I am not a vegetarian. I love meat. I do not consider myself an animal rights activist. I’m just a guy who thinks that animals are far more intelligent than most people believe. In fact, I believe that some animals — dolphins, elephants, chimpanzees — have complex societies and rich emotional lives. They have language. They solve problems. They’re intelligent.
That said, I find the following video distressing:
Warning: Disturbing footage.
This short clip documents Japanese dolphin fishing. I was in horror as I watched this. These are not goldfish. These are not salmon. These are not trout. These are dolphins. They’re intelligent mammals. They feel. They suffer.
But ultimately, what will watching this video do for me? Will it change the way I act? Will it prompt me to action? And what sort of action will it move me toward? What can I do to stop dolphin fishing in Japan? Do I have the right to do so? The responsibility?
More importantly, if I’m distraught over how dolphins are treated, why am I not upset over the slaughter of pigs? (Pigs, too, are highly intelligent.) I have a friend who refuses to eat pork because he cannot bring himself to eat an intelligent being. I see his point, but my love of bacon and ham always triumphs. How do I cope with this cognitive dissonance?
Where do I draw the line? Why is a cow dumb enough to be eaten, but not a dolphin? What about cats and dogs? I love my cats, and love the intelligence I see in them, but I’ll bet I could eat a cat to which I had no personal attachment.
This site is easier when I just share funny animal videos…
the sickness you feel is absolutely justified – it is sick and wrong to kill and eat others, just for pleasure (our varied menus certainly eliminate this action as a necessity). i’m stunned, though, after the revulsion you feel, that you create a false hierarchy – fish aren’t alive, sentient, or able to feel pain? rethink this! :(
No — fish are absolutely alive and able to feel pain. But how sentient are they? I don’t know. I’ve posted a couple stories about fish intelligence, and I’ve come to believe they’re smarter than I’d thought. But how smart? And how smart does an animal need to be before I refuse to eat it? Why is a cow acceptable to me and not a dolphin? These are questions that I need to ask myself. Why is it wrong to eat intelligent creatures? If humans are omnivorous, is it wrong for us to eat meat? If so, why isn’t it wrong for, say, a chimpanzee to eat meat? They’re smart, too. Do we have a higher moral obligation because we have higher reasoning capacities? I don’t know. I don’t know. These are some deep questions.
Hi again! This is one of my favorite quotes and I thought you might like it since it concerns the issue at hand:
“The question is not, Can they reason?, nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?” (Jeremy Bentham)
It doesn’t take much in the way of intelligence to feel pain and fear. :)
i’m not sure how to answer because i have to say, i’m not often faced with people who actually ask these kinds of tough questions… so for that, i applaud you. i guess the main thing i’d ask is, why is intelligence your deciding factor in these examples? if someone is unintelligent does that make their pain and suffering “count” less? i kind of hate to go here, but… is it okay to harm a baby because they’re considerably less intelligent than an adult?
i’m really glad you watched that video, and i understand the strong emotional reaction to it–i saw it myself awhile back, and i was absolutely sickened by it. but the truth of the matter is, chickens and cows and sheep and rabbits and all kinds of animals are slaughtered every day in similarly horrific ways, and they’re all just as scared and suffer just as much.
as for fish and sentience, here’s a link where you can read a little bit about it, if you’re so inclined: http://www.fishinghurts.com/FishFeelPain.asp
i don’t usually respond to deep questions like this and i don’t usually “evangelize,” so i’m sorry if i sound weird or annoying. i’m not really used to doing this.
oh, i cross-posted with Canaduck… that’s one of my favorite quotes too.
Also, and this occurred to me after I posted, so I’m sorry to write again, but there’s a separate issue from whether we have a right to eat animals when I don’t need to, and that is: do we have a right to treat them so horribly before we do so? You probably already know about this, but I’d suggest checking out http://www.factoryfarming.com for info on the nightmarish existence of farm animals. Many people argue that death is the best part of their entire lives, and I would agree.
If you’re going to eat meat, eggs, and dairy, I would hope that you’re looking into organic, local options. The animals still end up at the same slaughterhouses as their non-organic counterparts, but they tend to have a better life before then. (And I suggest purchasing local meat because of how horrifying and cruel transportation is for farm animals, regardless of whether they’re organic.) Check out http://www.sustainabletable.org for info on the topic of organic animal products.
well, i’m catching up on all my blogs this evening, and i just ran across an entry that you might like to read. sorry for the multiple comments! i promise to be quiet now.
http://garyfrancione.blogspot.com/2007/05/some-questions-from-vegan-freaks.html
Long time reader delurking…
Actually this exact topic has come up in a few conversations I’ve had with friends. I’m a vegetarian, they’re all omnivores. We figured out that most of them would eat anything that was pre-killed and tasted good, regardless of how intelligent the animal was, as long as it wasn’t like us. Apparently great apes would be turned down not because of their intelligence, but because of how close they are to humans.
But dolphins aren’t like us, yet people are still more hesitant to eat them than say, piggies. And no one wants to see them get hurt. I think for a lot of people it may have something to do with how dolphins are portrayed in society – we hear so much about how smart and wonderful they are, and it seems they’re so often presented as being our friends.
I’m not saying that holds true for you though, that would be wrong of me considering the subject of this blog! So if you do find an answer to why dolphins and not pigs I’d be hugely interested in hearing it.
Oh and I didn’t watch the video, I am easily disturbed. Thanks for the warning!
I applaud you for questioning your consumption of animals. I have to say that I was shocked to learn you ate them, considering how you marvel at them so.
I would suggest you consider that intelligence is not the key. After all, if our morality was defined by intelligence, we could justify eating braindead people or people who are otherwise mentally impaired.
The key here is, I believe, our ability to perceive the desire of other creatures’ will to live, and to respect that by not consuming them, nor breeding and keeping them for the products of their reproductive cycles. If we couldn’t survive (much less thrive) without animal-derived foods, this wouldn’t even be an issue. But the fact remains that a vegan diet can be quite healthful necessitates a moral reflection as to whether we ought to be eating animals at all if it isn’t necessary.
I too am curious why I would *never* eat dolphin, but cattle and pork are ok. I would be interested in hearing more about pig intelligence, actually; I didn’t realize they had any greater levels than steer or chickens.
I have definitely cut waaay back on my animal intake in general, for many reasons: physical health, environmental health, a desire to eat lower on the food chain (which to me is an efficiency issue). I buy mostly naturally raised and humanely killed meats; I believe that’s the least we can do.
I also feed my dog Mike a raw diet, and there’s just no getting around the fact that he needs meat (it is possible but extreeemely tricky to maintain a vegetarian canine). He gets mostly chicken, with the occasional rabbit, which I believe best simulates a wild dog’s diet.
Resources that have greatly informed my choices include:
The Food Revolution by John Robbins
The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD
JD, Dawne Evans, who I just reconnected with, clued me in to this site and others of yours. It’s good to stay in touch. Todd & I live in NE PDX now. Hope you’re well. Karin
Hi,
I was appalled when I saw the bay of blood in the 80s, the 90s and even more so that it is still going on today.
I don’t think it is a matter of intelligence that dictates an animals right to live. I think it is more a matter of purpose. An animal that is bred and raised as a food source must logically be a legitimate source of food, for if it was not it would never have existed in the first place.
On the other hand a wild animal has a critical role in nature, and killing it disrupts that balance (with exception of culling deer where we have unwittingly destroyed the population of predators). Unless the killing is for survival in cases of self defense or to obtain nourishment where there is no alternative then there is no reason to kill a wild animal.
Slaughtering dolphins to produce fertilizer definitely and capturing them for entertainment purposes does not fall into either categories. therefore it is murder, it is wrong and it must stop. Aside from protesting to the Japanese government and hoping that they will legislate and find these few fishermen alternative sources of income I do not know what to do.
that is why it is worng
What more killing wild animals when it is not necesary
Thank you for your writing on this topic, because it’s an conundrum that I’m trying to deal with as well.
I love animals. I also love meat. There’s no question in my mind that animals can think, feel, and suffer. I am very much oppossed to animals that are raised for food and kept only in tiny cages for all of their lives, and slaughtered in brutal and inhumane ways. (And I do know that the idea of humane slaughter is an oxymoron).
I won’t eat veal or pate, and I’ve just started to give up pork. That said, I don’t know if I ever want to become a full-fledged vegetarian.
I try to figure out the ethics involved. It seems to me that some animals eat other animals. They do so not to be cruel but to survive and have nourishment. A possible solution might be not to outlaw meat, but to ensure the animals we do eat do not live lives of deprivation and cruelty.
This will not satisfy all people; nor should it. It is not a perfect answer. But the idea of a wholly vegetarian society is a very tough goal, and maybe a far-reaching one.
In the meantime shouldn’t we do all that we can to see that even the animals that do beome food, have as much a full life as they possibly can? Is this possible? And what resources are out there? (Thank you Canaduck for the link to sustainabletable).
To me, people who recognise that animals feel and suffer, but consider their own love of the way a food stuff tastes to be of greater importance are far, far worse than those who believe animals are nothing more than mindless automatons, or those who don’t even think about it at all. It is the difference between the immoral and the amoral.
You chose which you are every time you acknowledge the suffering but eat the flesh anyway.
How can you live with yourselves?
Choose to be a hero – have nothing to do with slaughter.
me personally i think if you eat dolphins cats dogs whales.? you took it too far. thats sick & discusting how can you eat innocent animals. they want love not to be eaten by humans.!! i speak for the animalsss. =]
I just wanted to add my 2 cents. To those of you saying fish do or don’t have feelings, it doesn’t really apply here. Dolphins are mammals, not fish. Also, these creatures are on the same level, if not higher, as apes are on intelligence. Mass murdering is not okay in any case. Especially when they are hunted for the wrong reason. They are hunted for sport, not for the meat they provide or anything else. They say it is a “cultural” value, these slaughters. It’s a massacre, a butchery and it needs to stop. Once the ocean gets out of control and the food chain gets screwed up the land will follow. In 2007 13,107 dolphins and small whales were reported killed off the shore of Taiji, Japan. That was just the ‘reported’ number. There were more. This onslaught occurs for 6 months out of every year with no intent of stopping. The dolphin meat is given to schools for free and they are not told what it is, as well as being mislabeled in the markets. Not a big deal right? Yes, it is. Dolphin meat contains toxic levels of mercury and the effects are being seen. Children are being born with a myriad of birth defects due to the parents consuming this meat. Additionally, the government is going against there 21st article by concealing any outlet of information concerning this slaughter. Most of the people have no idea what is going on. Once they do, they want it to end, badly. There’s way more I could post, but I’ll leave you to sort out the facts yourself. Watch the documentary The Cove if you get the chance. It is a huge eye opener. The dolphins scream when they are being harpooned to death. They can and do suffer.
check:
http://www.savejapandolphins.org
also, celebrities recently got involved:
http://www.takepart.com/thecove
I like this article, as well as the points that Becca, Eric and Ron made. I agree with a lot of what they said.
I think the differentiation you make between pigs and dolphins is due to our culture. You likely ate meat from pigs while growing up and even more likely are the chances that people around you and people you saw on T.V., or read about ate pigs, too. People are products of their environment and undoing its influence is very difficult, though not impossible. Very few who uses English as well as we do eat cetaceans these days, and so it registers in your mind as unacceptable. I won’t eat endangered animals, or animals that would have a difficult time repopulating because I grew up watching wildlife documentaries (starting as young as 2 years old).
I think the people who are so opposed to the Japanese eating dolphins and whales should raise funds for programs for the towns that mostly only know how to make money by hunting cetaceans. These programs that the activists ought to design, would make it easy for the fishermen to make a living doing something else. Making them go against their culture is bad enough, but making them stop without helping them would mean that they would have a hard time making end’s meet and their families would have trouble having normal lives with food and opportunities that other people enjoy due to being able to do jobs that they are versed in.
One more thing: I don’t know about other bovine, but at least cape buffalo are extremely intelligent. Domesticated animals are usually much dumber, so I don’t know about cows, but cape buffalo are one of the smartest animals in Africa, likely only trailing behind elephants, chimpanzees, African grays, gorillas and several monkey species. They are good at making split-second decisions, identifying individuals (buffalo, lions, humans, etc.), working in teams and are so effective in battle that multiple military tactics have actually been based off of them. Out of the Big 5 (leopards, lions, cape buffalo, rhinoceroses and elephants) that are hunted by sadistic hunters, only the cape buffalo set traps for hunters and retaliate in full-force, succeeding in killing hunters on a regular bases.