Hermenuetics

Comments

Obviously, it's important to be considerate of exotic animals in zoos, circuses, etc. However, anyone who consumes meat from factory-farmed animals is causing much more suffering than circuses or zoos (and to be frank, factory-farmed eggs and milk are just as bad). God calls for stewardship of animals, not for their abuse. I'll spare the traditional lecture on overcrowding, environmental damage, neglect, and gross cruelty - I'm sure the majority of folks are already aware of it.

We not only allow such treatment, we condone it every time we buy a hamburger at McDonald's. Willingness to support the meat industry through direct purchasing provides demand that the industrialized meatpacking industry is only too happy to supply. The solution? Buy locally farmed meat. Keep your own chickens for eggs (my chickens are like my kids!) or get them from a neighbor. It's better for you, the environment, your community, and animals - and (in my opinion) is more in line with the stewardship model that God asks of us.

Posted By: Sam | October 21, 2011 8:09 PM

I think the treatment of animals -- God's creatures -- is one of the most important subjects we need to address and re-address as Christians, because it's one to which we can easily turn a blind eye. Like Sam pointed out, we SHOULD be outraged at the treatment of these exotic animals JUST AS MUCH as we should be outraged at the treatment of the animals that are farmed for our food.

I am not a vegetarian (any more), but our family does try to be diligent about knowing where our meat and dairy products come from. No, we're not always perfect about it, but we are trying -- in hopes that we will consistently get better about it.

Thank you for the post, Karen!

Posted By: rachel - even one sparrow | October 23, 2011 7:39 PM

Granted, there are people who treat wild animals horribly BUT zoos and circuses by and large are required to care for their animals well. My husband has trimmed the hooves of circus ponies several times and these ponies are better cared for then the typical equine pet.

Yes, there is animal abuse in these kind of arenas but please don't lump them all together. That is just like lumping all dog owners or parents together.

I find great enjoyment in going to the circus every year with my six youngest children. It is the only time I ever get to see an elephant and if I have $20 to spare I get to take an elephant ride. Those elephants are happy, fed well. I talked with the circus owner and his elephants are his pride and joy. I don't find it demeaning to the elephants. Seeing the elephants makes me smile and praise God for His vast creation.

My oldest stepson is devoting his life occupation to reptiles. it isn't my career of choice but without exposure to them in zoos and such, this love might not have been realized.

I appreciate Sam bringing up the factory farm topic. Have you ever gone into one of these facilities? They are awful but it is what most of our food comes from. Chickens sit in individual cages with their beaks cut off. They don't ever get to run around. Yes, they are just chickens but I love chickens. And we haven't even touched on the factory dairy farms that pump hormones into their cows so they can be milked 3 times a day and also only live 2 or 3 years because they are worn out.

Animal abuse is horrible but please do not use this one instance as a judgment of the whole industry.

Posted By: Jane Hinrichs | October 24, 2011 10:09 AM

An interesting story, but unfortunaley not expected from the Christian community. Yes indeed, there is "no excuse for abuse," with animals. What constitutes abuse however, is a very subjective subject. This debate however, has been reduced to discussion around animals only, when in fact, it is really about a very troubled human soul, who ended his life by his own hand ... hardly ever mentioned!

Posted By: Regular Reader | October 24, 2011 1:27 PM

I could say, with as much justification, that keeping a cat of a dog locked up in an apartment, as so many do, is wrong. But that justification would be slim - as slim as that presented in the article above.

For that matter, what about breeding those little 'lap dogs' that people then feel justified in confining in houses?

Posted By: Harold N. Orndorff, Jr. | October 24, 2011 2:53 PM

Great article. All God's creatures should be treated with respect. They don't 'belong' to us; they are first and foremost God's.
I would like to take this opportunity to plead for the spaying and neutering of all pets. I live in the country and I don't want to tell you how many cats I have because people dump them near my barn.
When I see the abuse that many (perhaps most) animals suffer I can't help but think of 1John15:19.
Love in Christ

Posted By: Liz | October 29, 2011 8:34 AM

Perhaps the Ohio story isn't about the suicidal man or the animals specifically. Perhaps it's a story about power. The man who tragically killed himself had the power to make choices for himself and those animals, and he choose poorly. The animals had no power to make choices or to follow God-given instincts. Not one of those animals had the natural instinct to cage itself or to forego hunting, mating, roaming, socializing, and self-protection. Zoos and circuses are most definitely abusive because cages are abusive. Elephants in Africa roam nearly 50 miles a day; in a circus, an elephant is either caged in a space equivalent to a couple cars or is chained for 20ish hours a day. These are prison conditions that make animals crazy. Further, the Animal Welfare Act does not prohibit the use of tools--whips, hooks, electric prods, etc.--on circus animals. Negative reinforcement and confinement are standard in training 4,000 pound elephants to dance, stand on two legs, skate, etc. I am deeply saddened when our human power leads us to any behavior that lacks understanding, compassion, and care for domestic and wild animals. Zanesville was about human power: the power to keep, to abuse, and to destroy animals.

Posted By: Laurie Nutter | November 1, 2011 11:14 AM

I have never been a proponent of animal rights. But I do believe in human responsibility. And one of our fundamental responsibilities is creation stewardship. This is a divine mandate. In fact, it was God’s very first command to the human race. When God gave us dominion over creation He wasn’t giving us something to play with or abuse on a whim any more than a mother hands over her beloved infant to a babysitter in order to be tortured. He was entrusting His creation to our care. We are, by Divine decree, the stewards of creation—caretakers of that which God Himself declared “Good”.

I am frustrated that so many evangelical Christians have ignored this duty. The void created by our longstanding negligence has been inadequately filled by assorted environmentalists, animal rights advocates, vegans and a host of related groups and movements. Many of the leading voices in these movements embrace an agnostic or even atheistic world view. So it is not surprising that starting as we do from different presuppositions about the world and our place in it, we often find it difficult to work together. If you don’t agree on the cause of the problem you will likely come up with conflicting solutions. It is hard to find common ground with those who embrace such radical notions that the human race is a pathogen and that the only way to save the planet is for humans to get off.

As Christian leaders of the past such as Wilberforce and Francis of Assisi demonstrated, God’s people can and should lead in the effort to treat all of God’s creation with the love and care that it so richly deserves. We have no one to blame but ourselves that we are not trusted by many of the people most active in protecting all aspects of the environment. While we will never find common ground with such extremist groups as Earth First and the Earth Liberation Front, we must demonstrate to mainstream environmentalists that we are just as serious about creation care as they are and then take the lead finding areas of mutual concern where we can work together for the good of all.

Posted By: Glen Land | November 2, 2011 9:03 AM