Question for meat eaters: do you think killing animals is ever wrong?

Question

Do you think it is wrong to kill animals for fun, for target practice, or for "food" that is likely to be wasted? That is, if you throw away chicken that has "gone bad," or give meat to a toddler who throws it all over the floor and demands mac and cheese or cookies, do you feel worse about this than you would about meat that you actually eat?

In the (decades-old) book I am currently reading, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote describes various people involved in killing, and in capturing the killers of, a Midwestern family. Seemingly in an attempt to portray one of the killers as generally heartless (in addition, of course, to his crime), Capote mentions that the guy often intentionally runs over dogs, actually swerving so as to be sure to hit them. However, one of the other figures in the case, a detective portrayed to be dedicated and good-hearted, is described as shooting crows for target practice and relaxation. Is there a moral difference beween these two actions in your mind?

Answer 1

Yes there is. Dogs have a history of assisting humans in distress. Not just the ones that were trained to do so but dogs will instinctively risk their own lives to assist a total stranger.
Show me a crow that gives a rats a** about people.

Anyone who intentionally kills a dog, unless in self defense, or to eat, or to keep it away from livestock, should be killed themselves. Dogs have souls. Crows are pests. I could shoot 100 crows and rats and not give it a second thought.

If I see a dog in distress I will do whatever I can to help it.

Answer 2

I have to echo "always"--I respect a veggie's right to live a meatless life, I would like the same in return.

yeah, I don't see a difference in those two actions either and I agree that this may have been the point the author was making. Killing for sport period is just wrong. But I do believe that there is a natural order to things and God intended us to eat meat. I mean, look at nature. You don't see the tigers out there wondering if it's wrong to eat that gazelle or the meercats wondering if it's insecticide to eat those grubs. It's survival. Being cruel to animals and killing for sport, however, is just wrong. I don't care if it's a crow, a rat, a dog or a cow.

The chicken being tossed all over the floor--I think that's going a bit far to say that's a waste of a chicken. Is it? Yeah, it is, frankly, but I'm not going to go ask my pastor for forgiveness for it, you know? It isn't like I *meant* it to happen. Which I think is also part of the point--I think the intention is important and ought to be taken into account.

Answer 3

Yes, much killing of animals is wrong. (And the horrible way we treat those we eat is wrong, too, unfortunately.)

No, I don't feel bad about the meat I don't eat. Though I do kinda see your point. I guess it's the fact that it's already dead seems different.

Intentionally killings dogs is worse, because not only has the dog been killed for no good reason, but the families the dogs were part of were also harmed.

It's more aobut the motivation, though, that makes it really sick.

I don't approve of the crows-as-target practice, either, but the motivation isn't to be cruel, it's more thoughtlessness. So, although it's wrong, it isn't sick in the same way.

Enjoying causing suffering is just a sick thing.

I find hunting "for fun" or sport or what-have-you disgusting. Shoot wildlife with a camera!

And I think all animals in our care should be, uh, CARED for humanely. (Whether pets, in zoos, or used to test meds.)

Answer 4

I do feel bad about eating animals at times, but it's also the natural order of life. If we didn't kill animals to eat them, there would be too many. And it's hard to maintain a balanced diet without meat. I do think that sometimes they are killed in excess and some ways animals are used (like fur coats) is wrong. Unless it is just to use up the rest of the animal since it is being used for other things anyways.

I think in a way running over dogs intentionally is much worse than shooting crows, because dogs can be pets and such, but there are many crows. I do think I personally couldn't do either as they are both wrong and would make me feel terrible.

Answer 5

My views and opinion: You can't. Not really anyway. You can't change them. Do you want them to change your diet choices? Best thing you can really do is support them in their personal choices and try to encourage them to choose meat that's from small locally owned butcher houses where the animals are really free ranged grass feed, encourage things like Meatless Mondays and eating more veggie/fruits and such foods bought at farmers markets. If I may point out, you do not a dead plant. You eat it when it's good, healthy and full of its nutrients and vitamins and so on. Unless someone wants to prove me wrong and eat a dead, rotten veggie/fruit in front of me...Eating a cow when it dies naturally isn't healthy for anyone. God said it was fine to kill animals for food so there really shouldn't be a problem here. All people should reduce the suffering of animals and treat all, even those destined for a meal, with the best respect you can give. Just because a piglet is going to be on someone's dinner plate doesn't meant people have the right to toss it around like a ball.

Answer 6

In my mind there is no difference between the characters. That may be a point Capote is trying to make. I do eat meat and I feel there are certain animals put on this Earth to eat. Thats their purpose. I dont feel bad for eating them...but I would cry if I ran over a cat of a dog. The difference being my belief in there purpose on the Earth.

Answer 7

I don't see the moral difference in Capote's characters' actions - they're both wrong in my opinion.
I'm a "meat eater," as you put it, but that doesn't mean I support or encourage the killing of animals "for fun." I don't know anyone who DOES. My husband is a hunter and regards animals with more reverence than most people. While he enjoys hunting, he also takes seriously his responsibility in thinning the deer herd to promote its collective health. Neither he, nor anyone else I know, would use animals of any kind for target practice.
I eat beef and chicken and love it. I don't feel badly about eating meat. I doubt the lions, alligators and wolves of the world feel badly about eating meat.

Answer 8

Animals should be "put down" if they are too ill to recover from an illness.

Wild animals should be left alone unless a particular population of one type is competing with another species for survival. (for example: mountain lion - rare wild hare. If the mountain lion population is to the degree that the rare wild hare is in jeopardy of being eliminated, then the mountain lion population needs to be decreased - sterilization or death).

Killing for "sport" like a safari, should be banned.

It doesn't bother me that I eat meat, I don't have any plans to go veggie.

I don't condemn those who are not meat eaters, and I expect the same respect from those who choose to live a meatless life.

Answer 9

Animals should never be killed for the sport of just killing. However, I believe that animals can be eaten as food.

Humans, as a species, has always eaten meat.
I don't know why people, vegans and vegetarians, want to ignore that fact.

Answer 10

I think hunting for the sake of hunting, if they dont eat the meat they killed then ya thats a waste and wrong....if my son throws his chicken on the floor, i dont think twice about it....mmmmmm filet mignonnnnnnnnnn