Mega Man wrote:
Even in anarchy, an animal owner should have the right to neglect it, enslave it, end its life, overwork it, turn it into a burger, whatever.
I'm assuming you've never had a pet yourself, then?
Look, whether you realize it or not, animals are highly complex living beings - with developed nervous systems - that are capable of feeling pain, joy, sadness, and a bunch of other feelings/emotions.
I think advocating this unrestricted "right" to torture them is simply inhumane.
That said, I do
not believe that animals have exactly the same rights as human beings. Given the choice, I'd always save a human life over an animal life. I cannot prevent all animal suffering - nature is immensely complex and I can't prevent the natural processes that are simply part of the cycle of life. Just as I can't prevent all human problems - such as car accidents.
But as a conscious person, I choose not to engage in the creation of their suffering myself. I do so directly by not eating meat, but I also try to watch out for the indirect consequences of my actions on animals.
But there is nothing natural about advocating that we can just do whatever we want with them. Animals are
not robots.
Megaman said:
Our rights as humans are far more important than the animal's because they don't have the capacity for moral reasoning or judgement.
Precisely because we have the capacity of moral reasoning, we should carefully analyze our relations with the world.
Please release yourself from the idea that animals were created simply for our use. I don't know if you got it from the Bible or from your parents, but just observe a dog for one day and you'll realize that it's inhumane for you to think you can "overwork" it or "end its life" at your own will.
PS.: By the way, I'm using animal in the sense of "animals besides human beings" since, we all know from our Biology classes, that we're animals just as well. Perhaps reminding yourself of that once in a while will also be of use.