How do you react to the lives/emotions/spirits of animals?

[Bertha Venation]

Not just your pets. All animals.

Do you believe animals are sentient beings? Why or why not?

How do you react if you hit a dog or cat w/ your car? Is that different from how you react if you hit a squirrel? If you hit a deer, what bothers you more: the hurt/killed deer, or the damage to your car (absent harmed passengers)?

Do you grieve for pet fish?

Do you hunt, trap, or fish? Why? Wear fur? Why? Are you a vegan who eschews all "animal products?" Why?

I am way, way, way off the scale of rationality on this subject, so I probably won't post my own feelings/opinions. That said, if I do post, no one must take my statements as judgement on yours. Again, try as I might, I can't help myself and am completely irrational on the subject.

[gator_in_Ontario]

1. of course they are

sentient beings. I have had too many encounters with other species to believe otherwise.

btw...I love your posts:)

[Bertha Venation]

18. blush

:)

[Name removed]

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[trof]

45. WOW! 6 deletes in a row.

Is that some kind of record?

[Bertha Venation]

53. I'm beginning to wonder

if threads I start will always get some kind of controversial response. :shrug:

[Bertha Venation]

25. Yet they outnumber us and many of them could kill us in an instant.

But they're here at our pleasure. :shrug:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

26. How very uncurious of you. I tend to shy away from the absolute

You should as well since there is NO possible way you can know.

[salinen]

3. Go ahead

How do you feel about your own post? It's o.k., we don't bite, maybe growl a little.

[Bertha Venation]

15. ooooh-kay....

I eat meat and fish, wear leather, but given how I feel about animals, I should be vegan. I would not, however, join PETA.

I have a very, very hard time thinking of hunters/trappers and fishermen (who don't do C/R) as fully human. No offense meant. I can't help this. I know it's irrational. I doubt I'll ever understand how anyone can kill a wild animal. (See "The Scene" from the film "Powder")

If I hit an animal, no matter whether it's a deer or a tiny tree frog, I lose control of myself. I weep hysterically and uncontrollably and I can't stop, usually for at least five minutes. I have no control over this.

If a pet fish dies, I weep. When Daddy has an asthma attack, I weep. When I see a stray cat, I weep. God help me on the day when it's time for one of our feline brood to go.

You asked for it, salinen. <wan smile>

[Mikimouse]

21. That was an ourstanding scene...

the one you mentioned from 'Powder'. It was an excellent movie overall, but that scene was truly great!

[Bertha Venation]

28. yep, and I can never ever see it again

If someone had described that scene to me before I saw the movie, I wouldn't have watched it.

"Powder" is on my list of excellent films that I doubt I can ever watch again, along with "Sophie's Choice," "Full Metal Jacket," etc.

[RebelOne]

58. Same here. That scene really tore me up.

[Superfly]

34. Hunters...not fully human...

I guess you're right. We're predators that have chosen to partake in the cycle of life and death with a first person point of view.

But being a predator does not mean I do not feel compassion or respect for the animals I hunt and harvest. In fact, the opposite is true. I hold pretty much all animal life in extremely high regard and consider myself blessed when the bounty of their flesh feeds me and my loved ones.

[INTELBYTES]

68. Hunter and Fisher man here!

I eat what I kill, but it's sport all the same!

But I refuse to kill a vegatable by pulling it out of the ground. I think killing plants is reprehensible!

[Loonman]

5. Yes they are sentient

Just watch how they act, it's self-evident.

I'd be bummed if I hit a dog/cat. Squirrels are vermin and their population has no chance of being endangered. Hitting the deer bothers me more than any damage I would incur to my vehicle.

No opinion on fish.

Don't hunt, fish or trap.

Don't wear fur, I'm an omnivore.

[Sir_Shrek]

6. I consider myself an animal lover...

...definitely. Get it from my mom.

But honestly, and I'm not trying to insult or belittle anyone elses thoughts or feelings, sometimes it gets taken too far. Yes, I consider myself an animal lover, but I eat meat and I wear leather. I do not think animals have rights. I think animals are certainly sentient, but only in a very limited way.

[liberalhistorian]

7. Well, I've always loved animals

and known that they have emotions, feelings, and a spirit, anyone who's grown up with any kind of animal can easily tell you that (hell, right now I have five cats, two dogs, and a fish)! I even feel bad when we're changing the fish's water and have to put her in another bowl while we're doing it, she flips and jumps in panic when we're trying to get her in the bowl from her tank.

But I'll tell you what REALLY got me was a Counterpunch article another DUer was kind enough to post last week, an excerpt from a new book about the food industry. It was a chapter on "big meat." Now, mind you, I've heard about meat factory and slaughterhouse conditions and production conditions before, as well as the horrendous labor conditions, etc., etc. But this article finally did it for this meat-eater, it talked about how the cows weren't unconcious and the workers could hear them "frantically mooing as they're being skinned and dismembered alive." There were some other disgusting, gross, gruesome details, but it's made me sick ever since just thinking about it. I will NEVER eat meat again, that's for sure, and I NEVER thought I'd say that. I keep thinking of the cows being butchered alive and the horrendous pain and suffering they must endure, and hogs in hog factories as well.

[Bertha Venation]

20. LH, I saw that thread of yours

I have tried to go that way many times and always go back to meat. I've read Fast Food Nation, too.

What was the title of the book that Counterpunch excerpted?

[liberalhistorian]

42. The book is called

"Been Brown so Long it Looked Like Green to me", by Jeffrey St. Clair, Common Courage is the publisher.

[Bertha Venation]

70. Thank you so much. :-) eom

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. People think of sentience as yes/no

It seems to be more like something you can have a little, a lot, a fair amount, or none. Chimpanzees are almost like very dumb humans. Dolphins apparently are a little less sentient than that. And dogs, a little less than that. It's difficult to draw a line.

Generally, the dumber the animal, the less squeamish I feel eating it. Fish, chicken are fair game. Cows, hmmm. Dogs, like the koreans? Yikes!

[Mikimouse]

9. I tend toward the Native perceptions...

Everything in nature has a spirit, everything. I believe that animals have souls (some more so than humans). I feel awful when I hit anything on the road, and even avoid running over animals that were hit by others. It wouldn't matter what type of animal I hit. Machines can be repaired, people and animals have a much tougher time, and sometimes cannot be healed at all.
I do hunt, because I feel that game is healthier than anything store bought. At least my deer aren't full of preservatives and other unknown additives. I also thank each animal for providing me with food by giving up its life.
I live with three cats and they are my family. When they are sad, or upset, I respond to it. Conversely, when I am sad or upset, they respond in kind, and try to make Daddy feel better.
I also fish, but practice catch and release only; the only exception being when we go camping in Lake of the Woods with daughter and oldest granddaughter. When we go camping, we take very little with us in the way of foodstuffs, relying on the lake to provide us with everything. Nothing like fresh pickeral or smallmouth, panfried in bisquik, over a campfire.

[Bertha Venation]

30. this is where my irrationality comes in

Your description of your hunting and fishing practices seems to me more acceptable to me than those of the hunter who mounts a deer's front hooves on the wall, under its head, to hold the rifle that shot it. I am an enigma even to myself.

[Mikimouse]

59. My father and I had a huge falling-out over exactly this issue

he has degenerated over the years to the point that he shoots anything that moves, and then brags about it. He has even button bucks on his walls. He hunted in Arica a number of times and became more and more of a 'trophy' hunter (a proud, card carrying member of SCI=Bleech!). I consider him the absolute antithesis of the hunter I consider myself to be (not perfect by any means, but mindful of the other side of the coin). When I was in Alaska a few years back, he came to visit me for ten days, and couldn't stop yammering about me shooting a bear while I had the opportunity. I told him that I had no interest in doing so, and earned myself the wimp label. I wear it proudly, by the way, if that instance is sufficient to earn it.

[DuctapeFatwa]

11. with shame, for my species, and for myself

It is generally accepted that because humans are unable to understand the languages of other species, that only human beings communicate.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

12. yes....i have a st francis/jane goodall/daniel qiunn(ishmael) spirit

elephants weep

yes

i brake for moths and catch ants/spiders in my house and release outdoors

yes

no...never

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. One of my best friends is a zoologist who works at a facility

in the desert here...actually some Californians may recognize the name of the town, it is called Zzyzx and it is in the desert on the way to Vegas. She is an animal behavior expert and the more I have talked with her and visited her work and study area, the more I am clear that animals DO have spirits, and deeper emotions that most humans choose to recognize.

I am fortunate to have only EVER hit one animal. A small kitten that jumped out of the ivy before I could stop. I scooped him up and raced him to the emergency vet clinic but it wasn't on time to save him...I would have spent $1000.00 saving him if I could have...

I feel the same about any animal and in fact I really hate the term ROAD KILL.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. all animal lovers MUST read this book :"Ishmael" by Daneil Quinn and

explore all things at this site...relevant excellent...enjoy--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's a fundamental tenet of our cultural mythology that the only thing wrong with us is that humans are not made well enough. We need to be made of finer materials, to some set of better specifications (provided, perhaps, by greened-up versions of our traditional religions). We just need to be made kinder, gentler, sweeter, more loving, less selfish, more far-sighted, and so on, then everything will be fine. Of course, no one succeeded in making us better last year or the year before that or the year before that or the year before that--or indeed any year in recorded history--but maybe this year we'll get lucky . . . or next year or the year after that.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

27. That is a great book!

Nice to know another FOI :D

[ElsewheresDaughter]

41. Ishmael should be mandatory reading for middle/high school students

----------------------------------------------------------------------
"The community of life on this planet has worked well for three billion years-has worked beautifully, in fact. The Takers draw back in horror from this community, thinking it to be a place of lawless chaos and savage, relentless competition, where every creature goes in terror of its life. But those of your species who actually live in this community don't find it to be so, and they will fight to the death rather than be separated from it. It is in fact an orderly community. The green plants are food for the plant eaters, which are food for the predators, and some of these predators are food for still other predators. And what's left over is food for the scavengers, who return to the earth nutrients needed by the green plants. It's a system that has worked magnificently for billions of years. Filmmakers understandably love footage of gore and battle, but any naturalist will tell you that the species are not in any sense at war with one another. The gazelle and the lion are enemies only in the minds of the Takers. The lion that comes across a herd of gazelles doesn't massacre them, as an enemy would. It kills one, not to satisfy its hatred of gazelles but to satisfy its hunger, and once it has made its kill the gazelles are perfectly content to go on grazing with the lion right in their midst."

Ishmael

[populistmom]

31. Excellent book

I read this book about 5 years ago and it really changed some of my perspectives regarding Christianity and other religious stuff. Very thought provoking and enlightening book.

[Bertha Venation]

33. ED... is "Ishmael" going to make me cry?

[populistmom]

35. It's hard to explain

It's not anti-hunting really at all, but maybe more circle of life, don't waste type of thing. It's hard to remember because it's been awhile since I read it, but it definately alters the thought process.

link: http://www.ishmael.com/welcome.cfm

[ElsewheresDaughter]

38. thank you for posting the "Ishmael Community" link...i meant to post it

that was the purpose of my post :yourock:

http://www.ishmael.com/welcome.cfm

[ElsewheresDaughter]

37. DV no but, when you increase your knowledge you increase your sorrow...

you will love the book and then read the Story of B (the sequel)also by Quinn

good stuff

[Bertha Venation]

55. just what I need... to increase my sorrow

That's the whole problem.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

64. guess that 's what makes repukes so happy...IGNORANCE is bliss

[Bertha Venation]

71. You could be right. Heard on the radio this morning:

A recent poll (sorry, I really did just hear it on the radio and I didn't get the particulars) on many issues showed Republicans report themselves as "happy" more than Democrats. If that's true, it makes me rather sad that more people can't be happy despite the shit in the world.

[carolinayellowdog]

17. Sentience is a given; consciousness is debatable

All that sentience means is that the species has *senses* which of course all animals do. Here's a definition:
http://define.ansme.com/words/s/sentience.html

But the original post confuses the meaning of sentience with consciousness, which is not an unprecedented confusion:
http://www.animalsentience.com/

All animals experience cognition (they know things) and all mammalians experience emotion (having a limbic system) but we are barely able to discern consciousness in other species. Higher apes, and cetaceans have demonstrated what appears to be self-awareness, i.e. consciousness. Some parrot behavior makes me suspect them of consciousness also (Alex the African grey as a prime example.)

CYD

PS-- on edit, I haven't eaten pork or beef in 25 years because those species suffer so in the "food industry." Do eat fish and fowl with some reservations, and am conflicted about deer. Ate some recently for the first time in years. Ecologically, deer hunting is a necessity in these parts to prevent widespread starvation. But they are mammals and I wish hunting were not necessary to control their numbers.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

23. dupe

[ElsewheresDaughter]

24. my african grey is also an example...amazing animal with the intellect

of a 7 year old....and when my 17 year old daughter walks past his cage after a shower wrapped in a towel he wolf whistles...never does it any other time and didn't learn it in my household...we got him when he was a 1 year old....makes up his own sentences (strings apropriate words together for what ever he wants)and tells the other children to "do your homework" EVERY AFTERNOON AT 4:30ISH DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR BUT REFRAINS FROM SAYING IT DURING THE SUMMER VACATION DAYS :shrug:

sorry bout "caplock" and i'm to lazy to correct it

[arwalden]

29. Hmmm.... I've Never Hit An Animal With My Car

but I always feel bad whenever I see "roadkill"... whether it's someone's pet or a wild animal it's disturbing to see.

-- Allen

[TrogL]

32. I have cats

Cats do incomprehensible things (why, oh why must the washcloth be taken down from the towel rack and placed in the water dish??) so some thinking (no matter how warped) must be going on.

Dogs drool.

I suspect animals with brain sizes down to a mouse have sufficient self-awareness to qualify as a "soul". I don't think goldfish make the cut.

[supernova]

36. Yes, animals have souls

If you've ever spent any time around animals it's impossible to avoid.

I've never hit an animal with my car; I've come close a couple of times but managed to avoid the animal. It always saddens me to see an otherwise heathly animal lying by the side of the road. They deserve a better end. It's such an ignomineous death.

I don't hunt, and have nothing against those who do. We would do well to go back to the Native American concept of thanking the animal for its life. Though I am an omnivore, I am appalled at slaughterhouse practices.

I don't wear fur but I do wear and use leather.

[DemExpat]

39. Another Extreme Animal Lover here...

and believer in their spirit shared with all of our spirits.

I actually experience more of a connection with animal spirits, (except for my friends and loved ones!)because so very many human spirits are often clouded with judgement, hate and rejection.....I know.....stems from childhood experiences, etc....

Anyway, I have no doubt whatsoever that animals feel ranges of emotions, and I also mourn their suffering.

I watch a family of coot ducks near my house throughout the seasons of nestbuilding, raising chicks, chasing them off to make their own way, etc., and last year the male (husband and Papa) died. The female was so "lost" and despondent, you could just tell how she aimlessly swam around the dead bird, making her calling sounds....swimming away, then returning to check.....it was heartbreaking, and my family all laughed (not in a mean way) at me for my tears....

I was SO happy when another male came along and they continued the circle of life with creating nests, rasing chicks, etc.

Lovely to observe.

My pet companions throughout my life : guinea pigs, hamsters, 1 rat, fish, one canary, various parakeets, one agapornis love bird, 2 Siamese cats, and 2 dogs.................

The cats, the dogs, and the small parrot(love bird) have been full family members to me.

DemEx

[RebelOne]

40. My feelings about animals

Yes, they are sentient beings. They have emotions. They feel sadness, pain, love and just about anything that humans experience. But I believe one emotion missing in most animals is hate. I think most people don't want to think that animals have feelings.

If I hit a dog or cat with my car would be no different if I hit a squirrel. I would be upset. And if I hit a deer, I would first be concerned about the deer and then worry about my car.

I never had any pet fish, so don't know if I would grieve for it. But I probably would, just as I grieved for my parakeet that died a few months ago.

No, I hate hunting and trapping. For some reason, fishing does not upset me. I do not wear fur. Since I became enlightened many years ago about animal rights, I gave all my furs away. I am a vegetarian and I do wear leather..

[private_ryan]

43. I eat meat. Lots of it. Some of my shoes and belts are made leather made

I hope it explains things

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

44. It does

[Kathy in Cambridge]

60. Let's Just Say You're Nothing If Not Consistent

No surprises there.

[jobycom]

76. LOL! It explains your typos!

Meat is quite brain-fogging. The Romans, who ate little meat except for on holy days (holidays), had a term which meant "meat drunk," referring to people who ate so much meat they acted drunk. I never understood the term until I gave up meat, and noticed the difference.

Now, what explains my typos, right? Dunno. Lack of meat? Nah.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

46. Ishmael for President!...Vote for ISHMAEL, Vote for change!

TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL, must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person. Read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Vote for ISHMAEL, Vote for change! WWW.READISHMAEL.COM

[scarlet_owl]

47. I consider myself an animal-person.

I have various kinds of animals in my life and they are all very different. I love them in different ways. My ferrets are like my little children and have personalities to match. I love them as sons. My cat is like a best friend who's always ready for snuggling. I have a deep respect for Owly and Scarlet. Sometimes I just like to sit and watch them watch me back. The snakes and turtles always make me smile. When I see wildlife in the woods, I can't help but feel special. No matter how many times I see a deer or a fox I still get the same thrill. I've only once hit an animal with my car and that was a cat. I went back to find it, but it was gone. I felt awful after that. I do eat animals and I don't have a problem with most kinds of hunting, as long as it's for food and not for trophies. I do have a problem with predator hunting, i.e. wild cats, wolves.

Sorry this post is a little rambling.

[Solly Mack]

48. I ran over a squirrel once-crying madly in the middle of the road

holding up traffic...didn't care. All I knew was that I had harmed a critter. The man behind me walked me back to my car, all but shoved me into my seat, and begged me to drive off without looking back.....the look on his face was compassion mingled with frustration.


my family is forever wary of my driving-because they fully know I'll swerve off the road and risk killing them before I'd hit another critter. I don't think of it in terms of possibly killing my family (or myself)-I swerve out of concern for the critter..and that's all I think about at the time.

I'm still debating if that's a good thing or not.

[Superfly]

49. The squirrel was crying madly?

Why, did it lose a nut?

[Bertha Venation]

50. have you ever heard a squirrel?

LOL They scream, my god do they scream.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

51. indeed especially the red ones

[Bertha Venation]

52. never seen a red one

we only have grays -- with the odd black gray, and once I saw an albino gray. Cool!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

57. DV......here ya go ...a red one

[commander bunnypants]

54. Nobody can tell me The Cattbutt did not have a spirit

We are all one in the same. In my book


DDQM

[Bertha Venation]

56. amen

[imhotep]

61. sentience is irrelevant from ethics

I dont see things from a anthrocentric or even biocentric perspective.
Even rocks and water are a part of nature and their lack of awareness doesn't mean they are seperate from all other things.

I also believe animals (including humans) are willing participants in the food chain which transcends morality.

Needless killing for sport, wars, etc is where ethics comes in.

[101 Proof]

62. Humans are put above animals...

I believe that because I'm a Christian and God says humans rule over all animals. It doesn't really bother me if I hit an animal with my car or whatnot, but it bothers me when a pet dies.

I eat any and every kind of meat out there. Cows, pigs, turkeys, chicken...it doesn't matter. That's what they're here for anyways-to feed us.

That's just my two cents.

[Bertha Venation]

63. I'm a follower of Christ and I disagree

with your interpretation of what God says.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

65. ya got $0.02 change coming back to ya

[DemExpat]

66. Guardianship over animals and plants is different

from abuse and seeing other life purely for consumption, IMHO.

DemEx

[jobycom]

74. That's cause you don't understand Hebrew

God gave man dominion over animals, which doesn't mean dominance, but lordship, exactly as Jesus has over us, according to the Bible. Lordship implies more that you have a responsibility to take care of animals, not that you have the right to do whatever you want to them. Your relationship to animals should be the same as Jesus's to you.

I don't know when egotistical Americans began rewriting the Bible to justify whatever they wanted to do, but this falls under that category. Even in the 19th century Christians still got it right, but nowadays Christians seem to think God called them to arrogance, not humility.

Not a commentary on you, just on this common misinterpretation.

[amazona]

67. an essay that meant a great deal to me you might enjoy...

There is a fine book of essays called My Life Told by Water by David James Duncan that covers some of these issues better than I ever could. There is an essay on vision, birdwatching, and why he took the chance of getting himself turned into roadkill to save a screech owl that is just breath-taking. For some reason, when I read your post, I thought of that essay. I will be honest -- I don't believe they have a soul, nor do I believe that humans have a soul. But maybe we have a soul, if that makes sense -- the bond between us and the animals is something greater than our petty individualities.

I can tell that animals are sentient using the same evidence I use to see if other people are sentient. They react to me, try to manipulate, run from me, love me. They are individuals with their own reasons and their own emotions.

Animals, especially birds, have been everything to me as far as what they have given me. That said, I do eat meat, wear leather and fur, and so forth, and while I do not engage in consumptive sports myself, I don't see anything wrong with it. Hunting, fishing, trapping are links to our past and to our bodies. But it must be done with respect, and recognition of what they sacrifice for us.

Because I have driven so much distance in my life, especially in wild life areas, yes, I've killed many animals with my car. I remember a terrible spring where I ran over three turtles in a short distance. Perhaps most distressing was when I myself was not driving but the other person hit and killed a low-flying Snowy Egret. Certainly we grieved. But I have tried to lose some of my jumpiness -- I haven't lost all of it -- because I don't want to be the person who swerves to miss a squirrel and plows into a telephone pole.

Balance. My own body is also an animal. I have to remember that and respect it.

Not always an easy thing to do.

[dolo amber]

69. I honestly think

I could kill a person easier than I could an animal. No animal has ever hurt, lied to, betrayed, or in any other way pissed me off to the extent that people have. :shrug:

[WillParkinson]

72. I believe that animals are better than people, generally.

They don't normally kill for pleasure (although some may, I have no absolute proof one way or another), they don't intentionally foul the planet with noise/air/water pollution. They don't strip mine. They don't deforest.

They live.
They eat.
They breed.
The die.

And all the while having little impact on the world around them (at least until man disturbs the natural order of things and throws it all into chaos).

I'm vegan and proud of it. I'm the best vegan I can be. I won't say I'm perfect (have you ever tried to figure out where some of the ingredients in products come from? I mean, Carmine...who knew that it's a dye from crushed bug shells...) but I strive to be as good as I can.

[ArkDem]

77. Ever had a cat?

>They don't normally kill for pleasure (although some may, I have no absolute proof one way or another), <

[WillParkinson]

80. Several

And none of them killed for fun. They get along with the rabbit quite well. I think as long as they are trained right they'll be just fine.

And, normally, I believe cats don't kill for fun. Things might die when they get played with too much but I don't think it was killed because it was fun. There wasn't malice involved.

(Again, I don't think it but I can't know it for sure.)

[jobycom]

73. They are not human, but they are life, and should be respected and loved

And not killed casually. And never abused. Anyone who has spent time around animals of any kind can see that they express love towards their own species, and towards humans and other species. That's more important to me than sentience. Humans are only animals who have moved uptown, and have no more natural dominance over other animals than Ken Lay and George Bush should have over us "lesser" folk.

Yes, I feel sad when I strike any animal in a car. Yes, I grieve more for deer than for cars. I have been saddened by dead fish, and don't keep an aquarium anymore because of how frequently they die.

And I'm vegetarian, but not vegan.

On the other hand, I don't consider an animal life as equal to a human life. Life should be respected as life, but an animal life is not as important to me as the life of a human, and killing animals is not murder-- it's more a sign of personal failings, to me. And I don't preach vegetarianism, since many other species also kill for food. Humans are animals, and that works both ways, and humans have been using othe animals as food for longer than we've been fully human, so that issue is just too large for me to say I know what's best for the species. For me, vegetarianism is best. For others, that's for them to decide.

Causing intense suffering in animals for fun or profit should be illegal, though.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

79. what seperates us from other animals is the arts, greed and wanton killing

[jobycom]

81. I have a greedy cat.

She steals food from all the other cats, and drives them away with violence. A friend of mine had a dog who killed other dogs rather randomly, for no reason anyone else could determine. He also bit his owner once out of the blue so bad she was taken to the hospital. As for art, who knows? They don't draw pictures because the can't afford oil paints, they don't play pianos well. But who knows what creativity is to other species? Dogs dream-- what do they dream about? Why do rats and ravens collect shiny things?

I'm not sure anything positive or negative really separates us from other species. It's a question of degree, at best.

[Cheswick2.0]

75. I am not a vegetarian

But I do grieve over hitting small animals with my car. Thank God I have never hit a deer, I would need meds.

[slackmaster]

78. Yes they are sentient

I can't prove it but I perceive it in the way they behave. I know my cat enjoys telling me what to do and having me wait on him hand and foot. I know my tortoise is aware of the seasons and of the weather, that he knows the refrigerator is where I keep the broccoli, and that if he alternately walks to me and to the back door that I will let him out. I know that every goldfish I've had recognized me personally and was happy to see me.

The few times I've hit an animal with a vehicle I've felt horrible. If I hit a deer I wouldn't even think about any damage to my vehicle until after the deer had been taken care of, whatever that might require.

Do you grieve for pet fish?

Yes.

Do you hunt, trap, or fish?

I fish on occasion.

Why?

For fresh food and relaxation.

Wear fur?

No.

Why?

It would make me too warm (I live in San Diego and am very warm-blooded), and there are many man-made materials that are superior to fur in most respects.