Sunday, August 19, 2007

Dog Fights vs. Animal Rights

Michael Vick is a dirt bag. Uneducated, primitive, unintelligent. He's on the lower end of the bell curve. But, so are all omnivores. Further, they are hypocrites for criticizing Michael Vick, since they routinely kill over 100 animals yearly in much crueler circumstances. Lets look at the following comparisons:

Dog Fighting vs. Pig Slaughter Houses

Even though humans have a near universal dog fetish, it should be noted that pigs are smarter and have more developed personalities. As worst, they are on equal footing with dogs in terms of intellectual capacity -- around the cognitive level of a three year old human. With dog fighting, there is actually incentive to have a strong, healthy, well exercised dog. Chances are these animals are raised in much better conditions than the millions of pigs which are raised in factory farms setting and slaughtered each year. The pigs will spend their entire lives in concrete pens, force fed hormones and substandard food, getting little exercise, at the end of which they will be killed by tortuous methods including electrocution, boiling alive, or bleeding to death. Many of the animals are not killed by the time the reach the processing stations, and die as they are being turned into pork chops and sausages. These pigs, whom omnivores are directly responsible for murdering, are at least facing as much pain as a few dogs who are dying as a result of fighting.

Cock Fighting vs. Factory Farmed Chickens

The factory farmed chicken, which accounts for the vast majority of chicken products (keep in mind "free range" usually means there is a small opening leading to a wire pen outside the factory where chickens can theoretically see some sunlight -- this rarely happens), must be in far worse conditions than the cocks who are raised to fight. The chicken which reaches the plate of an omnivore has spent most of its life in a small wire cage, in cramped conditions, being pumped with hormones, often in close proximity of other dead animals, beaks are often burned off, among other horrors.

Final Thoughts

Dog fighting, and animal fighting in general is barbaric and shouldn't be allowed. But there really is no difference between fighting dogs in a basement and slaughtering millions of sentient pigs. The suffering is just as real, the conditions probably much worse, the numbers far great, and the message the same: that humans are entitled to use other sentient beings how they wish, without regard for their well being. If you are one of the omnivores who annually kills 100's of defenseless animals, think twice before you point the finger at Michael Vick.