Human-Animal Interactions to Come

No matter the species, animals everywhere deserve the same respect given in
regards to human beings.

Because the ways in which we interact with our animals are increasing everyday, it is extremely crucial to maintain a respect and regard for animals that is parallel to the respect one may have in regard for human beings. This could be interpreted in many ways as demonstrated by the differing views of animal rights groups such as PETA and animal welfare groups such as Humane societies. Although the extreme efforts of PETA are sometimes helpful in aiding the animal community, other times the extremities deter individuals from listening and participating in the movement. Because of this, it is crucial to understand the balance between the interactions of the public and the animal world to understand existing perceptions to create new, better ones.

Perceptions change from nation to nation, neighborhood to neighborhood, and even individual to individual. Because of this it is crucial to impose education onto the public to shape perceptions that will ultimately create positive interactions with animals both directly and indirectly. Although this is important for our companion animals, it is also vital for the animals within production facilities providing human use products such as meats, dairies, and even clothing such as furs. Although these production facilities are far from consumer view, the practices that occur within these buildings are expected to be as humane as possible simultaneously providing for the animal's welfare. Although practices such slaughter and culling for human use enter the gray area in the grand scheme of things, in some cases it is beneficial to consider the reality and necessity of the end production. 

By doing this and outweighing the benefits to the losses, certain age old practices could be eliminated thereby decreasing the amount of infliction on affected animals. One example of this is with the mass producing fur trade from China and other large scale countries. In several current cultures, owning a fur pelt is known to be a symbol of wealth demonstrating one's place in society. Because the purpose of these furs have shifted from a necessity to keep warm when materials were scarce to a desired product no longer essential to human life, it has become a practice that could be considered to be needlessly harming species such as the silver fox and others. Several forms of entertainment could be considered in the same way given that present day show business offers several alternatives to direct animal use in entertainment.

But even with the elimination of certain superfluous and preventable human animal interactions, there are the few necessary practices that have developed further in our modern world today, one of the largest being production facilities for dairy and meat products. Because meat has become an affordable and obtainable means of getting nutrients, meat consumption and therefore production has gone to the next level and demand has been stable, if not increasing. With production facilities, it is important to continually explore alternative means of caring for the animals even during execution (culling and slaughter). More humane methods should always be pursued and practiced within these industries and the considerations of Temple Grandin should continue to be considered.

Without this mutual respect for animals, animals ranging from wildlife to our very own companion animals would face a world of danger ahead. Without routine utilization of humane practices, the gap between good perceptions and bad perceptions would soon be too blurred. This is the case for pit bull perceptions currently. Although individuals are aware of these animals, it is hard to say that the society has a positive outlook on the specific breed. Because individuals have neglected practicing humane treatment on these animals, media outlets and the public have fed off of these discrepancies to soon identify these animals as "killer dogs". Because it is extremely difficult to effectively change existing perceptions, these incongruities could take decades of education to reverse, thereby restoring the integrity and image of pit bulls and pit bull type dogs. This is not an isolated incident and therefore could occur again with different species or even general practices and interactions with animals. Although media sometimes aids in spreading wrongful information to the public, this information could be plenty to change an entire population's perceptions.