Are companion animals slaves?

[havocjohn]

After a little discussion in another thread I was curious how many here think that companion animals are slaves?

If they are why?

[Poppy]

I'm the slave. I'm the feeder and the walker. I take them to the vet and trim their nails. I pet and cuddle and stroke on demand. I worry about their safety, their emotions, and their diets. I get babysitters. I cut lunch dates short to get home. I have a hairy car. I buy toys - lots of toys, and beds, and shampoos. I make room under the covers. I even brush teeth!!! These guys have it good.

[Tesseract]

My cats can't be slaves-- they don't do any work.

[bjorn again veg]

Not in my opinion. I consider myself as an equal to my dogs (I am the pack leader - not their master). Some people may treat their dogs as slaves but not me.
I am a slave to them more like! Feed them, walk them daily for a few hours, look after their physical needs, etc etc etc.
I consider my dogs my best friends not my slaves.
I have had a few fall outs with some vegans who are of the opinion that any human animal interference is a bad thing & would like to see an end to all domesticated animals. Dogs have evolved for 1000's of years to live 'with' mankind. Since we were cavemen they have been around us. I believe they want to be. I know my two don't want to be 'set free'!

[jenna]

I'm the slave, but I enjoy every bit of it.

[thebelovedtree]

As others have said, mine certainly aren't slaves it's the other way around. I agree that many animals are very poorly suited to captivity and I certainly don't agree with domesticating more, but in the meantime, there are animals that need homes, and those that are well cared for are not slaves. I would like to see the end of the pet trade all together, but not because domesticated animals are slaves, but because I don't belive human beings can be trusted as a whole with animals and that as long as there is a pet trade there will be abuse.

[VeganForHealth]

No...

...I pick up her poop.

[Magnus]

I am pack leader as part of my role as pack leader my list of job duties include. Poo Patrol (as my son calls it), pet him, feed him*, take care of his physical and emotional needs, and miscellaneous duties as assigned. I have also agreed to look for him any time I wake up in the middle of the night and he is not hogging the bed.

He does have a few job duties too. He is to protect my family and I from any odd noise including but not limited to, the ice maker on the refrigerator, the phone, the door bell, and any and all miscellaneous noise that I might not recognize as a threat.

* there have been points in my life where my pet ate higher quality food then I did.

[baypuppy]

ha ha, no way! when my cat wakes me up in the middle of the night to steal my pillow (by laying on top of my head non the less) and forces me to the other side of the bed, then she's the one in charge!

[broccoli]

I don't own my dog, he dog owns me. Sometimes I'll catch myself thinking, "do I really want this to eat? If I eat it, I can't share with my dog." :stinkeye:

[Michael]

If you're strapping them to a garden plow then yes. Otherwise probably not.

[VeganForHealth]

I had a boss go down to Atlantis. It's a hokey Vegas-type Casino in the Bahamas. They have pet manta-rays swimming as a spectacle for the guests.

...The thing I wanted to mention is that on average, these Manta rays live 30%-50% longer in captivity where they are well cared for, than they would in the wild.

[Spaz]

Maybe they live off attention? :p

I've had to sleep on the couch before because of my dogs/cats. I have two beds in my room but if they decide they don't want to sleep on the day-bed I have to and they take the queen sized.

Sometimes my mom wakes up with both dogs and both cats sleeping on her bed, lol!

[ilovemydragon]

We do everything for them so how can they possibly be slaves? I dont know many slaves that sleep on the couch or the bed, get kisses and hugs, sit on my lap or have toys.

[bluegrrrl79]

Well you could ask then are children slaves? lol although I think children do MORE then pets around the house....I think of pets as animals you live with and you do stuff for them. Kind of like a really messy roommate, except you also clean their poop :stinkeye: Besides, it's not like the animals hate being pets unless they're being abused or something.

[Bluebutterfly05]

As others have said, mine certainly aren't slaves it's the other way around. I agree that many animals are very poorly suited to captivity and I certainly don't agree with domesticating more, but in the meantime, there are animals that need homes, and those that are well cared for are not slaves. I would like to see the end of the pet trade all together, but not because domesticated animals are slaves, but because I don't belive human beings can be trusted as a whole with animals and that as long as there is a pet trade there will be abuse.
Well said. I agree whole-heartedly with your statement.

[Tesseract]

...The thing I wanted to mention is that on average, these Manta rays live 30%-50% longer in captivity where they are well cared for, than they would in the wild.
I was under the impression most animals live longer in captivity than in the wild. The wild's a pretty dangerous place, especially considering it's populated by large numbers of Homo sapiens, the world's most dangerous mammal. It's a trade-off for all animals: freedom vs security. I think ultimately the best thing is for them to make that choice themselves. I can say with a glad heart that at least one of my cats clearly made that choice himself, and he chose to live with me.

[MEM]

Like everyone else said, no.

Reason1: Looking at it from a objective point of view, cats are pretty darn useless when it comes to work. If I were looking for an animal to enslave, a cat would definately be at the bottom of the list.

Yeah, some of them might catch the occaisonal mouse, but generally not all the time and not (this is the important bit) when you want them to.
Of course, my cats couldn't care less if there was a mouse in the house "You want me to what? F**** that! Give me some wet food!" is probably the response I would get.

Reason 2: Miss "I am mistress of all that I survey, and more" Christina woke me up at 4am by yowling from the kitchen because she wanted to be fed and was tired of being left alone. My initial reaction was to get up and feed her immediately (granted, I attempted to ignore her until 5:30).
Were she actually my slave, I have a feeling my reaction would be much different.

[vggiegirl]

If having use of our king size bed as well as their own double futon...getting food/snacks/treats at will...having more toys than I have shoes...sleeping on said king bed and leaving me about a foot of space....

Then yes, our 3 kitties are slaves.

[VeganForHealth]

I was under the impression most animals live longer in captivity than in the wild. The wild's a pretty dangerous place, especially considering it's populated by large numbers of Homo sapiens, the world's most dangerous mammal. It's a trade-off for all animals: freedom vs security. I think ultimately the best thing is for them to make that choice themselves. I can say with a glad heart that at least one of my cats clearly made that choice himself, and he chose to live with me.

Freedom vs. Security? Maybe we should make them read Jean Paul Sartre before they make their final decission.

There are dolphins that live in captivity in the Carribbean that are "taken for swims" outside their enclosures. They stay with the speed boats, sometimes fraternize with other dolphins, but always chose to come back with the boat when it returns.

...I don't think you can do much better than that.

[Ludi]

A bunch of dolphins were washed out of their enclosure during one of the hurricanes, and hung around in a group in the Gulf until they were found by the aquarium. They seemed very happy to see people, and the aquarium personnel were going to train them to jump into a boat so they could take them "home" to the aquarium. If the dolphins didn't want to go home, seems like they just would have swam off and become rewilded dolphins...I haven't followed up on the story so I don't know if they wqere successfully relocated.

Animals seem often to want to hang around with humans. There's a wild cottontail rabbit we've named "Potato" (because he was as big as a potato when we first saw him) who was born a couple yards from our dog's run, and now Potato lives under our workshop and during the day sits about four feet from the path we go back and forth on all day. So much for the theory of wild animals being terrified of humans. I consider these wild animals who live nearby to be "companions" as well, or maybe "neighbors" is more accurate. They are our friends.

[Tesseract]

Freedom vs. Security? Maybe we should make them read Jean Paul Sartre before they make their final decission.
I'm still working on getting mine to read Bertrand Russell.

[Wolfie]

If you're strapping them to a garden plow then yes. Otherwise probably not.

What if you strap them to a sled? :D

[cheekywhiskers]

What if you strap them to a sled? :D

Some animals love to have jobs. It's positive interaction with their pack and mental stimulation. My dog has the job of protecting the yard and black walnut trees from squirrels and other vicious critters. He also warns us when the dreaded Shadow (our neighbors dog) goes past on his walks. My cat has the job of keeping us mentally stimulated by randomly moving small objects that are found within her reach and dusting under the beds (a job she's been neglecting lately).

Once you consider that pets have a longer life span and nearly 100% survival of offspring (compared to ~5% in feral packs), domestication is an excellent survival strategy.

[Bluebutterfly05]

To answer the original question: no, companion animals definately are not slaves. You cannot own another being, they own themselves.

May I ask what everyone thinks about this website?
http://www.guardiancampaign.org

If that's too off-topic please let me know. I don't feel like everyone treating me like crap again, and I'm not sure what's off-topic and what's on-topic on these boards anymore. Thanks.