Can you still be for animals' rights even if you eat meat?

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CrispSnowflake

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I eat poultry and red meat. I was just wondering if I can still be for “animals’ rights” even though I eat meat. I love animals. They’re so cute, and they can teach you alot about God. 😃
 
We know Jesus ate meat, so it must be OK to eat meat.

As far as animal rights, they should be treated well, not abused or neglected.

So, Yeah, you can be both.
 
CrispSnowflake said:
I eat poultry and red meat. I was just wondering if I can still be for “animals’ rights” even though I eat meat. I love animals. They’re so cute, and they can teach you alot about God. 😃
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what does your conscience tell you?
 
simpleas said:
what does your conscience tell you?
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The fact that our conscience tells us something is not a standard. Crispsnowflake is trying to inform his conscience, which we are called to do by the Church.

As to the OQ, animals do not have rights. However, we are not to be cruel nor are we to inflict pain disproportionate to the need. God put the animals here for our use but not our amusement.

So, to hurt animals for amusement (dog fights, for example), or to cause them a lot of pain to test make-up, would not be right. To possibly make them sick in order to test human vaccinations for a fatal disease is not disproportionate.

Generally, those who slaughter animals for meat do so as humanely as possible, if for no other reason than that they do not want a bunch of panicked animals to deal with. So eat your meat with a clear conscience.
 
Animals don’t have rights; people do.

But people have been placed in charge of animals and it is our responsibility to care for the animals. Feed them, give them water, do not abuse or neglect them, etc.

A lot of people are against animal cruelty (if that’s what you mean by “animal rights”) and still eat meat. I think most people fall under that category.
 
stephe1987 said:
But people have been placed in charge of animals and it is our responsibility to care for the animals. Feed them, give them water, do not abuse or neglect them, etc…
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This is true for domesticated animals but we find ourselves in trouble when our cities spread, forcing wild animals farther out, then we attract them back in by providing them with food. If it’s wild, let it feed itself.
 
CrispSnowflake said:
I eat poultry and red meat. I was just wondering if I can still be for “animals’ rights” even though I eat meat. I love animals. They’re so cute, and they can teach you alot about God. 😃
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In answer to your basic question: Not if you are a fanatic. As for myself I believe PETA means People Eating Tame Animals!:D:D:D:D
 
bsroufek said:
As far as animal rights, they should be treated well, not abused or neglected.
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The conditions in which many farm animals are raised could be said to constitute abuse and the purchase and consumption of such animals may also support/promote the conditions in which the animal was raised. It’s something that I’ve thought about too.
 
CrispSnowflake said:
I eat poultry and red meat. I was just wondering if I can still be for “animals’ rights” even though I eat meat. I love animals. They’re so cute, and they can teach you alot about God. 😃
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You may want to restrict yourself to meat of animals raised and slaughtered humanely (ie free range chicken or grass fed cattle) and maybe never eat veal.
 
Serious question. Where does it say in the bible not abuse animals?
 
pira114 said:
Serious question. Where does it say in the bible not abuse animals?
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Proverbs 12:10, 27:23 have been used before to support humane treatment of animals. But I think that views against eating meat in the west are often driven more from empathy, not whether or not eating meat is in agreement with rules enumerated Christian bible or shared from authority and tradition.

I’m sure there are other people out there that are the same, but the image (and some times the sound) of an animal experiencing pain is often times enough to cause me to feel uncomfortable or affected in some other way. For example, I saw a video some one posted in youtube in which a police officer seemed to hastily evaluate a man’s dog as a threat and shot it. The dog didn’t die instantly but seemed to convulse around in pain. I found it disturbing. There’s also a video documentary called “Earthling” that shows the conditions some food animals are raised in before they make it to the grocery store. That video was responsible for motivating some of the people I know to become vegetarians or pescetarians. They were not able to hold knowledge of what may have happened in the life of the animals that they were eating knowing that they were supporting it through purchasing it and be comfortable with eating meat. (I think their decision was consistent with their assessment).

It’s not necessary to be exposed to the conditions in which one’s food were raised. We’ve got the ability to remain willfully ignorant. Provided the opportunity to see the transition of a cow to a steak or a chicken to a friend component into a bucket I think that most would decline. Such a sight is likely to make many people uncomfortable too.
 
Interestingly, God only gives us animals to eat after the flood. Before that, humans are given only plants to eat. It is the only case I’m aware of where God becomes more permissive with the passage of time. I’ll leave it to others to sort out whatever significance that has.
 
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