Why Do We Keep Pets? Is Keeping Pets Wrong?
83A very interesting question. I have thought about this question myself in the past and am glad that I've been called upon to reflect upon this question again by you. Well, I will start with the first part of your question, "Why do we keep pets?" Well, the most obvious answer to that question would be that we keep pets for companionship. We feel happy to have a pet that we can love and care for. Essentially, a pet gives a person a sense of fulfillment. We derive joy playing with and talking with a pet. This is especially true for the elderly or those who live a lonely existence. So in that sense, a pet has a positive impact on a person. It is no wonder then that people like keeping pets. Its not a new phenomenon either - humans have kept pets through the ages.
Coming to the second part of your question, "Is having a pet necessary?" Well, I've answered part of it above. It might not be necessary, but having a pet certainly improves the quality of life of some people more than others. Especially, as stated above, people who are lonely or depressed or the elderly.
Coming to the most interesting and thought-provoking part of your question, "Is it not against the freedom of the animal concerned?" Well, certainly the pet owners would think that they are doing the animal a favor by caring for it and loving it, but I do feel in some cases, they do indeed imprison the animal. Birds as pets are an example. I am sure no bird would want to be caged. Certainly, birds have wings for a reason and their place is not in a cage. So, yes in some cases the desire to have a pet overrides any sense of empathy for the freedom of that animal. It would be great if people realize specific instances where they might in fact be harming or impeding the freedom of the animal in some way and decide against keeping such pets.
Apart from birds and wild animals, most other pets such as dogs and cats have become dependent on humans in many ways and so keeping such animals as pets is not actually impinging on the freedom of that animal. Such animals are also not kept in cages or a very restrictive environment and so I do not think the animals' freedoms are being compromised in any sense. On can in fact argue that many of these animals benefit as much as their human owner. Those who take in stray cats and dogs in particular are doing a world of good to the animal concerned.
In conclusion, I'd say there are many good reasons to keep a pet and one can argue that it has beneficial effects, but one should guard against situations where one's own selfish need overtakes any concern for the animal. Now, how one can define that is not an easy question. Like I pointed out above, keeping birds caged is an obvious moral no-no. So, too - one can argue is keeping wild animals caged. It obviously inhibits the animal's natural behavior and freedom and can be extremely dangerous. So, keeping pets is not wrong, but in certain scenarios, it might well be - if not legally, then morally!
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Hi I came accross your hub you have some very interesting views. I have a budgie and a ferret, My budgie is only caged if he needs to go to the vet. My ferret is only caged if he is sick or needs to see the vet. I do not belive that my animals should be caged just because people say they should be. I do not even clip my budgie's wings because if gives him the freedom to fly around the house. You may ask how do i protect him from windows. I cover the windows so that he does not mistake the window to be open. He knows where his food is and he sleeps in his cage with the door open. My ferret uses a litter box and also knows where to eat and drink. As for needing the pets, I find they bring me alot of fullfillment and joy. I am not alone I do have children and a partner but when we feel down these animals do come and say hi. Good hub though. Keep writing.
I was just planning to buy an African Grey :/
I have 2 pitbulls (totally ruined reputation thanks to TV) and a Ball python. I think that pitbulls would want to stay with me, the snake doesn't care as long as it eats lol
Now I don't think I want an african grey :(
I think in an ideal world we would not keep pets because they are prisoners to varying degrees and are potential victims of the human system and ways of life. Millions have short lives because they are unwanted, many are very badly abused. At the same time millions are loved and cared for and have good lives. It is complicated. I have even thought about feeding meat products to cats and dogs - of course we have to but for all the animal rights people and vegans and vegetarians and those who campaign against animal farming and killing for meat, the keeping of these companion animals poses a big problem. How could we feed the millions of dogs and cats in an ideal world with their natural food if we do not have farming, slaughterhouses etc to produce the food? We cannot and so maybe it is not right to keep these animals as pets?
I live with a cat and have had others and they were all unwanted animals. I think it is right that people take on animals that will otherwise die but that they shouldn't buy animals bred to supply an industry. The pet business is as corrupt as any other and the animals are seen as things to sell not living feeling sentient beings!
Very interesting perspective Bard - I agree with most of what you've stated. If the intention is to help the animal - its good. However, if the sole intention is to have the animal for one's own comfort, disregarding the animal's freedome (as in the case of caged birds) - then I think its very wrong.
we keep pets
I have a few thoughts about owning a pet. I have not read the books listed above so feel free to argue with me or correct me. I started this comment not really knowing where I stand. For a long time, I was actually against having pets, seeing it as slavery (yet was not a vegetarian; those two issues have always been completely separate for me). As I wrote this, I felt my thoughts really coming together. And yes I know this hubpage is old so no one will probably read my drivel anyway!
The Choice to Adopt a Pet:
Animals do not chose to be bred as a pet sure, but nor does a human baby chose to be conceived. I did not choose my family, the country I was born, or the fact that I am on the planet Earth at all. We keep animals for our own emotional benefit, which is a selfish act, but is not a women who longs to hold her human offspring in her arms and feels the body clock ticking and has a baby not selfish too? Substitute the cat or dog or goldfish or lizard for a human. Is adopting another human being wrong? Young adopted infants have no say in the matter, yet they grow attached to their new parents too. Cats and dogs do the same.
Animal Abuse:
Granting rights to animals to be free from cruelty is in no way granting "special" rights. You adopt a pet for the same reasons you adopt a child, so why wouldn't mistreating a pet be the same as mistreating a child?
"But they have a better life with me/ in the wild":
I am not saying that animals are the same as humans. They are not. Every animal has a different diet, different instincts, different personalities. I think that anyone who loves their animal will try to allow for these animal traits to the best of their ability ie. providing scratching posts for cats, or taking dogs for walks. Maybe there are exceptions, birds or rats or hamsters in small cages, but I don't know enough these types of animals to really comment. I tend to prefer a cat who has free reign of the house, or a dog who has a large yard, or a horse who has a paddock. But again, you don't let your children run wild do you? If you did, they wouldn't remain your child for very long. I don't necessarily see being a pet a privileged position 'above' animals in the wild, it is simply a different one. Pets do receive medical care, eat more nutritious foods and have a longer life expectancy, but the fact that we do this for our pets again says something about human emotions rather than anything about the animals. An animal in pain means nothing unless we attach emotions to it, same with another human in pain. A lion does not feel emotion for a trout in pain. But our emotion "is" (I don't really know how to explain that any further so I apologies if I am not making sense). I'm trying to back up the fact that pet ownership is purely an emotional thing on the part of the human, but that this is not necessarily a bad thing. We don't round up every animal in the world and ship them off to wilderness day-care, because the position that most animals in the world are in, is the position that has come about through millions of years of changes and upgrades. Again, it is not somehow 'worse' or 'better'.
Animal Abuse Again:
People who abuse animals and people do not feel that emotion, the emotion that is the basis for our morals. That is not normal. Feeling affection for an animal is as normal as feeling affection for a human.
Conclusion:
In alternate universes, humans might probably not keep pets. It is such a funny thing when you think about it. At least having your own offspring or looking after another human's offspring can be put down to the evolutionary need to continue one's species. We humans like to think that we are much more than just innate urges and habits, and our affections and awe are not limited to just our own species, BUT could not the urge to adopt an animal be JUST as much an evolutionary urge as any?
Thanks for reading.
Thank you Bec for taking the time to expound on this question - and so comprehensively!! From your response, I'd pretty much suggest you join HubPages and write a hub on it :)
Seriously though, I loved reading your response. Very different and very comprehensive! Thank you so much for commenting Bec, appreciate your perspective!! Thanks for visiting!!
Thank you Shil1978! Reading back over my comment I don't know if it makes much sense but at least you seem to know what I'm on about right? :-P I don't really know what hubpages are, I just found this page through a spontaneous google search for "against keeping pets" but will have a look into it :)
Bec, your ideas can be refined further, but it was a wonderfully different perspective. Hence, my appreciation :)
Ah - HubPages - well, I've added a section above the comment section with links to FAQ titled "HubPages - An Introduction For Newbies."
Read up on it and you'd know all that there is to know about HubPages, and if you like what you see there, do join us :)
I adopted two abused pets. They are both beautiful loving little dogs that seem to be happy and content. I think mostly they are happy to not be abused any longer.
I enjoyed reading your hub, you did an excellent job. Thank you.
KKG - thank you for stopping by and commenting. Wonderful of you KKG for adopting those abused pets. They'd surely be happier than they were before.
Animals shouldn't be abused in the first place - sad that they are!!
Glad that you appreciated this hub. Thanks again for stopping by!!
I kinda stumbled upon this webpage in a similar way to Bec, & I kinda have the same point of view as her, as well as mixed feelings..
I feel that having a pet has it's own pros and cons & whether we should or not is a totally different thing.
We cannot turn back time & hence certain species of animals have already been bred for domestication (e.g. dogs). I do agree that these species can be kept as pets & maybe being as pets, they would have a much better life than deserting them in the wild and hope that they could fend for themselves.
However, I also feel that non-domesticated species such as snakes & turtles should not be kept as pets. They weren't bred for any purposes by humans and should definitely be in the wild. Birds are similar as well. Although we have domesticated them in the past, they were allowed to fly free (e.g. eagles and hawks). But look at the household birds now - they do have wings for a reason & not to be kept in cages.
I feel that we adopt pets as our companions despite the fact that we know that animals do not have a choice. But it brings us both benefits. We prolong our lives as well as the animal's, giving them better environmental conditions than the wild. We might eliminate loneliness for ourselves, but how do you know that your pet doesn't? Other than the host family, it doesn't really have "friends" of its own kind. It can't communicate like how they naturally would given the fact that we do not understand a thing about what they are saying & could only link our own emotions to their behaviour & reactions, which we might not even decipher the correct meaning. So would you classify that as a welfare issue?
I'm kinda sitting on the fence & to not be thinking abt it too much, I do not have a pet. Hahaha. Sorry, I seemed to have typed more than what I predicted. :p
Thank you Lynnette for stopping by this hub and commenting. I am glad you took the time to reflect on this subject. I couldn't agree with you more. Keeping animals such as snakes isn't just unethical/wrong, but also very dangerous as numerous owners of such pets have found out!! Some have even lost their lives or been badly injured by such dangerous pets.
Same goes for birds, although most of them are not dangerous, and anyways, most owners just cage them. Here, it is more of an ethical/moral issue. To me - it just isn't right to cage a bird or any animal for that matter!!
Just because animals can't speak or voice their opinion, doesn't mean we should impose our will on them and imprison them. Of course, abused animals/strays, etc. (mostly domesticated) should be adopted and cared for. That is not the same as taking an animal that should have lived in the wild and trying to domesticate it - they are already domesticated (animals such as domestic cats/dogs).
Thanks again Lynnette for stopping by and for the detailed response, much appreciated :)
Haha. Thanks for replying my comment as well! & also for having the same opinion. :D
I'm currently a Uni student & I'm having sort of a class debate on this topic. Urgh. Kinda get my head around things, but it's good to read up what others might think of it. Sadly, I'm on the "for" side, which I solely do not want to be. But anyhoos.. It can't be avoided. Hehe. Btw, this Hub thingy is awesome! :D
In the case of dogs specifically, we've bred them to our liking for thousands of years and have ruined their ability to sustain themselves in the wild successfully. So, while an arguement can be made that ownership is a violation of their freedom, we made that choice a long time ago and have now partnered ourselves with them forever. Unless we were to completely abandon them for the sake of their "freedom" and stand blindly by as they suffer in their new found freedom.
A good owner reciporcates the love a pet gives, so the relatioship benefits both. I would fight to the death to protect my Lexi and she would do the same for me.
I care for her and she in turn protects our home that we share together. It's a cooperation of species inasmuch an "ownership" - which is only the legal term.
Thank you, MB, for your interesting perspective on this subject. Yes, I agree with the example you gave with respect to dogs. I am not sure though that the reciprocity exists across all "pets."
How would you know, for example, that a bird is reciprocating your love for it? For all you know, the bird might be lamenting its misfortune of being caged against its will.
So, while I agree that some pets may indeed benefit equally from being kept as pets, others may not!! A vast majority of pets in fact are kept for the sole need for companionship/pleasure of their owners.
If I could have things my way I would have all animals living in their natural environment. But since dogs and cats by the millions are put down each year then keeping pets do in fact save their lives. Furthermore, letting pets like cats run wild is as irresponsible as letting our children run wild. We are not living in Eden people ~ there are cars, chemicals, wild animals and evil people everywhere. Not to mention my husband and I just found a skin and bone cat in our garage because our neighbor believe in giving their cat "freedom." Poor thing starved for a month in our garage and cost us almost $2,000 to bring him closer to health!
We have pets because we love animals... let's make my answer limited to myself, I have dogs because I love dogs, there is really nothing wrong in having pets especially if they added joy to your life, remember when you love something, you accept all the respobnsibilities that go along with it...keeping a pet is not easy but since I love having them around, I struggled through all difficulties just to have them, and that gave me fulfillment. Looking at my dog Peso after he survived six surgeries is giving me so much joy. Pet rearing became wrong when the owner is not really ready for the responsibilities. so it's always wise to remind people to think and read first before getting a pet.
Freedom!! What if we were pets? Do you like that?
AS former owner of 2 birds I can agree its not in the bird is best interest to be locked up in cage. I have never owned mammals as pet so I cannot relate to that but odd as it sound some both dogs and cats can easily live with out the human. I mean they sometimes kills wild birds just for the fun of it and that is part of there natural instinct and humans have tired to surpress it for many centures.
super. I AGREED WITH YOUR ARGUMENTS
What you've got to consider is that a lot of these pets are bred 'to be' pets, they are not wild animals and a lot have never been in the wild, if we were to let them go out into the open world, they would most likely not last long.
Droppingthedubyoutube, while what you say can be true about certain pets, it is a fact that there are other animals that aren't actually 'bred to be pets,' but actually belong to the wild.
There are lots of such animals, many of them dangerous, that people keep at home as pets. They pose a danger to the owner as well as to the people around them. That apart, these animals really belong to the wild.
They are not "pets." Same is true of birds - do they belong in a cage? Can't they survive in nature? They most definitely can!!
i love my birds, theyre happy.
It is a form of animal cruelty to keep animals indoors. As usual the problem originates with the human with his lack of logic, who cannot comprehend the truth accordingly. Animals, or pets carry diseases and consequently people get sick from the filth that the animals bring indoors. Besides the fact that animals are a health hazard to humans, another fact that people love to overlook is the horrendous amounts of pet food which could otherwise have been used for human consumption. In every supermarket there is almost a whole isle dedicated to pet food alone. But what makes it worse, is when people gets obsesses with their animals health, and starts feeding them human grade expensive meat products. While people are starving from malnutrition around the world, little fluffy gets fat-free tenderloin with gravy on the side. It is an absolute disgrace what we have turned into. WE "love" out animals more that we respect and love each other. Not that we understand true love in the first place. Have we gone absolutely insane!? When will we understand how ignorant we are about how we live? Animals should live life as nature has intended it, not the way we have.
JYOTI KOTHARI Level 2 Commenter 3 years ago
Thanks for answering my request. A short but sweet hub. I especially liked your view about freedom of animal. I rated the hub up.
Thanks,
jyoti kothari