Should animals rate the same as humans?

[matt_in_ohio]

A topic for serious discussion, inspired by this article:

[url="http://www.slate.com/id/2126124/?nav=tap3"]Slate.com article - The Truth About Cats and Dogs[/url]

For those who don’t know (or would appreciate a brief recap); A child was being evacuated with his family from the Superdome in New Orleans, and he was not allowed to take his dog. The dog was taken away as the child screamed “Snowball, Snowball!” The child became so upset that he eventually vomited. Once the story got out, it sparked national outrage among pet lovers.

This article basically said that the official policy in these types of rescue situations is correct – people matter more than animals. The author contends that, if dogs had been allowed on the busses to the Astrodome, things could have been much worse for the rest of the people on the bus, and it wouldn’t be fair to them if they are not animal lovers. If there had been several animals on board, the fighting and biting amongst the pets could have been dangerous. The author also points to an example of rescuers who tried to save a family and their pet pig, and how the pig almost capsized the boat. He ends the article by pointing out that Snowball was eventually reunited with the young boy, but also points out that no one knows how the young boys name. He wonders if this might indicate that some people care more about animals than humans.

I am curious to see the responses to the poll and the discussion that will follow.

To vote, see the poll in the topic of the same title.

Edited September 13, 2005 by matt_in_ohio

[Laudate_Dominum]

Considering animals lack a transcendent end and dignity, it seems abominable to allocate rescue resources to animals at the expense of human persons.

If one is going to hold that we have an equal obligation to rescue animals, than why limit that to pets? Why not allocate a few billion to rescue and provide meds for the city's rat population? For that matter why aren't we sending the National Guard into Yellowstone to arrest all those wolves and things that have run wild and are killing and eating helpless and innocent animals as we speak?

I don't think it is bad to save pets if it doesn't take away from being able to save people. I'm glad they saved snowball, but more for that child's sake than for snowballs, although I am certainly happy for the pup.

[homeschoolmom]

Theology aside, can you image the utter chaos at the Superdome if people brought their pets??

[homeschoolmom]

and besides, some people are HIGHLY allergic to pets.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='Sep 13 2005, 08:26 AM']Theology aside, can you image the utter chaos at the Superdome if people brought their pets??
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Hehe, true.

But I would claim that human dignity (even transcendent dignity) is not a matter of Theology, certainly it can be more deeply understood in light of Theology, but it is a truth accessible to reason alone and does not require religious faith. I would say the same thing about the existence of God. Perhaps to know God as Trinity, or Christ as the Incarnate God requires faith and is proper to Theology, but the existence of God and many basic attributes of the Divine are accessible to reason alone.
This might make for a good thread in the debate table.

Cheers.

[1337 k4th0l1x0r]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='Sep 13 2005, 08:26 AM']Theology aside, can you image the utter chaos at the Superdome if people brought their pets??
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There was utter chaos there anyways. Pets wouldn't have made much of a difference.

[Fides_et_Ratio]

[quote name='1337 k4th0l1x0r' date='Sep 13 2005, 10:18 AM']There was utter chaos there anyways.  Pets wouldn't have made much of a difference.
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Pets would've intensified it all... people would've been killing pets left and right-- "don't you dare feed that dog/cat/rat before feeding my kid". An animal's best chance of survival would've been to steer clear of the dome!

[IcePrincessKRS]

Bottom line: Humans take precedence. Losing pets is sad, but they aren't as important as saving human lives.

[toledo_jesus]

[quote name='1337 k4th0l1x0r' date='Sep 13 2005, 10:18 AM']There was utter chaos there anyways.  Pets wouldn't have made much of a difference.
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Don't you believe it. There was enough of a problem with human waste. Imagine if you had dogs, cats, or even a pig in there. The animals would have been mistreated and contributed to the squalor.

Humans come first, then worry about snowball.

[prose]

I know that if I was stuck there, and there were cats around, it would have killed me (literally) b/c my allergies are so bad.

Sorry, but pets are DEFINATELY secondary.

[dspen2005]

there is a hierarchy of being -- beginnig w/ mineral, and passing through vegetative, animal, human... humans are at the top b/c of a notion of rationality....

[Winchester]

Darkness panic fear.

Yeah, a dozen or so dogs (like the ones eating corpses right now) wouldn't have made a difference.

Welcome to Oz

[White Knight]

The Value of Human Life is greater than any Animal or Beast, but however, we do need to keep the animals alive, such as cattle, horses, dogs, and cats, because in some strange way, they help out the economy.

[theculturewarrior]

God is our steward. We are theirs.

[White Knight]

ummm.

[Norseman82]

Keep in mind too that if pets are left behind, they could pose a problem in the follwing ways:

1) They could die and contribute to the spread of disease
2) They could get loose and become part of a problem of packs of stray pets, and that could contribute to the spread of disease.

So leaving animals behind could pose a health problem and that could cascade into problems for humans.