If I may interject here - on a purely scientific level...
Cats and dogs, domesticated or not, do NOT have to eat meat. They, like all living entities, do require protein - but they do NOT have to eat meat to obtain it. There are vegetarian products for our pets that contain more than enough protein. Therefore, to state that these animals *must* eat meat to survive is erroneous.
Likewise, in most of the Western world, humans can easily survive on the proteins obtained from vegetable sources. Therefore, a decision to eat meat is a personal one, much like religion, and it should be respected.
While practices of animal slaughter have dramatically improved over the years, overall, many food-animals are still treated poorly (due to overmilking, cramped conditions or undernourishment). Also, even in the "sacred" U.S., some animals on some "farms" are slaughtered cruelly. It seems odd to me that people can dote on one type of animal, but care nothing about the inhumane slaughter of another.
The Bible cites many examples of eating and sacrificing animals. Therefore, many religious people accept the slaughter of animals, especially for food. That said, as with many verses of the Bible that have become "outdated," just as animal sacrifice has come to pass, so to may have animal consumption. It may indeed be time we rethink the roles of animals in our world - a thought I feel we have ignored for far too long (as evidenced by the rapid extinction of animals and other life forms on this planet).
I am not a vegetarian - however, I am taking more notice of the meat I eat. While poultry and fish remain in my diet, pork and beef do not. I tried to be a vegetarian once before and was amazed at the resistance I received. However, I think today's world might be more accepting. Nonetheless, it is my choice to not be a vegetarian at this time. I would be offended by anyone taking issue with this.
The decision to eat or not eat meat is personal and should be respected. I would not eat a dog, this is my decision. If someone chooses to eat a dog, I will respect that right - providing the meat isn't wasted.
The one area I find annoying is waste. In the U.S., we euthanize hundreds of thousands of "pets" due to overpopulation. Many people love that "cute little puppy" but hate that "big grown dog." Others adore an Easter duckling, but despise a loud duck. Kittens are a fun ball of fluff, but become unwanted adult cats. Rather than criticize people over their animal-eating diets, I'd rather criticize people over the choice of pets and their inability to be proper pet owners.
People scream how wrong it is to use a dog for food or scientific research, yet they poorly treat their own pets, not providing them proper food and/or medication. Others fail to neuter their pets, which leads to overpopulation and unwanted animals. I cannot comprehend a society that kills hundreds of thousands of animals due to neglect, yet screams "foul" at the thought of using a "pet" for food or research.
It's this contradiction, cruelty and waste that annoy me more than the thought of eating a dog. Still, one cannot simply state that one *must* eat meat to get protein, as the proper combination of vegetables will supply all the protein we need in our diets.
Ultimately, my point is that we should not criticize a person for desiring to try dog any more that we should criticize a person for eating an egg or a cow. And rather than cry at the cruelty of killing a dog for food, we should look internally at our own cruelty towards our "pets" as well as the animals we "serve for dinner."
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Oh, as for bestiality... well, I find it best not to delve into the human psyche on sexuality, so my statement here will be brief. I find bestiality offensive, but I will still respect the right of someone (hopefully someone FAR away from me) to do this as long as they are not treating the animal cruelly.
[This message has been edited by doctorwho (edited 01-18-2002).]
