasure, although the country, the local people that took me along, and the enormous crocodiles made the experience an unforgettable treasure of memories. Of course the fish experienced pain and anguish while they were on the hook, it was my duty to minimize that to the extent possible. I find it just incredible that you not only disagree with the concept, you seem completely against it on principle.
I have certainly caused harm to animals, that doesn't mean I want to delude myself into believing that is normal or desired, but it definitely reinforces my desire to avoid making the same mistakes again.
It is absolutely possible to eat animals,without causing pain and suffering, but you do have to accept that you have that choice to do so, and to act on it. Such a belief is merely human, nothing more than that. No animal cares what it wanted when it is dead, being dead is not painful or worrying...