All Forms of Life Are Sacred.

[hunter]

36. Nature, and especially human nature, is messy.

I think it's possible to be an omnivore and still be respectful of animals.

First up, I do think there is a hierarchy in the way animals ought to be treated.

Great apes, cetaceans, elephants, highly intelligent birds with obvious cultures (California Condors, Macaws...), and many other animals ought to enjoy near-human protections of both their natural territories, and of individual animals.

Even chickens, dairy cows, and beef cattle ought to be treated with greater respect.

I'm not against respectful hunting, especially of invasive species like wild pigs or collared doves, or deer whose populations are no longer kept in check by absent predators such as wolves.

Predators, even human predators, are a "natural" part of the environment.

I'm not accepting of idiot trophy hunting, disrespectful hunting, or recreational gunners poisoning the environment with lead shot and bullets.

And leave the wolves alone. Wolves are cultural animals, and packs can be taught and establish traditions of leaving humans and their animals alone. Recent studies suggest wolf packs shattered by wolf hunting are more likely to attack human livestock than wolves in stable packs.

The conditions in most factory farms, especially those raising pigs and chickens are appalling. This needs to stop. Eggs, chickens, and pork are not essential to the human diet.

There are also many fish species I avoid for several reasons, mostly that certain fisheries are poorly managed, the workers in these fisheries are subject to slavery or near-slavery, or the fishery is an important resource for marine mammals and rarer, even endangered, species of fish, turtles, and other ocean life forms. A good list of seafood to avoid is here:

http://www.seafoodwatch.org

I'm mostly a vegetarian, but I don't consider myself a hypocrite if I occasionally eat animals that were never treated as mere objects with no feelings. I don't consider myself a hypocrite for feeding my dogs a diet that includes meat.