Rue wrote:For example, we crate our dogs. We always have. But I don't know how many people I've talked to who won't because they consider it cruel.
I find for the most part it's simply a lack of education. And the fact that people anthropomorphize so damn much. "I wouldn't want to be locked in a cage so it's simply cruel for an animal to be locked in one!" People don't take the time to actually learn about and understand the animal that is in their care. Most dogs like being in their crates. For them it's like a den, a safe place for them to go and rest. We leave our crates open and quite often the dogs will go and lay down in them when they want to have a rest and be on their own. It's the same as you saying some people leave their dogs tied up outside alone. They simply think that dogs like to be outside and they completely forget that dogs are pack animals, they want to be with their pack.
People do the same thing with birds. Birds are supposed to be free so it's cruel to keep them in a house. I do agree with that to a point, but only when it applies to wild caught birds. People don't take the time to realize that the birds we keep lack the skills to be in the wild and the majority of birds that are kept are in countries that have completely different environments than where they were meant to live.
Rue wrote:But in the big picture there is more than one 'right' way of doing something too...so as long as the animal seems reasonably content and not in distress I don't question.
I couldn't agree with you more.
I guess I could have replied like Rrrma and simply said that I agree with everything you said.
