I thought this could be an interest discussion because I haven’t ever really seen it discussed before. So I guess that is my question: Do you think it is ethical to breed animals? Now I think I mean this in the realm of breeding companion animals. So breeding dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters etc rather than breeding animals for conservation purposes or as part of agricultural practices.
Here in the UK, you can breed domestic animals. There are limitations and rules as to how you breed them depending on the circumstances, such as needing a breeder’s licence if you breed more than three litters in one year. However there are of course loopholes with this legislation that I know is raising a lot of concern with animal welfare and animal rights groups that wish to have this changed. But legality of it all aside, I was wondering what you all think when it comes to the moral aspect of it all?
I do completely understand that sometimes accidents happen. I’ve seen so many stories online where people take in a stray animal only to find out very shortly afterwards that they are pregnant and suddenly they have six animals to care for instead of just one. But what about people who actively breed their animal in order to sell the babies? I feel this happens more openly with pedigree breeds – so specialist breeds of cats or dogs for example – where one puppy or kitten could cost over £1000. Again the law says that to breed more than 3 litters in a year requires a licence but what does that mean for people who purposefully only breed two litters a year? Will they keep breeding their animals until the animal physically cannot do it anymore? And if so, what then becomes of the animal? If the only reason you wanted a dog in the first place was so that you could have a side hustle of breeding and selling puppies, what happens when your dog can no longer produce puppies? I would like to think that this wouldn’t be an issue for people, in that they would still love and care for their dog regardless as to whether or not they can profit off of them, but I am also a bit of a sceptic so…I worry.
For me, I think being a breeder places a condition on the love a person has for their animal. Their animal is only so loved and so well looked after because there is a financial reward for doing so – being able to sell the babies. If their animal no longer gives them that financial reward, does the level of love and care given decrease? Again, I would like to hope that it wouldn’t, but I am also very much aware that from what I have seen, breeders will only buy an animal so they can breed them. They don’t buy the dog or the cat because they love that particular dog or cat, but because they can easily breed them and sell the babies, and if the animal is of a certain pedigree that can become a very lucrative side hustle for people. Perhaps it is me just be sceptical about other people’s motivations, but there are so many horror stories of puppy mills, kitten mills and pet store breeding rings that it really does make me worry that the motive to care for these animals is purely financial and nothing else.
Taylor Talks Vegan 