Cats or dogs? Katzen oder Hunde? Gatos o perros? Or something else entirely? Are you sure you’re even a person?
Cats 😾 although I feel it is unethical to own pets, personally
All pets?
I think owning a tarantula, for example, is perfectly ethical, because of the way tarantus live.
They should all be free to roam. BTW I’m not saying to make it illegal, just how I live.
Certain animals don’t really roam as part of their lifestyle, most tarantulas are ambush predators, if you put a tarantula into a hole and regularly give it food, it doesn’t dream of the outside world where it can roam freely, roaming freely is its worst nightmare because that’s how it gets exposed to predators… tarantulas find a hole where they constantly get food and you can presume based on how they live in the wild that they’ve found the best hole ever.
They also show clear signs of stress when they are stressed, and they show less of those in captivity than in the wild.
That’s my argument for tarantulas anyway.
If that is the case, than maybe it is OK.
Yeah, I think it’s really case by case in the animal kingdom, we have to avoid anthropomorphizing everything.
It can be case by case for animals of the same type even. One of my cats is legit scared of outside and has no interest in leaving the house for any reason. The other cat is hesitantly curious so sometimes we bring him out on a lead. He never wants to wander further than a few feet though even if we prompt him to explore. They live good lives and feel safe neither really feels the need to roam far as I can tell.
We need to respect all living things, at least attempt too
I agree, I just think it’s very unintuitive, we live with aliens.
I’d say it’s unethical to breed them, but not to adopt them if that’s in their best interest.
Yeah, breading is really messed up. If the cats have access to outside, i’d say it’s ethical to adopt.
I think this is more of a problem with capitalism, than a problem with breeding being fundamentally wrong, we’re incentivized to breed as poorly as possible, it’s a race to the bottom.
That being said, I think some animals are bred pretty carefully, definitely not dogs and cats, but certain insect breeding operations are pretty ethical just because being ethical with them is insanely easy.
I like both. But if I had to pick, it’d be cats.
The reason is that many people around here don’t handle their dogs well. That results in noise (hysterical barks in some cases) and poo landmines you have to watch out for.
Well-trained dogs? Appreciate them. Dogs I personally know? Good boys! Random dogs from the neighborhood? No thanks.
Having owned both, cats and dogs are quite different, and great in their own right. Dogs as a trusty companion, cats as a peculiar room mate.
Cats are the mascot of the Internet. I love dogs too, but they require a lot of maintenance and attention compared to cats. Cats are the most arrogant creatures on Earth, and maybe the only ones that ‘truly’ live out their philosophy of life; of, “I’m better than you, and I know it.”
I’ve always been a cat lover. Whether or not I’m a person is still up for debate.
My username says it all
Why not both? ;)
Yes. And also horses.
Both of them are great! ¡Ambos es lindos!
Cats if I have to choose. Both can be great but I don’t really want to keep animals as pets.
I feel the same on not wanting to keep pets, it feel unethical.
I think the ethics really depends on the specific animal, most reptiles and tarantulas are fine in my book.
I see.
I agree the specific animals and context is important, as well as comparing potential wellbeing in the wild vs as a pet. I have two axolotls let me tell you I’ve never seen anything with less going on in their heads than those things. My Venus fly trap is smarter than the both of them put together. Plus they’re about to go extinct in the wild. Keeping them as a hobby is important for their survival and I can’t imagine they’d in any way feel better or even notice being in the wild compared to a tank.
I also think that the hobby allows them to be ambassadors for their kind, people often assume tarantulas and snakes are monsters that are out to get you, one question i’ve heard people ask someone holding a snake is “Why isn’t it attacking you”
People have these insanely perverse ideas about these animals that go away when they discover they’re actually quite delightful.
I love both, even though I have cats.
Both. I have both
I like both, but I wouldn’t own a dog. It’s just way to high maintenance and complicates going on vacation too much. Our cat has a feeder in the shed, and he can stay at home alone while we’re on vacation with no problem.
Definitely a cat person
I’ve had numerous tabbies throughout my life and I took care of a Husky, Blue Staffy, and Cockerpoodle in the past (not at the same time), I loved them all, but ultimately cats are just more self sufficient than dogs, and significantly quieter than the small dogs I’ve had to take care of
Cat.
Dogs. Most love people, which is quite the opposite of cats.