Have Pets Really Become ‘Pets’?

 

Have Pets Really Become ‘Pets’?

Moving Beyond Human-Centered Care and Toward Intrinsic Respect for Animals

Society's interest in and love for pets has never been higher. Many people consider them family members, and it's not uncommon to see efforts to protect homeless animals or support animal welfare. But the question remains: does the word “pet” actually ensure a mutual and equal relationship with animals?

In fact, pet culture is often shaped by human desires and standards. The emphasis on human-driven choices like cuteness, breed, and size often compromises animal nature, including inbreeding, genetic disease, and behavioral control. For example, the preference for small dogs and breed improvement can lead to health problems and behavioral disorders, and there is a culture of suppressing instinctive behaviors in mature dogs21620.

In addition, animal welfare remains a blind spot. There is an extreme divide between pets as objects of excessive care and some animals in urban ecosystems (wild boars, magpies, insects, etc.) as objects of disgust and elimination. This shows that an anthropocentric view still defines our relationship with animals7814.

True ‘companionship’ should start with a relationship between humans and animals based on mutual respect and understanding. We need a culture that recognizes the nature and autonomy of animals and considers their welfare and rights from their perspective, not just human needs. This requires not only improvements in laws and institutions, but also a change in the perception of each citizen6911.

Animals are not human possessions, but living beings that should be respected as such. It's time to rethink the relationship between humans and animals, not just in terms of pets, but all animals that live together in cities and nature.

Have Pets Really Become ‘Pets’

Despite the growing social interest and love for pets, the relationship between humans and animals is still one-sided and unbalanced.

While the term “pet” seems to imply a reciprocal relationship with animals, in reality, animals are bred and cared for to meet human needs and standards.

The emphasis on human-centered criteria such as cuteness, breed, and size has led to the compromise of animal nature and welfare, including inbreeding, genetic diseases, and behavioral suppression.

While the protection and care of pets is emphasized, there are also animals (e.g. magpies, wild boars, insects, etc.) that are hated and eliminated from urban ecosystems.

The author raises the need to look at animal issues from the animal's point of view, and to move beyond an anthropocentric perspective and respect the value of the animal itself.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. What is the difference between a ‘pet’ and a ‘companion animal’?

A1. While ‘pet’ refers to an animal as an object of human pleasure and possession, ‘companion animal’ emphasizes that humans and animals are companions, exchanging mutual respect and love. However, in the real world, human-centered care and control still prevails1120.

Q2. What are the problems with pet culture?

A2. Animals are selected according to human preferences such as cuteness, breed, and size, and inbreeding often leads to genetic diseases. In addition, there are many cases of restricting the nature of animals, such as excessive care, control, and maturity inhibition21620.

Q3. What is the difference between animal welfare and animal rights?

A3. Animal welfare is about ensuring that animals do not suffer and have a minimum quality of life, while animal rights is the position that animals should be respected as beings with equal rights to humans111.

Q4. Why do animal-human conflicts occur in cities?

A4. As urbanization increases the number of human-animal encounters, some animals are seen as objects to be protected and cared for, while others are seen as objects to be hated and eliminated. This shows that anthropocentric values still operate strongly7814.

Q5. What is a desirable pet culture in the future?

A5. We need a culture that respects the nature and autonomy of animals and considers their welfare and rights from their perspective, not just human needs and desires. In addition to legal and institutional improvements, changes in civic attitudes must be made6911.

#animalwelfare #petculture #respectforlife #environmentalcoexistence #animalrights