I have a friend who is an animal rights activist (only demos though) and a strict vegan.
But she has a pet dog. Actually its a beagle. They are happiest in packs and have huge energy. But she keeps it caged in the kitchen because it destroys the house. And walks it twice a day.
I am a carnivore and no great pet-lover, but in my book what she is doing is incredibly cruel. Can any vegans shed some light for me?
Alan

I would think that keeping it caged in the kitchen would indeed be a bit cruel, as there'd be no interaction with anyone - which could kind of frustrate it - which could then cause it to be stressed. If she's an animal rights protester, I think she needs to start looking at the way she's treating her own pet. Dogs and Cats will likely benefit from having interaction with people, like say, a bit of playing around with them. How do you think a person would cope with being locked in a room with no-one to interact with? What she's doing is basically putting it in solitary confinement.

That's incredibly cruel and absolutely ridiculous, Alan. She won't eat butter because of supposed animal cruelty, but when it comes to an animal itself, she's willing to clearly mistreat it lackadaisically because it doesn't fit in with her lifestyle?

Incredible. People shouldn't have pets if they're not going to let them live a good life.

Keeping a dog caged (for what sounds like fairly considerable amounts of time at that) does indeed come across as cruel... and, in the case of an animal activist, somewhat hypocritical.

She would be better off attempting to re-home the animal into an environment where they would be more free to roam (hence happier) and finding a different pet that's less hard on her furniture... if a pet she must have.

Imo.

I agree - it's very hypocritical. It suggests that she doesn't want a faraway cow to be milked - but when it comes to her very own animal, it can be kept in an inacceptable situation.

Alas, this isn't uncommon at all amongst a few of the Vegans I knew as well.

Do you mean it's actually in a cage or just shut in the kitchen?

I wonder if she feeds it meat?

one word "hyprocrite" she should not have a dog if that is how she is treating it !

No, its in a big metal cage. Partly because she has not trained it, so it is completely unruly. But should animal liberationists and vegans OWN animals anyway? Doesn't it go against what they preach?
Alan

I am a vegetarian who doesn't eat eggs or much cheese either. I think it is incredibly cruel to keep an active dog inside all day as it is against all of its instincts.

This is typical of some people who see a cause as 'worthy' (go on demos etc, possibly to rebel against middle-class parents) but have no concept of a practical application of the 'cause'. She is hypocritical and her behaviour sounds very stupid (if it is, indeed, as stated)!

Not all vegetarians/vegans are like this. Most of us actually care about animals and would not cause them any unnecessary suffering. And I have never been on an animal rights demo in my life...I practise without preaching!

I highly doubt it

How long is it caged for? If its just because it destroys the house then maybe its just when she goes out? And how long do the 2 walks a day last?

If it's exactly as you present it then it does seem cruel.

Sorry - she sounds a bit flaky to me. All holier than thou and rather stupidly irresponsible.

Perhaps you can have a discussion with her?

However I suspect she could never be wrong in her own eyes.

You can help a poor animal from rescuing them from a kennel - as they often put the poor dogs down if they can't find a home - so I find the idea that having a pet is bad to be very stupid.

However, getting a pet and treating it badly is certainly against their ideals...

Maybe she can hand it over to her vegaNazi mates at PETA, apparently they are really good at re-homing animals:

http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

Nah, we just call them companion animals, it's a loophole to get out of it

I think most vegans are against commercial breeding of animals but will own 'rescue' animals. Its not like we're some homogeneous group anyway and some people go vegan for health, religious or environmental reasons rather than ethical.

The dog should be rehomed if this is the way she treats it. Dogs are sociable animals and should be part of the family, not caged away because she couldn't be arsed to train it.

How about idiots stop trolling?

Dogs are comfortable in small spaces. Get a decent trainer and they'd tell you that keeping a dog in a pen is perfectly natural for the animal. It's far better than just letting the animal outside all day.

You posted nothing about any other interaction the owner has with the pet, therefore you are trolling. There are other idiots trolling this thread so perhaps you have been successful?

There are an awful lot of assumptions going on about this woman, without her being able to come on and give her side of the story.

Crate training can be very successful in training young dogs, and many older dogs love the security of a crate. Of course it depends on how long the dog is in the crate (not cage) for. I would never advocate leaving a dog in a crate for longer than a couple of hours, but the OP hasn't mentioned how long the dog is left in it for.

Two walks a day can be quite enough for some dogs. Each walk may be 2 hours long, we don't know because the OP has given no further details.

I'm not a vegan btw, but won't and can't assume a person is a bad pet owner on the flimsy evidence the OP has posted.

I'm a vegatarian and have taken part n the odd demo and signed many a pertition for animal rights (always peaceful, I dont believe in violence) and I think it is very cruel to keep a dog caged all day, my dog and cat have the run of the house, and sit or sleep where they chose, its there home

If they cause any damage then so be it, my animals are far more important to me than a bit of furniture, although on the whole its fairly easy to get them to understand they shouldn't really rip their home up

Sounds like this lady doesn't practice what she preaches


I can only speak for myself, but I feel we (the human race) have chosen to domesticate certain animals, so they have become dependant on us and can no longer fend for themselves, and so we have a duty to take care of them

I only ever have rescue animals that would have probably be PTS if I didn't taken them,

I don't support animal breeders, I'm not saying they are all bad, I know some great individual breeders who really care about the animals they breed, I just dont chose to support the industry as a whole

That's all fine - but she hasn't trained it either, we know that, and what does that say?

I think as long as you make the Cat/Dog a part of your family, everything should be fine, however, all too many people just want their pet to be quiet and asleep in the corner of the room. Animals need to have fun and love as well, and not to be just treat as part of the furniture. If people feel half the love for their pet as they do for their family, everything is fine.

Well, talk about an angry streak.

a) She is a terrible owner?
b) She just got the dog and is in the process of training?
c) The dog came from a terrible background and training is proving very difficult?

Jump to whichever conclusion you like based on a few sentences presented by a 3rd party....

Maybe you should ask the OP what it says?

If I were you I would ask my friend whether she thinks the treatment of her pet is in contradiction of her vegan lifestyle.

Cages are only really recommended for very young dogs, and usually only small ones. We have minature daschunds and kept them in a cage at night to sleep or napping during the day with lots of fluffy blankets and some water while they were pups. Now they're older and trained they can roam as they please.

Beagles, however, are full of energy and if she's keeping it locked up all day or even when it's not sleeping I feel sorry for the poor wee thing My friend's beagle is 10 and still has the energy of a puppy, people often think he's 10 months not 10 years.