Are Vegans/Vegeterians Against Other Uses Of Animals Besides For Food?

Question

I don't know what people's views are in this field as I do not know many vegans/vegeterians personally.

Besides being used for food; what about the use of animals as pets, being on exhibit in zoos, being used for sports entertainment such as rodeos, circuses, horse-racing... I know obviously bull fighting is viewed negatively.

What about those uses of animals?

Answer 1

I love having pets and I see nothing wrong with it as long as they are taken care of well. I don't mind them being in zoos either as long as they are taken care of properly, the same with movies and television. Rodeos, circuses, horse/dog racing, bull fighting ect... I am very much against. What is going on in those places is extremely cruel for the majority of them and they are forcing these animals to do things they don't usually want to do. A circus came one time in the tiny town I grew up in, for the week they were there they had an elephant tied up to a chain that was about 4 feet long and also went around his legs. He couldn't move at all, I was about 10 years old then, and I knew it was wrong. It was Barnum and Bailey circus, I have boycotted them ever since. I also see nothing wrong with seeing eye dogs and K9 cops, they are very good at that and seem to love what they do. And from the real cop shows I watch they seem to be treated with the respect and are greatly loved by their human partners.

Answer 2

Vegans choose not to use ANY products that have come from any animal or fish. So not just no meat, but no eggs, no milk or cheese. No leather shoes. No fur coats!

Also, they won't eat any food containing gelatin (which is made from boiled-up bones and ligaments).

Years back, old horses were sent to the glue factory (the knackers yard). Cats were killed for their intestines - catgut - which was used for violin strings and by medical surgeons to stitch up their patients' wounds. And when I was a kid learning basic carpentry at school, I believe the glue was made from boiled animal bones and hooves.

Some Vegetarians are perfectly happy to drink milk and eat cheese and eggs. It's the Vegans who are the most strict.

Many people are also against what they see as the exploitation of animals. Just a few examples:

Animals kept in small cages in zoos, circuses and even intensive farms ... like caged chickens, kept to give us eggs. But they are de-beaked, and never get to peck at the dirt outdoors. Yes, it is cruel. But are YOU willing to pay double for your eggs so they come from happy chickens? Most people are not willing. Same goes for Organic foods... they cost more.

Bears get caged up in China so they can have needles stuck into them and the bile extracted. It gets drunk as a tonic.

Snakes too have their gall bladders cut out while they're still alive, and customers drink the stuff with wine. The snake is eventually cooked up in a speciality restaurant and served as a gourmet treat. It tastes like chicken.

Hospitals and medical labs, pharmaceutical companies often have animal sections where they test their products and do experiments on live animals. Animal Rights activists are well known for taking action against such places.

(No I am not an Animal Rights person.)

Answer 3

For vegetarians, that pretty much depends on their personal reasons for going veg. Someone who chose vegetarianism for health reasons may have no issue with wearing leather or watching a horse race. Veganism, by definition, seeks to avoid any exploitation of animals and vegans do not eat, use or wear any animal-derived products and avoid animal-based industries like circuses, zoos and rodeos. I know lots of vegans who share their lives with companion animals, though. I think we all have to decide for ourselves whether sharing one's life with a dog amounts to exploitation or whether there's a true bond between humans and animals. I have a dog and have no doubt that he benefits from the relationship as much as I do (if not more!)

Answer 4

Vegans oppose all exploitation of animals--this includes silk, wool, leather, and fur. Catgut, by the way, is made from sheep, and vegans would almost surely oppose that.

Vegans oppose zoos, animal circuses, animal fighting, animal racing, and other uses of animals in entertainment.

Vegans oppose animal testing. I personally would like to see scientists find alternatives to testing medicines on animals. I think it is completely unnecessary on cosmetics and household items.

I personally do not have a problem with working animals--K-9 cops (the dogs are often treated as full partners of their handlers), service animals for the disabled, etc. My dog-in-law (my boyfriend's mom has a dog) is a therapy dog. Some more extreme AR activists may have a problem with that, but working animals are given much positive reinforcement, while animals for entertainment are brutalized and scared into performing tricks.

I personally do not have a problem with people keeping cats and dogs as pets. My cat is my baby. And because she is a carnivorous creature, she eats meat. She needs it to survive; I don't. As long as one has ample room for the animal, that's fine. Someone living in a small one-room apartment, for example, should not get a golden retriever, but a smaller dog who doesn't need as much room.

Answer 5

Some animals that are domesticated should be kept as pets otherwise animals should be left alone unless it's necessary to help the animal. I didn't agree with zoos for a long time and for the most part I still don't, however, with people infiltrating so many areas making it more difficult to save endangered species zoos may be a necessary evil.

Answer 6

Vegans don't wear anything that comes from any type of animal or eat anything that has any kind of animal products in it. (like jello) A lot of vegetarians/vegans do not support zoos, circuses, rodeos, etc. I know peta has protests against those things.
So yes most of things are viewed negatively by vegetarians/vegans.

Answer 7

I also against captivating and imprisoning animals by chain, in cages and tanks. I once brought my kids to zoo but they opposed the zoo. We hate animals in sports and horse-racing (one reason why I stopped buying lotteries and gambling). We do not use leather, fur or any animal by product intentionally.

One time I ever told my boss at my working place that captivating fish in aquarium is wrong. I do not sure whether he understand my hint, but he said that he like my philosophy. I'm a prison officer and he is a Superintendent. On the very next day, he removed that aquarium.

(Note : We only captivate, imprison & punish the offenders, not the innocent)

Answer 8

For the most part, Vegans and vegs are against the harming of animals. Things like rodeos and things like that often harm the animals, so they would be against that, but things like pets are great, most vegans and vegs love animals to death which is why they do what they are. Thats just for the most part though, opinions and reasons vary greatly

Answer 9

I provide a home to animals that would otherwise be killed.
I do not use animals as pets.

All vegan people are against the use of animals for food, clothing, entertainment or experimentation. There is a huge difference between eating a vegan diet and actually being vegan.

Answer 10

Have you ever seen one of those tiny "boispheres" where the animal life is just as important as the food sources and water content? We live on a very ecologically diverse planet, each species important in it's own way. Wipe out one species, it affects the rest of the planet in ways that couldn't be foreknown. We are all products of what came before... energy is neither created nor destroyed, so we are made up of materials that existed at the beginning of time as we know it. Ewwwww, huh?