Animal 'rights' don't exist - animal welfare is our responsibility

by Kathy E
(Clinton, MO USA)

I completely agreed with your viewpoint, that there is no such thing as Animal Rights per se.

However I do believe it is our responsibility to make sure the animals live a safe, comfortable, well fed life. Not overfed, just well fed. Fat animals are not happy.

I do believe abuse is real. Beating a dog for barking or laying in the wrong spot is abuse. Feeding a dog commercial food instead of a raw diet? NOT abuse, just a personal choice. Caging 10 chickens in a 3x3x2 cage? Abuse. Free ranging or using a good sized cage or run is not abuse.

There will always be stresses in an animal's life, but it is possible for the rancher or pet owner to minimize them.

I do not treat my meat rabbits like I treat my kids. They would be fat and unhealthy if treated like people; they are treated like rabbits. My rabbits look great and are healthy.

About stopping the human use of all animals? If we stopped eating cattle we would need to kill them all or they would overrun the earth and turn it into one big dessert. If we stopped eating deer they would become hugely overpopulated and the population of predators would go up to meet the need of control. This would result in way more people being hurt by both the deer and their predators.

Many animals in zoos are too old or too tame to be released and would starve to death or be killed quickly if we released them into their natural environments.