Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "I'll be honest I hold dogs in higher regard than the majority of people out there." I'm with you here. Dogs are helluva lot more loyal in a lot of cases than most people you'll meet, for starters. I'm really puzzled here by some.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 FWIW, pigs are more intelligent than dogs and, some say, make great pets. Pot bellied pigs even had a brief vogue as pets. That said, I LOVE dogs and could never eat one. And I've eaten what many people would consider sort of exotic animals (snake, alligator, reindeer, beaver, frog, squirrel, and believe it or not the tastiest of all, porcupine). There are some cultures that have not embraced the dog the way we have, however, and I can't say they're "wrong" for eating them - just that I never could.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Oh lordy. I knew someone would have to say that. Seriously, though, out of all the things I listed above... it was the only one that wasn't good. They knew it too. They took a tiny little piece, deep fried it, and stuck it into a brussel sprout, so all you could taste was the brussel sprout. Wanting to find out what it actually tasted like, I took a couple of them, dug out the beaver and had it plain. Ugh. Fatty and terrible. They obviously were trying to impress with all the unusual foods (most of the stuff listed above I had at a single event), but they knew dang well the beaver was awful - hence the brussel sprout trick. (And DD, I can write the leering rejoinder to the above paragraphs myself, so please save it!) If you ever have a chance to have porcupine though... seriously, try it. It was so good I actually started thinking "so THAT's why they have those spikes. Otherwise every other critter would want to eat them."
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 They hid it in a brussel sprout? Couldn't they like have hid it in a cheesy potatoe casserole? I'll vegetables but the brussel sprout is a no go.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 A brussel sprout is a very strong taste that will cover up nearly anything.
Originally Posted By barboy2 You folk wouldn't mind if I brazenly wear my anthropomorphic cap for this topic and declare that some animals should never be eaten for they are either smarter, friendlier or more loyal than the rest of those in the animal kingdom. Bears, felines, canines, swine, primates and all water living mammals should be left alone. While we're at it lay off of the predatory birds, too; owels, eagles, falcons deserve better than that. Cows, chickens and turkeys are dumber than donny so I say eat away.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "I have I'm just a little taken back by this flippant attitude that dogs should be treated the same as any other animal." Why shouldn't they be treated the same as any other animal? It's totally a cultural thing. We're so ingrained with the idea of dogs as pets only. What about people in India who hold cows to be sacred? They don't eat them, and they let them wander freely wherever they choose. Would you allow that?
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Would I allow someone to have a cow as a pet? Sure that's their choice. Maybe some of you aren't dog people so you don't care if they get treated poorly.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I adore dogs, I have had dogs my entire life, including a pack of 15 puppies that we loved dearly. I also love calves, having dated a dairy farmers daughter in University, I have very fond memories of rearing them, playing with them, and I adore cows. I also love Veal and Steak. Same with chickens (we had as pets as a kid too). But I do feel you are ascribing western values here. Different if you were a vegetarian or vegan perhaps. But they are different cultures. I have flirted with the idea of being a vegan a few times, however, I realised where we sit in the trophic structure and make the most of it.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I have flirted with the idea of being a vegan a few times, however, I realised where we sit in the trophic structure and make the most of it.<<< You flirted with being vegan? I'm vegetarian and for me it is even very hard to think about being vegan. So I can imagine for a normal eater it must be even harder.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo For a little while. I thought that if I am going to do it for ethical reasons, then I best not be hypocritical about it. Trouble is, I like meat and dairy, and it is natural. So instead I try to source my food through ethical means where ever possible.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Maybe some of you aren't dog people so you don't care if they get treated poorly.<< The USA kills millions of dogs every year in animal shelters. But we just burn 'em up and toss 'em out without eating them. Yay us.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>But I do feel you are ascribing western values here. Different if you were a vegetarian or vegan perhaps. But they are different cultures.<< This. >>The USA kills millions of dogs every year in animal shelters. But we just burn 'em up and toss 'em out without eating them. Yay us.<< And this.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Bears, felines, canines, swine, primates and all water living mammals should be left alone. While we're at it lay off of the predatory birds, too; owels, eagles, falcons deserve better than that. >> I could go with you on all that but I want my BACON!!
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 <<The USA kills millions of dogs every year in animal shelters. But we just burn 'em up and toss 'em out without eating them. Yay us.>> It's also a last resort after all other options have been exhausted.
