Ethics and Pets on CBC Radio One

This morning on a radio show called The Current on CBC Radio One, Anna Maria Tremonti interviewed Gary Francione, Stanley Coren, and Jessica Pierce about their differing views on the ethical issues surrounding pet ownership. It was a very interesting discussion-- you can listen to it and/or read the accompanying article here.

Have a nice day!

Why whether or not one eats meat is not a "personal choice"

Sometimes non-vegans say that vegans shouldn't try to convince others to go vegan, and that "eating meat is a personal choice" that vegans should respect. But is eating animals really a "personal choice"?
I don't think it is. Here's why...
To begin, let's define "personal choice". In this context, a personal choice is a decision that does not harm or seriously affect anyone else, so the individual making the choice has the right to do as they wish, without anyone else intervening.
But eating animals-- and supporting the cruel and exploitative animal industries in general-- does harm others. It harms the animals. Animal agriculture is responsible for the imprisonment, torture, exploitation, and murder of billions of animals every year.
Whether you are a vegan or a non-vegan is technically a choice, but it is not at all personal. It affects others. For this reason, although I respect individuals who eat meat, I do not have patience for the choice to eat meat. I don't try to aggressively push veganism on people, because I respect the personal space of others. However, when people tell me that they eat meat, I don't simply smile and shrug and say "it's a personal choice", either. Instead, I politely mention that veganism isn't as hard as many people make it out to be, and then let them change the subject if they want to. If they do want to engage in conversation about veganism, I am all too happy to talk about it, though!

Mercy For Animals Inspirational Short Video

Hello everyone,
This is a pretty neat video. It gives a reminder of some of the reasons why people choose a vegan lifestyle, and it also provides a unique insight into the fact that people from many different walks of life are vegan. You can view it right here on my blog or on Mercy for Animals' website at http://www.mercyforanimals.org/i-am-mfa.aspx.


Have a nice day! :)

Taking Action To Create a Better World: A Moral Imperative?

Once a person knows about many of the problems facing the world-- animal suffering on factory farms, environmental degradation, the epidemic of preventable disease in the Western world, starvation and malnourishment in many other parts of the world, and so much more-- that person would then be ethically required to do what they can to stop supporting those things. For example, once you find out about the exploitation of animals for "food", you really cannot even attempt to justify continuing to eat animal products. Similarly, once you learn about environmental degradation due to human activities, you should do what you can to reduce your environmental footprint. Going vegan, being eco-friendly, buying fair trade, using sustainable transportation, and eating healthily are great things to do, but are those things-- on their own-- not enough?
Once a person is aware of the problems in the world, does that person then have a moral imperative to actively work to help improve the state of the world?
That's what this blog post is about today :) . My answer to the bolded question above is, quite simply, "YES!"
People who are privileged enough to have access to proper education, food, water, etc. have a moral responsibility to help others (including animals) and/or the world, along with also avoiding doing harm. If you use up resources on the planet, it is only fair to give something back, after all!
Think about it: if a person isn't doing good in their spare time, then what are they doing instead? Entertaining himself/herself? It is simply unethical to "live for pleasure" when there are animals out there in terrible conditions, being exploited, killed, and tortured, not to mention the Earth being mutilated by humans, and people in all sorts of terrible conditions. When you learn about these things, it is a moral imperative to take action-- after all, we have a degree of responsibility towards others. It's just like if you saw a kid being beat up on the playground-- would you be the passive bystander, who watches for a while and then turns away? Or would you try to get involved by getting help from the police and/or stopping the bullies yourself? If you-- the bystander-- aren't at risk, then it would be cruel-hearted to ignore the desperate pleas of the kid for help.
Animals do not speak human language. They cannot hand out leaflets or go online and beg for us to take up their cause. But their suffering at human hands is horrendous. Therefore, it is so important for animal rights people like me (and hopefully you, whoever you are reading this right now) to advocate for them.
Of course, there are some circumstances in which a person cannot do anything-- for example, if they are in a position where all they can do is try to survive, such as if they're terribly poor or sick. However, everyone else can do something to help the world, even if it's simply starting a petition, leafleting, raising money for a good cause, buying animal rights books and/or vegan cookbooks to donate to your local library, volunteering, creating art to raise awareness, writing a book, starting a group or a club, or writing an article for your school newspaper. Or starting an animal rights blog, perhaps! ;)
You don't even have to be a self-declared "activist" to make a difference in the world. Take whatever you love to do-- whether that's triathlon, composing music, or something else-- and use that to make the world a better place. For example, if you're a triathlete, you can wear a "Vegan" slogan on your sports clothing, so that everyone who watches you compete will become aware that vegans can, indeed, be great athletes! If you compose music, you could write a song about (or dedicated to) the animals who need our help, then play that song at an event or post it online (or even turn it into a music video to put on Youtube!). That way, you're still doing what you love, but you're using it to create very positive change.
The most important thing to do is to do something! And regularly, too-- like I said above, we all have a moral responsibility towards others. You might not be able to do a lot-- after all, you probably have other things going on in your life. (I know I do!) However, doing as much as you reasonably can to make a difference-- whether you can work extensively every day or only do something once a week-- all helps, and remember, the animals and the world do really need our help.
Have a nice (action-filled) week!

The Ethics of Wearing Fur, Leather, Fake-Fur, and Fake Leather

Is it okay to wear an old fur coat (or leather jacket) if nobody else wants it anymore?
What should you do if your workplace demands that you wear leather boots or some other animal-derived "clothing"?
And is it really okay to wear fake fur, when fake fur is made to look like the coats of dead animals?

These are the questions I'm going to be discussing in today's post! Here are some scenarios in which you might be forced to question your ideas about animal rights and veganism:

1. You have an old leather jacket at the back of your closet that you bought before you became aware of animal issues. You still like to wear it, but you're worried that you'll be labelled as a hypocrite if you're seen in public with it. What do you do?
   My response: Technically, you're not killing any animals by wearing your old leather jacket. The cow whose skin the jacket is made of has already deceased. I can't see why you'd want to wear it, though-- is it truly "cool" to wear the skin of another dead creature? By wearing this jacket, you're promoting the "fashion" of leather jackets and making the sight of leather jackets a more common thing for people, making them more likely to want to buy their own. You could also be branding yourself as a hypocrite to anyone who knows that you care about animals.
   Out of disgust at the jacket and concern that other people might misunderstand or even follow my example, I would avoid wearing the leather jacket altogether. In fact, I'd probably donate it to a thrift store so that it can at least be used by someone in need. (It would seem a shame to waste it...)
2. Your workplace requires you to wear a uniform, but that uniform is partially made from fur/leather/down/wool, etc. (such as leather boots, wool hats, or down coats)! What do you do?
   My response: Personally, I would evaluate a situation like this on a case-by-case basis. Let's say you were working as a pilot, and your employer gave you the uniform. You then noticed that the uniform included leather boots. In a situation like this, it would make little sense to quit your job simply because you don't want to wear leather boots, of course. However, you could still try to talk to your employer about why you would rather wear non-animal-derived boots, instead. There's no harm in at least trying to work things out! If you had a job that required you to wear some animal-derived clothing that you found simply unacceptable and the employer refused to budge, then you would have to evaluate your options from there. But ethical veganism isn't about avoiding every little trace of dead animals everywhere you go-- it's more about following the diet and reducing your negative impact while increasing the positive impact you have on the world.
3. You're coat-shopping, and the only jacket in the colour you like has a fake-fur hood. Do you buy it or go shopping somewhere else?
   My response: I don't approve of fake fur. It isn't made of parts of animals, of course, but it certainly is made to look like it! Why glamorize something that's cruel?

Picture courtesy of http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/animal-rights/images/10464521/title/no-fox-fur-photo

If you would like to know more about the fur industry, please go to http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_cruelty/fur.htm (WARNING: graphic pictures of animal cruelty).

Let me know in the comments section what you would do in these three situations!

Fish are Animals, Too!

For some reason, some people think that you can still consider yourself a vegan if you eat fish. Considering that fish are animals, and vegans abstain from consuming all animal products, this is inherently nonsensical. But beyond that, there are other reasons why we should avoid eating fish.

People who are otherwise vegan/vegetarian but still eat fish may do so for a number of reasons:

1. They think that fish is a "healthy" necessity that must be eaten for good health.
2. They went veg*n to reduce cholesterol levels, lose weight, or otherwise improve their health, and, since fish is considered by many to be a good "diet" food, they see no point in avoiding it.
3. They care about animals, but they don't consider fish to be animals or sentient beings.
4. They want to be vegan, but they also want to "pamper" themselves by eating a "cheat food" now and then.
5. They've never thought about it too deeply, or they try not to think about it.

Let's de-bunk each of these myths in turn! (Sources are listed at the bottom of this blog post.)

1. Do we need to eat fish to be healthy?
   When fish is touted as a health food, this is often because of its omega-3 fatty acid content. Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary to consume for good health; however, you don't need to eat fish to get omega-3s through your diet. Some extremely good vegan sources of omega-3 include flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. It can also be found in soy, mustard seeds, walnuts, leafy green vegetables, grains, and spirulina. If you are still concerned about getting enough omega-3s, you can also take a vegan DHA/EPA supplement, derived from algae.
2. Is there anything wrong with eating fish, from a health standpoint?
   According to Dr. Michael Greger, M.D., "All fish contain small amounts of methylmercury, the most toxic form of mercury, and fish consumption represents the main source." In his video "Fish Consumption Associated With Brain Shrinkage", he goes on to discuss the frightening effect that relatively low levels of mercury in the body can have on brain development. Here's the video below:
3. Are fish sentient?
   Why wouldn't they be? I think people are able to dissociate their emotions from fish because fish are so different from us, whereas sheep, pigs, and chickens are more relatable. Still, that doesn't mean that fish aren't sentient beings. Researchers on fish behaviour have shown that fish do display complex personalities and social structure, are intelligent, and are capable of feeling pain.
4. Is it okay to "cheat" on a vegetarian or vegan diet now and again?
   There's no "vegan police" that is going to come and arrest you for eating fish. However, please remember that "cheating" by eating sentient beings causes more animal suffering and death, and it is also simply morally inconsistent. Not only that, but by allowing yourself to eat one animal product, you're more likely to backslide and cave into your cravings for more.
5. Should we think about these issues even if it causes us discomfort to face them?
   Yes! Our world (including the animals and humans of the world) is in crisis. If we all hide our heads in the sand and do nothing, we will pay for the consequences (such as environmental degradation, poverty, and cruelty) later. It takes courage to face the truth, but it is crucial that we change our behaviours to help animals, humans, and the environment, even if that means stepping outside our comfort zone.

If you haven't gone vegan yet, please begin to make the transition to a vegan lifestyle as soon as possible. You can learn more about going vegan at http://www.vegansociety.com/become-vegan/ and www.chooseveg.com.
Have a nice week!

Sources:
Omega-3 fatty acids:
http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/nutrition/essential-fatty-acids.aspx
http://www.theveganrd.com/2012/01/omega-3-fats-in-vegan-diets-a-quick-primer.html
"Fish Intake Associated with Brain Shrinkage": http://nutritionfacts.org/video/fish-consumption-associated-with-brain-shrinkage/
"Fish Feel Pain": http://www.mercyforanimals.org/fish/fish-feel-pain.aspx
"Do Fish Have Personalities?": http://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/do-fish-have-personalities
Fish Intelligence: http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/fish/hidden-lives-fish/

Why Vegan-- Justice or Compassion?

Although almost all organizations promoting veganism do so for the sake of the animals, these groups seem to tend to fall into two (not entirely separate) categories-- those who promote veganism for compassion's sake, and those who promote veganism to ensure justice for the animals.


Compassion
On the one side, there are groups like Vegan Outreach that promote the practice of compassion through the vegan diet. On their website, in their e-newsletter, and in their booklets, the words "compassion" and "suffering" come up frequently. The ethic of Vegan Outreach is simple: there are countless animals suffering right now on factory farms, yet by acting with compassion and choosing to go vegan, we can help reduce the problem. By working together to "veganize" the world, we can eventually greatly minimize and maybe even eliminate this cruelty. According to Vegan Outreach's website, we can argue for veganism using the logic, "I know that I don’t want to suffer. Therefore, I don’t want to cause others to suffer."
Other people and vegan organizations seem to fall in the "compassion" category, as well. For example, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, also known as "The Compassionate Cook", speaks a lot about compassion when she talks about veganism. You can listen to two of her podcasts about compassion and veganism here: http://www.compassionatecook.com/category/writings/podcast-media/the-compassionate-life.
According to the American Vegan Society,

"Veganism is compassion in action. It is a philosophy, diet, and lifestyle.
Veganism is an advanced way of living in accordance with Reverence for Life, recognizing the rights of all living creatures, and extending to them the compassion, kindness, and justice exemplified in the Golden Rule."

The animal rights/welfare organization Mercy for Animals actually has "inspiring compassion" as the slogan at the top of their website. As you can see, compassion is a very important value for vegans-- as it should be!

Justice
Some people, however, argue that compassion is secondary to a more important concept that drives their vegan choices: justice, they say, comes first.
Gary L. Francione, a Board of Governors Professor of Law and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers University School of Law-Newark, promotes the "abolitionist approach" to veganism and animal rights. He states that practicing veganism solely as a means of reducing suffering is misguided; instead, veganism should come from the principles of justice.
In his blog post, "Veganism: Just Another Way of Reducing Suffering or a Fundamental Principle of Justice & Nonviolence?", he writes:

"It is important to understand that there are significant differences among those who regard themselves as vegans. 

"One important difference is between those who maintain that veganism is merely a way of reducing suffering, and those who maintain that it is a fundamental commitment to justice, nonviolence, and a recognition of the moral personhood of nonhuman animals. 

"...We can no more justify using nonhumans as human resources than we can justify human slavery. Animal use and slavery have at least one important point in common: both institutions treat sentient beings exclusively as resources of others. That cannot be justified with respect to humans; it cannot be justified with respect to nonhumans—however “humanely” we treat them."

He goes on to say, "Veganism is not just a way of reducing suffering; it is what justice for nonhumans requires at the very least."
There is also a blog called "The Rational Vegan" that explains it very well in the post "Compassion or Justice?":

"...watching a video showing animals being mistreated can make us sad. The message is "You're compassionate, right? Don't eat animals!"

"For the non-vegan, the argument comes down to tastiness of animals versus feeling bad for the animals that suffer to make that tasty food. It's a battle of emotions, not reason. How often does self-interest win out over compassion? How often does an "ex-vegan" find that compassion is suddenly outweighed by the desire for a hamburger?

"You hopefully are able to see why an appeal to emotion is considered a logical fallacy. It depends on emotional state, which is fickle."

Which is Right, Then?
My conclusion to all of this is that both compassion and justice are important when making the decision to go vegan. For some people, compassion will play the biggest role. For others, justice may be their sole reason for shunning animal products. The point is this: both compassion and justice are valid, good things, and if they make people stop causing the murder and imprisonment of animals, then great!
Compassion is a wonderful thing. However, compassion on its own may be not be enough to make someone go fully vegan. PETA, Peter Singer, and Vegan Outreach talk about compassion and "humane" animal products, but they don't advocate for true veganism-- they tell you to "do the best you can without looking obsessive", etc. Advocating for "almost-veganism" is detrimental for practical reasons (more animals being harmed) and philosophical reasons (it's morally inconsistent).  Also, the Dalai Lama-- thought to be the Bodhisattva of Compassion-- is not even a vegetarian. Simply feeling compassion for the animal on your plate is not going to help the animal who was killed for you to eat. Also, there are some people who may not feel much compassion towards animals-- however, that should not mean that they can be excluded from having ethical obligations to others. That's why a belief in animal rights, nonviolence, and justice for all is also a good thing to have.
Some people, however, may go vegan for only one of those reasons-- or an entirely different reason altogether, such as spirituality-- and that's fine, too. If you are completely committed to act on your values of compassion alone or your values of justice alone, there isn't a problem!
Now you tell me! Why are you vegan-- justice or compassion, or both, or something else?

Moral Purity?

A big thing that vegans and animal rights people always seem to be talking about is moral purity (also known as "personal purity"). In this case, it refers to the question of how meticulous you should be when making sure that the products (food, clothing, toiletries, etc.) you buy are completely vegan. For example, sometimes sugar is refined using animal bone char, which isn't listed on the ingredients list because it's not an actual ingredient-- it's just something that's been used in the process of producing the sugar, even though it isn't actually in the finished product. Another example is when you buy foods with extra-long ingredient names on the label, and you don't know if those trace ingredients are vegan. The question is, how far do you go? Is it realistic to be "morally pure"?
Different people and organizations have different opinions of this. Here are the opinions of some of them.

On the "Don't worry about it" side:
PETA has made the following statement regarding trace ingredients in otherwise vegan foods:

"Some packaged foods have a long list of ingredients. The farther an ingredient is down the list, the less of that ingredient is in the food. People who have made the compassionate decision to stop eating animal flesh, eggs, and dairy products may wonder if they need to read every ingredient to check for tiny amounts of obscure animal products. Our general advice is not to worry too much about doing this. The goal of sticking to a vegetarian or vegan diet is to help animals and reduce suffering; this is done by choosing a bean burrito or a veggie burger over chicken flesh, or choosing tofu scramble over eggs, not by refusing to eat an otherwise vegan food because it has 0.001 grams of monoglycerides that may possibly be animal-derived.
We discourage vegetarians from grilling waiters at restaurants about micro-ingredients in vegetarian foods (e.g., a tiny bit of a dairy product in the bun of a veggie burger). Doing so makes sticking to a vegetarian diet seem difficult and dogmatic to your friends and to restaurant staff, thus discouraging them from giving a vegetarian diet a try (which really hurts animals). And we urge vegetarians not to insist that their food be cooked on equipment separate from that used to cook meat; doing so doesn’t help any additional animals, and it only makes restaurants less inclined to offer vegetarian choices (which, again, hurts animals)."

In fact, PETA's "Accidentally Vegan" list of processed foods isn't actually 100% vegan. PETA does point this out at the bottom of the page, and they provide a link to the above quote to explain why.

Vegan Outreach, another organization, says that personal purity is impossible, since many everyday objects contain animal products:

"When you first discover the reality of modern ani-

mal agriculture, you might feel compelled to try

to root out every single product associated with

animal suffering. Unfortunately, personal purity is impossible.

All around us are items connected in some

way to animal exploitation: organic foods (animal

manure used as fertilizer), cotton (animal products

in the bleaching process), bicycles (animal fat used

in the vulcanization of tires), books (hooves and

bones in binding glue), roads and buildings (animal

products used in curing concrete), water (tested

with animal products, often filtered through bone

char), etc. Even many vegan foods result in killing

some animals during planting and harvesting.

[...]

We believe that framing veganism as the avoid-

ance of a specific list of “bad” ingredients is not

the best way to achieve results. When looked at

closely, any ingredients-based definition of vegan

collapses into inconsistencies. This is why we

stress that

the essence of being vegan is working

to end cruelty to animals."

They go on to say that "our time and energy are most likely better spent focused on spreading vegetarianism than on shunning minor ingredients." In one of their booklets, "Compassionate Choices", they even go so far as to advise, "Years of eating less meat and eggs will prevent more suffering than a brief stint on a vegan diet, so it’s more important to take an approach you can sustain. If you make exceptions, such as eating meat on certain occasions, you’ll still make a big difference by eating vegetarian the rest of the time." (Note: I don't agree with this latter statement!)


On the "You should be true to your values" side:
A blog post by Reverence Lily on Vegan FAQs (http://veganfaq.blogspot.ca/2007/09/look-at-this-list-its-all-about.html) tells another story. She points out that a product is vegan if it contains NO animal products. If it does contain animal products, it's not vegan. Commenting about PETA's note at the bottom of its "Accidentally Vegan" page, she says that:

"PETA (regardless of their other sins/accomplishments) is trying to make vegans into non-vegans. [...] the second part of that second sentence. "Personal purity." Ouch. So my wanting to eschew all animal products is about "personal purity"? Okay, I'll give you some of that - it can make and has made me feel extremely guilty to accidentally eat an animal product [...], and I don't like to do it at all. But accusations of not caring about animals and just being squeamish to actual vegans? With friends like these, who needs enemies? [...]
Y'see, the reason I'm vegan is not just because of "personal purity". It's not just because I don't want to be a part of the commodification and suffering - it's because I want the commodification and suffering to stop. It's because I know that, even though I'm just one person, many vegans would be a force to deal with. You know. "Together, we are strong." Call it following the herd, I don't care - I'm pushing the inevitable revolution rather than resisting it. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
So save your money, and go buy a can of chickpeas and make hummus rather than serve us (processed) non-vegan crap - which, if we're knowledgeable, we'll end up turning down, and make you feel bad. Veganism is easy! - it's just that there's a lot of people spreading misinformation about how not everything has to be vegan to, um, be vegan. "

I feel tempted to say "Hear, hear!" right now. But then, how can you say that it's okay to buy bicycle tires (which might have been made using animal products) yet you can't eat anything that's been made using small amounts of animal products? Where do you draw the line?
How does one decide this? Does one eschew all foods that have been processed using animal products and refuse to use obviously animal-derived goods (such as a wool sweater, for example)? This is what I do. I don't eat refined sugar of dubious origins, for instance, yet I do buy books once in a while, even though I know that they might have been made with animal-derived glue. Hypocritical, perhaps, but it's the only realistic way to survive in society, it seems. Still, is there a way to stop being a hypocrite?
Keep reading, because this is the really cool part...
There is a way to stop being a hypocrite. It's to reach outside yourself and your own personal boundaries and to become a world-changer, instead of only avoiding hurting others. Through your diet, you're already avoiding hurting others (if you are a strict vegan, that is-- which is very important, since only reducing your intake of meat still means that your lifestyle hurts animals). Instead of only focusing on the negatives, however, focus on the positives as well! This way, any minute negative impact that you may have by buying a book, for example, will be offset by all the positive impact you're having.

Photo sourced from Vegan Rabbit blog

Another thing to remember is that animal rights isn't the only issue in the world. There's also human rights issues and environmental issues. These matter, too! When you buy anything for yourself, you should also keep in mind whether or not it was manufactured sustainably, and whether or not the laborers' rights were protected, among other things. While it may be an impossible goal to find a morally "perfect" book/T-shirt/bicycle, you can still do your best to find animal-friendly, environmentally-friendly, human-friendly ones. And you can simply buy less stuff! After all, who needs a Smartphone, Blackberry touch, and a laptop all at the same time? Do you really need a new pair of jeans, or is that tear reparable? Will you ever actually use that dollar-store mini camera stand, or can you just leave it on the store shelf? That sort of thing. And when you do need to buy things, you could always try thrift stores, consignment shops, and online second-hand trading sites (such as kijiji.ca or ebay) before going to actual stores. Even then, you may still have the choice of going to small, independently-owned stores before making your way to the dreaded big-box stores.

When it comes to focusing on the positives, here are some ways you can do just that:

1. Join/volunteer with your local vegetarian/vegan association or animal rights group; you can also join larger organizations, such as the Vegan Society in the UK.
2. Hand out booklets, pamphlets, or brochures educating people on animal rights issues and veganism.
3. Go to events, protests, rallies, VegFests, conferences, and more!
4. Start a blog or a website-- be an online activist! (If you have never made a blog before, trust me-- it's easy.)
5. Write letters to the editor and newspaper articles on veganism and animal rights.
6. Set a good example of veganism for other people. Live by your values, and be happy and responsible!
7. Join the activist world for other causes (if you're interested in other causes besides animal rights) and bring your vegan values into new places. Once other activists become educated on AR issues, they might become AR activists and vegans, too!
8. Give speeches, workshops, and/or presentations.
9. Share vegan recipes with vegans and non-vegans alike.
10. Hold "bake sales" for free-- let people taste free vegan food, and then hand out literature! (You may want to fundraise for this, or get other people to help cover the baking expenses.)
11. Become a "foster parent" for a rabbit or a dog or a cat or a gerbil, etc.

 There are many ways to change the world. Remember...

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." Mother Teresa

"Rescuing" Animals from Pet Stores... and Shelters

Hello, everyone,
Before I get started with my next post, there are a few things that I'd like to clear up:

1. I haven't been posting new blog posts solely on Sundays recently. Originally, that was my goal: one post every Sunday, usually in the morning. However, posting at the same time every week doesn't work out all the time. Therefore, I have changed this guideline: from now on, I'll try to post every Sunday, but I might end up posting on another day of the week, instead. I'm still posting (generally) once a week, however. You can count on me for that much!
2. A couple weeks ago, I promised a "Part II" to my "Animal Rights, Backwards" series. I've decided to not do a Part II any time soon (if at all), however. The issue of native cultures and animal rights is too complicated and controversial for me to want to touch on at this time.
3. Have you tried the search bar at the right-hand side of my blog yet? It's very handy, usable, and spiffy, don't you think? It displays results without taking you away from the page that you're currently on!

Today I'm going to talk about this weird habit that some people have... "rescuing" animals from the pet store. Essentially, this is either when:

1. an animal at the pet store is getting old or is sick and no one wants to buy him or her, so a "compassionate" person comes along and buys the animal instead, or
2. when an exotic pet (or any pet) is being improperly cared for at the pet store, so someone decides to buy the animal to take him/her home so they can take better care of him/her.

This may seem like a compassionate thing to do at the time, but it's actually detrimental to animals as a whole. As you may already have realized, "rescuing" that animal from the pet store only gives the pet store more revenue (and empty cage space) to buy more animals to fill its cages. In fact, you are actually encouraging the pet store to keep buying animals from breeders/puppy mills/etc., since by buying from the pet store, you're letting them know that there is a business for these pets. And so the vicious cycle continues.
The best way to help the pet store animals is to not buy them! If everyone avoided buying animals from pet stores, we would save generations to come of animals from the same pet-store fate.
Admittedly, that much was pretty obvious. Now I'm going to talk about the second part of this post, in which I pose the question,

"Under what circumstances is it not O.K. to adopt animals from animal shelters?"

Photo Attribution: By Andrea Schaffer from Sydney, Australia (Puppy on Halong Bay) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Many people believe that adopting animals from animal shelters is always completely morally pure. However, there are some circumstances in which I think it's best to generally avoid adopting from animal shelters:

• If the animal is pure-bred or a "hard-to-get" breed or species that everyone else wants. Many people will rush to shelters in order to get their hands on a standard poodle, a Bernese Mountain Dog, or a pug. If you adopt an animal who everyone else is vying to get, your contenders may simply go to a pet store or breeder to get a different animal in the same breed, just because they want the breed. This means that for you to adopt the animal is just as bad as buying one from a pet store; the effect is merely displaced.
• If you can't take on the responsibility of having a companion animal, please don't get one!

Other moral quandaries surrounding animal shelters also arise; however, I don't consider them significant enough to not adopt an animal just because of them. Here are some of these problems:

• Spaying/neutering. Read my position on spaying and neutering here (scroll down to the section on "When You Shouldn't Spay Or Neuter, Or, Why Spaying And Neutering Is Sometimes Wrong").
• Euthanasia. Some-- but not all-- animal shelters put their animals "to sleep" if they are overrun with animals (which, for most animal shelters, is a large proportion of the time!). This is cruel and uncompassionate.

When you pay an animal shelter for the animal you adopt, some of the money usually goes towards one or both of the things mentioned above. However, like I said, I don't believe that these are significant enough to not adopt an animal from the shelter. The animals may die or become ill if they don't get adopted, and supporting animal shelters is nowhere near as bad as supporting pet stores. (Of course, some pet stores sell only pet supplies, but not actual pets. Other pet stores only sell rescued animals in conjunction with shelters. These two kinds I'm not as concerned about-- the real "baddies" are the pet stores that sell animals from breeders and/or puppy mills-- those involved in the "animal industry".)

Thank you for reading, everyone! Have a lovely week!