If you kill an animal are you a murderer? If you eat it are you a cannibal?

Question

Animals have the same body parts and functions that you do. They have feelings of fear and love.

Answer 1

Nothing nicer than a big juicy steak, medium rare with pepper sauce.

If I was out in the jungle do you think if I come across a big tiger he would say I can't eat you I'm a vegetarian?

We havev our canine teeth for chewing meat.

Answer 2

if u kill an animal, u r not a murderer Coz for an example if a lion comes your way and and trying to eat you and you happen to have a gun or something that will get rid of the lion you will not be a murderer because you killed the animal for the reason that it attacked you and you had no other way to defend yourself then killing it. but if u kill a dog or any harmless animal for no sensible reason then you will be a murderer. and if you eat it that does not make you a cannibal because if i read in a place of the bible that everything that is on eat is made to be devoured or as a source of power or health. for an example, if a chicken eats a worm the chicken will also be eaten by us human beings and we human being are a source of food to many animals and even cannibals. and cannibal or us die and turn into dust of the earth. and goats and animals that graze eat grass and crops from the soil or dust which is used to grow the grass or crops. so it is a circle of life because some People eat meat for protein and others are vegetarians. so I'll say if you kill an animal without a reason you are a murderer but if you kill it for a reason, you are just a person with a reason to kill. and if you eat it you are not a cannibal. it's Just the circle of life.

Answer 3

Fear? yes, of course. That is intictive. Love? We don't know, but we have seen affection.

Is it murder to kill an animal not human? No, as we have not found any creature out there to have any identifiable characteristics of sentience.

And is it cannibalism? That depends? That can be really debatible depending on how you look at it. Based off of current science and meddling, now we have animals whos genetic codes are not entirely of what they used to be. Some researches have been playing with genes inserting them into pig and cows, exchanging genes from human to animal and vice versa. And even some researchers have been working with chimeras that include the same material and organs as humans. In fact, what is distinct about a chimera and not to something of a hybird or something this is a product of splicing two or more distince species together is that the chimera is made up of unique and distinct pieces.

Think about it like this: America is said to be a cultural melting pot. So let's call that a hybrid. Whereas Canadia is said to be a cultural mosaic, so let's call that the chimera. With "ameraica" you can't tell what the species are present within the creature, it's too mized up. But with "canadia" you can see obvious details of its orgins.

Scientists are working with these for medical purposes but imagine what would happen if that got into the population that makes up your food supply. That then could be described as cannibalism.

Now, I am not saying that this will or has or is even about to happen. It's just a theory and a possibility. And in that event, then yes, I suppose you could say that that were cannibalism.


Well, I hope that blew your day. Have fun now!


-Wolfy

Answer 4

Killing animals for no reason is wrong, but if you need to kill it to survive, or it is suffering it could be thought to be ok.

Cannibalism is eating your own kind, so no it doesn't make you a cannibal... unless you feel the animal in question is 'almost human' or a pet. To eat a fish isn't exactly cannibalism...

when it comes to people asking if it is right to eat animals, I tend to think "If were are supposed to eat plants, what are canines (the teeth, not dogs) for?"

personally, I like animals, but can't help but think about the big picture... or something.

edit: it took ages to write that... when I started, there were no answers...

Answer 5

The law doesn't consider it murder, but you could still get in big trouble if you kill someone's pet or an animal in an endangered species or something like that. Humans are a type of animal so if you kill a human technically you're killing an animal, and if you eat a human you are definitely a cannibal. Eating animals(not humans) doesn't make you a cannibal because humans are omnivores(we eat plants and other animals). I don't recommend killing an animal youself and eating it, just buy your food at the store.

Answer 6

To purposely kill an animal for the reason of being cruel, then it is inhuman.

Eating an animal is not cannibalism. Eating a human would be cannibalism. And animal eating another animal of the same species is cannibalism.

Killing an animal for food is not unethical.

Answer 7

to kill for the sake of killing can be, technically speaking, murder. yet in this case i see it as a natural survival process and its all about the food chain. cannibalism isn't the right word either. being an omnivour (as none of us survives on a diet consisting soley of meat) does not make one a cannibal. yes, while mammals and humans may have a pretty similar anatomy (not the same.. where are a dolphins legs for example??) to insinuate that an animal has feelings is wrong in my opinion. fear is an instinct. the "love" that we interpret is nothing more than a proctective instinct. while there may be exceptions to the rule, i would not consider an animal intelligent enough to be capable of emotions. i respect everyones opinion on that matter but please.. do not try to envoke a sense of compassion for eating a cow! (or pig, or whatever for that matter!)

Answer 8

It's a question of where to draw the line. What criteria do you use to judge? Is it any animal? Is it any animal with feelings? Do they have to have exactly the same feelings as humans? Or just some of the same feelings? Fish don't have limbic systems like mammals, which generate feelings. Is it OK to kill them?
It's more of a feely thing than a heady thing. My point is that there is not a clear answer to this. Individual situations should be judged rather than making blanket statements about it.

Answer 9

No. "Murder" is a human concept, not part of nature. Nature consists of great cycles of birth and death, with each successive generation consuming the last.
Do lions "murder" gazelle? Bears the salmon? No, each plays it's part in the cycle of nature. We eat, then are eaten. Even humans, after death, decompose and add nutrients to the soil, which are consumed by plant life, which is eaten by herbivores, who are eaten by carnivores... as Disney said "the circle of life" (or death).
Do animals feel pain, fear and other emotions? Of course they do. But so do humans. That doesn't stop sharks and bears from eating us! Break your leg hiking, become immobile and helpless, and see who comes calling. Even "nice" animals-- squirrels, chip monks, porcupines, skunks, pigs and other "harmless" animals scavenge when they get the chance-- including you if they can! Humans are animals, just like the rest. I feel no guilt in killing and eating my fellow animals, knowing full well that they would, and eventually WILL, do the same to me. We all play our parts...
Best wishes, Arthur

Answer 10

As human beings, we are naturally omnivores, like many other animals. If you kill an animal to eat it, it is not murder, it is just a natural process of survival--if a lion eats a wildebeest, no one refers to that as murder. And no, it would not be cannibalism unless you ate another human being. Cannibalism refers to the consumption of another of your own SPECIES.

Answer 11

I must be a murderer and a cannibal too but i know all the animals i have butchered have lived happy healthy free range lives, they are fed on additive free diets, sleep in straw or on roosters and treated with the respect they deserve.