Religion and animal rights

Status of animals
1. In the book of genesis, Adam is given "dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and over the cattle..."
  1. can be interpreted as God giving ownership or stewardship to mankind
  2. animals are to be possessed and used, and man is superior to anything else in nature
2. The Qu'ran strongly encourages Muslims to treat animals with compassion and not to abuse them
Differences between the values of humans and animals
1. humans have larger brains than animals (based on comparison to body size) and are capable of more complex thought processes
2. Animals simply survive in their environment, whereas humans have developed technology to change their environment
3. Animals often become endangered due to human influence on their environment
4. Animals are unable to communicate like humans do
Religious views on animal rights
1. in hinduism, cows are sacred: no Hindu will eat beef
2. in hinduism, some gods have animal characteristics: Ganesh has the head of an elephant, and Hanuman takes the form of a monkey
3. modern christians think that any unnecessary mistreatment of animals is sinful and morally wrong
4. For most of history, christians largely ignored animal suffering
5. christian thinking downgraded animals: god created animals for the use of human beings, animals are distinctively inferior as humans have souls and reason and animals do not, and christian thought was heavily humanocentric
Preservation of species from extinction
1. Christians believe that God has given them stewardship so they should look after the animals and protect them
Use and abuse of animals
1. companionship
  1. Adopting an animal that has no home and might otherwise be abandoned or killed is clearly a morally good thing to do.
  2. bad treatment of pets is considered by most to be immoral
    1. birds in small cages, fish in bowls or small tanks, animals that are chained up for long periods
    2. too little, too much or wrong food, insufficient exercise, insufficient space, lack of veterinary care, failure to spend enough time with the animal, cruelty, neglect and abandonment
2. animals in sport/transport/work
  1. In most counties the act of animals fighting each other is seen as cruel and is therefore illegal. There are also some legal forms of sport where humans fight animals, such as bullfighting which is a tradition in Spain and Portugal.
  2. Animal racing is generally accepted in most countries but some believe it is cruel when the animals are overworked and are injured or killed from racing. Sometimes when animals are no longer good enough they are abandoned
  3. animals are used to transport goods, for transport, etc
3. zoos are used to breed endangered animals and show animals to the public
4. fur and ivory trades are frowned upon when people are just killing them for their materials on the outside. it is not as much of an issue if the animal is first killed for meat and they are making the most of the animal
5. GM and cloning reduces natural variation and some may think scientists are 'playing god'
issues concerning the slaughter of animals, meat, vegetarian and vegan diets
1. muslims don't eat pork, only halal meal (all blood drained and slaughtered in the name of Allah)
2. cows produce lots of methane which is a greenhouse gas. if people were vegetarian, less cows need to be bred so less methane

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Religion and animal rights

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