• magnue@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I can’t think of any animal that has such an innate empathetic connection to humans as dogs. Dogs can read us, and we can read them.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      2 hours ago

      Then why are horses also controversial to eat?

      Let’s be real, this isn’t a thing where someone sat down and decided morally speaking what our diet should be. It’s a cultural standard, and it’s the same as Hindus being mad that in the West we specifically eat beef.

    • binux@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      I find it strange how you’re getting downvoted, since there’s so much evidence to back up your point. There’s literally a whole page on Wikipedia that goes over the human-canine bond and how it’s unique.

      Some points it brings up:

      studies have demonstrated that both dogs and humans release oxytocin while spending quality time together.

      Canines are capable of distinguishing between positive and negative human facial expressions and will react accordingly.

      Psychologists believe that the relationship between human and canine is a bidirectional attachment bond, which resembles that of the typical human caretaker/infant relationship, and shows all of the usual hallmarks of a typical bond.

      Canines are capable of assessing humans’ emotional states, as well as discriminating humans by levels of familiarity.

      Studies have demonstrated that shelter dogs benefit from interacting with complete strangers…These results demonstrate the canines’ innate desire to form an attachment with a human

      • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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        2 hours ago

        More because it’s beside the point. Sure, dogs are unique in that way. That’s not why they’re taboo to eat specifically in our part of the world.

        • binux@sh.itjust.works
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          1 hour ago

          No, that’s very much a part of why it’s considered taboo. Obviously there’s a wide range of difference in cultural opinion of what’s considered “okay” to eat, but dogs have still been with humans for the longest out of any domesticated animal. They’ve literally evolved to eat diets more like our own. It’s completely intuitive that there would be such vehement opposition to eating an animal we’re so historically close to, even if it’s mostly on a cultural basis.

      • rwrwefwef@sh.itjust.works
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        1 day ago

        A study can find practically find any correlation it wants based on its premises. Studies have also found that sugar based diets are better than fat based ones. But neither are very convincing on telling about how to proceed on a specific issue.

    • LepiejMan@szmer.info
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      2 days ago

      Can you read a cat, does a cat read you?

      You should not justify animals rights not to be slaughtered by their connection to humans.

      Pigs are deeply empathic, horses read humans very well, and whales have complex family systems. The division “cute animals” and “edible ones” is just a cultural construct to avoid the moral atrocity.

      EDIT: typos

      • ElcaineVolta@kbin.melroy.org
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        2 days ago

        this is absolutely it, people feel they have deep connections to their pets and that the experience of other animals must be shallow and meaningless by comparison, its a sample issue and a cultural bias.

    • innermachine@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      You’ve never had a friend chicken. God damn are chickens cute, friendly animals if you keep one as a pet. Almost makes me feel bad eating them, all animals are empathetic if you spend some time with them.

    • GreyEyedGhost@piefed.ca
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      2 days ago

      Wild dogs don’t, and some people don’t have any interest in an empath9c connection with dogs. After that, most animals are deeply interested in their own survival.

    • Vespair@lemmy.zip
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      1 day ago

      No, you anthromorphize and project on them, but you don’t read them. They are an animal and we have no way of knowing what they think. What we have is a cultivated relationship through years of selective breeding, same as could be done with plenty of animals given the reason and time.

      I’m glad you love your pet, but you don’t know if they love you. You assume based on human projection, forgetting they are not human.