More than one billion animals are kept as pets around the world. But bioethicist Jessica Pierce says that might not be great for our furry, feathered and scaly friends. In this story for @time, she discusses the potential harms of pet ownership, including whether it's ok to buy and sell animals and use them for our own gratification, the anguish of captivity, and the climate impacts of pet-keeping. She also posits a new way forward, in which human-animal ties are mutual and freely chosen. It's a very thought-provoking article; tell us in the comments what you think.
@CultureDesk@time Thank you for sharing this. I have been thinking a lot about this lately. I've studied more about Jain and Buddhist philosophy over the years and they present a wider and more nuanced conception of suffering than Western philosophy often does. When combined with environmental ethics, there are deep questions about suffering inherent in so many of our complex systems. Perhaps this will be something the future might condemn us for?