One area of speciesism and animal liberation that I am not as fully versed in as I would like to be is the critique of domestication. Right now I am hanging out with a bunch of people who all have dogs. And it is just an intersting dynamic about how one treats one’s canine companions. Some people treat them much better than others (no surprise). Some people have higher expectations that the animal will mould itself to their desires, while others try to accomodate themselves and the animal in a relationship- which requires some compromise on both sides. Taking responsibility for another living being should not be a decision taken lightly. It seems like there is a lot of balance too it. Overall I think the non human animals usually get the short end of the stick.
Easy enough for me to say because I do not have a companion right now. There should be some constant questioning of the relationship, and analyzing it for potential power abuses. As with any other relationship- whether friendship or romantic. Behaving like an animal should always do what you want is irresponsible and speciesist. It would be like expecting your partner to always do what you want. ‘Pets’ seem to get the immature feelings of others taken out on them. The more work we can do to give them equal consideration the better.
