Re: Conservation or Management

In message <1133170071.57303.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, BAC <casswalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes 

"Malcolm Kane" <malcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Bxsan4Css6hDFwcM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In message <1132914302.45525.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, BAC
<casswalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
>
>>
>> What you conveniently omit is that humans being humans are granted
>> rights by other humans which animals haven't been.
>
>Which rights are they?
>
Oh dear Angus do you really need it spelled out to you.


I am not Angus :-)

Any human right
you care to mention virtually. 

I doubt whether there are really any inalienable human rights, any more than
there are any inalienable animal rights. Rather, there are rights which a
particular society permits at a particular point in time, but even those are
not paramount, since society may exercise its power to over-ride them
whenever it wishes. For example, the police recently shot dead a man they
thought might be carrying a bomb, over-riding his most basic 'human right',
that to life.


Say the right to a fair trial and the right to marry at a set age. 

Do you think the Guntanamo detainees have the right to a fair trial, and
isn't the 'right' to marry at a set age really just a prohibition on
marriage at a younger age?

You seem to have missed the point I was trying to make. Basically I would agree with your stance. I was trying to point out to Angus that may of the things which he seems to think animals are entitled to (rights) they haven't been given by man.

I think you will find if you check back to the un-snipped version I pointed out to Angus animals did not have the same rights as humans. He replied what rights (or words to that effect) I then chose (perhaps a little mischievously) two "rights" which were unlikely to be applied to animals. This was because IMO he was deliberately trying to avoid the point.

What I would add is if he wants animals to have these rights all he has to do it is persuade the majority of the MPs that it is a good idea to change the law. So he would be better putting his energy into political lobbying.


The point I was getting at is that animals and humans are both in the same
position, we only get the 'rights' other humans are prepared to allow us.
Humans are usually allowed different rights to animals, that is true, but it
doesn't follow IMO that non-human animals can/should be treated inhumanely,
merely because they are non-human.

Here is where Angus (and I suspect you) part company. Not that I suggest anything should be treated inhumanely but the definition of inhumanely. Culling IMO is not (apart from when accidents occur) inhumane. Angus feels that it is automatically inhumane.
--
Malcolm Kane
.

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