Pets and other animals are treated in a variety of different ways. In some cases, the cultural perspective has an impact on the way that a specific species are treated, and sometimes there are issues with violence against pets and animals. There are also issues in terms of animal testing, which is another area in which people disagree about the treatment of animals. The purpose of this paper is to explore the different approaches to the care and treatment of pets and other animals by assessing the argument for treating animals as well as possible and the argument that suggests that animals do not need to be treated as well as humans. The thesis is that whilst animals may need to be treated differently in some special cases, there is no excuse for not giving them the proper care that they need for a happy life.
Personal Perspective
Animals have been kept as pets for over 2000 years (Marinelli 14). These animals provide a number of different services to humans, including companionship and help with the work. As such, the care of pets is an important topic because it reflects the evolution of 2000 years of human history and their relationship with their closest friends. One of the best arguments for ensuring that pets are cared for properly is related to this domestication process. As humans have bred animals, particularly cats and dogs, to be more companionable, the ethical approach ensures that they are properly cared for. Dogs and cats now cannot live in the wild as they could before, because humans have had so much interaction with them (Marinelli 17). It is important to understand this because they now need time, attention, and care to survive because of human actions and therefore there is a need to care for them properly.
It is also interesting to note that animals have a variety of different feelings and emotions and can still experience pain. In this sense, a pet having itchy skin will have the same effect on the pet as it would on a human (Davis 3). It is important to care for pets properly to help prevent them getting problems like this, and to do as much about relieving pain or discomfort when it arises. Doing this is important for the wellbeing of our pets, but is also crucial from an ethical perspective as animals can experience significant levels of distress when they are not care for properly. Some animals, like elephants, which are kept in captivity have the ability to cry, and not giving them the proper care and attention that they deserve is unethical and has the same effect as it would on neglecting a human.
Another important element of caring for pets is how much effort should be put into caring for them. Everyone who has a pet has a different way of treating them and a different opinion about the proper standards of care. There are basic guidelines, of course, like feeding your pet regularly and ensuring that they go to the vet when they are ill, but some people prefer to pamper their pet whilst others have a more hands-off approach (Davis 15). Whilst these differences are fine, it is important to note that every good pet owner has the same basic beliefs about how best to treat their pet, and this reflects the ability to understand the needs of the animal and to ensure that they are happy and healthy. Without these basic guidelines, a number of animals would suffer, and this would be animal cruelty and neglect.
The Other Perspective
Whilst the care of animals is generally considered to be a good thing, some argue that there are situations in which it is not necessary to give animals the same care as humans. One of the main situations where this occurs is related to animal testing. Animal testing is an important part of discovering new medications that can improve the health of the human population (Davis 22). The use of animals for testing, medication is nothing new, but has become more controversial in recent years because of an increasing awareness of the treatment of animals in these testing facilities (Davis 23). One argument against the proper care and treatment of animals is that in some situations it is necessary to improve human lives to test on animals, and that the conditions in these laboratories cannot be helped because they are short on funds.
Another argument against the proper care and treatment of animals is that they do not have the same feelings and emotions as humans. Some people feel that leaving a pet dog at home on its own all day is fine, as they do not have the same concept of time as humans do and it will be unaware of how long it has been left for. If an animal cannot get sad, then there is no reason to avoid doing things that make it sad, such as shouting at the dog, abandoning a cat, or general neglect of pets and other animals. The argument here is that some things that we would not do to humans are fine in the case of animals as they do not have the same levels of awareness as humans do, and they are not smart enough to notice the difference.
A final argument in terms of pet and animal care concerns those who believe that pets are too often spoilt by their owners. In some cases, this argument is evidently true and it can cause pets a number of health problems if they are overweight or do not exercise enough (Davis 41). It is also important to note that dogs that do not receive training are more likely to misbehave and might cause damage to humans or other dogs (Davis 42). The argument here is that pets should have discipline and not be treated too well, as this will lead to difficulties later on. This argument concerns the behavior of the animal as well as their basic needs, which are not as extensive as humans in terms of luxury and pampering. The argument suggests that we do not need to treat animals the same way as we do humans because it can actually make their life worse overall.
Rebuttal
The main rebuttal here is against the use of animals in animal testing labs. In some circumstances, there is a real need to use animals in the testing of new medication. Despite this, there is no reason why there should not be a minimum standard of care for the animals that are kept in these laboratories as part of the process. These minimum standards of care can help the animal to feel safer, happier, and more comfortable despite the fact that they will go on to be used in research. In this sense, it is somewhat of an ethical requirement for scientists to take proper care of the animals that they are used for testing, because (as noted above) animals have a lot of the same emotions and pain reactions as humans do, so keeping them in small cages and mistreating them can be traumatic for these animals.
It is also easy to make the case against the idea that animals do not have the same level of emotion and cognition as humans. Studies have shown that pets, particularly have an awareness of the world around them, and that dogs get significantly distressed when left alone for long periods of time (Davis 42). In this sense, leaving an animal alone for a long period of time is cruelty and not an example of the proper standards of care for our pets. It can be distressing for an animal to live in a scenario where they are not receiving proper care and treatment, and this is the main argument for ensuring that they are healthy and happy with the way that they are treated and cared for.
Final Conclusion
Overall, there are a number of interesting points to consider in this paper. The arguments for the proper care of animals and pets include the fact that they have a high level of intelligence and can feel the emotion, which means that not giving them the care that they need can be a traumatizing experience for them. Another argument is that they were bred by humans to be pets, and therefore cannot survive on their own, in the wild, which means we have an ethical duty to care for them. Some suggest that animals do not have the same experiences as humans and therefore it is fine to not give them the same care as we would give humans, but this is incorrect. The only case in which it is important to not give an animal too much care is if that would lead to behavioral problems later.
Works Cited
Davis, Radford G. Caring for Family Pets: Choosing and Keeping Our Companion Animals Healthy. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Print.
Marinelli, Deborah A. Careers in Animal Care and Veterinary Science. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2001. Print.
