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Should animals be granted personhood?

Which ones are people?


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spud_meister

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Going on from the PETA thread, the argument is that smart animals should be granted personhood, and/or special legal protection, so after doing a few seconds of research, I found a list of the top 10 smartest animals. Should you agree that some animals should be granted personhood, which of the animals would you like to see as people?
 
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None. PETA are idiots.
 
Going on from the PETA thread, the argument is that smart animals should be granted personhood, and/or special legal protection, so after doing a few seconds of research, I found a list of the top 10 smartest animals. Should you agree that some animals should be granted personhood, which of the animals would you like to see as people?

No. I don't think animals should be given the status of personhood. The whole concept is ridiculous. But, having said that, I think they need to rise about the status of personal property as pets are now considered in US courts. I also think intentional cruelty to animals should carry significant jail time.
 
Poll: Which ones are people?

None. Animals are no people but they have certain rights.
Where is the kangaroo in this poll? :lol:
 
Kangroos already have their own court system " the kangroo court" although it has had its critics over the years.
 
Going on from the PETA thread, the argument is that smart animals should be granted personhood, and/or special legal protection, so after doing a few seconds of research, I found a list of the top 10 smartest animals. Should you agree that some animals should be granted personhood, which of the animals would you like to see as people?

No animal other than human should have personhood. The rest are property.
 
Going on from the PETA thread, the argument is that smart animals should be granted personhood, and/or special legal protection, so after doing a few seconds of research, I found a list of the top 10 smartest animals. Should you agree that some animals should be granted personhood, which of the animals would you like to see as people?

That's a bad list. It doesn't even have African gray parrots on it and they are far smarter than an octopus.

The only animals that should be considered people are sea sponges, BTW.
 
Since the rats outnumber us, we should tell them they've been granted personhood, but just to placate them.
 
We should grant them legal rights as soon as one of them is capable of demanding them in open court. Of the ones listed, chimps are closest to being capable.
 
We're all animals. Some of the latest scientific research does make one ponder. For example: that parrots are extremely intelligent, and may actually understand some speech, i.e. the fact that we are actually using sign language with chimps and gorillas. It would be fantastic if we could actually do that with whales and dolphins. I'm sure, their not having hands is a big problem. I also think Japanese slaughter of whales should be ceased. Cruelty is cruelty, to any beings; animals or people.

That said, I think PETA does go too far. We have canine teeth in our mouths. And I love bacon!
 
Bashing PETA is fashionable, and they may go too far, but having a more ethical and disciplined relationship with animals would be good. Even if we continue to eat them, the inhumane practices we engage in to support our appetites aren't worth it. You really should eat as much as protein you need in a day.

I would like to hear a concept of personhood that isn't just some vague undefined thing reserved for humans. Isn't being a person just the ability for intimacy and familiarity, that is, to be personal? Maybe a worm or a bug can't do that, but some animals seem capable.
 
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Maybe a worm or a bug can't do that, but some animals seem capable.

I'll believe it when those animals can become lawyers and successfully argue for themselves their rights. Till then, they're property.
 
As soon as a non-human is capable of showing that they can comprehend and will adhere to the responsibilities of personhood, then they can have the same rights as humans. That's something we tend to forget... rights come with responsibilities. And that, of course, is why corporate personhood is also a load of bull. They are just as much people as... well... bulls!
 
Dogs are the only animals that will find a reward simply from a human pointing at the place it is hidden. Even Chimps won't do that.
 
I would like to hear a concept of personhood that isn't just some vague undefined thing reserved for humans. Isn't being a person just the ability for intimacy and familiarity, that is, to be personal? Maybe a worm or a bug can't do that, but some animals seem capable.

Legal and ethical personhood are very different. An animal can most certainly be a person ethically. My cat is. My friend's dog is. But that personhood stems from the personal relationship between the animal and humans. That specific dog or cat or whatever is notable for its unique personality, but another one, without that connection, would not be. But pets do have rights. Kind of... They are protected in the sense that there are penalties for harming them, and even their owners are subject to those penalties. In that regard, animals today have more rights and protections than human slaves did in 1800.

Let us also not forget that in some cases, animals are food.
 
Legal and ethical personhood are very different. An animal can most certainly be a person ethically. My cat is. My friend's dog is. But that personhood stems from the personal relationship between the animal and humans. That specific dog or cat or whatever is notable for its unique personality, but another one, without that connection, would not be. But pets do have rights. Kind of... They are protected in the sense that there are penalties for harming them, and even their owners are subject to those penalties. In that regard, animals today have more rights and protections than human slaves did in 1800.

Let us also not forget that in some cases, animals are food.

In some cases, so are people.
 
Going on from the PETA thread, the argument is that smart animals should be granted personhood, and/or special legal protection, so after doing a few seconds of research, I found a list of the top 10 smartest animals. Should you agree that some animals should be granted personhood, which of the animals would you like to see as people?

"Personhood" is a bit of a nebulous concept, but I think it's worth at least extending the right to life to some of the smarter animals. Especially dolphins and chimpanzees, and possibly some species of whales.
 
My cat can open doors that are latched shut, move and hide a food bowl so the other cat doesn't eat it, recognizes his name and several instructive phrases, and has changed the channel on the TV to Animal Planet twice.

I think he should be able to vote in the next presidential election. In cat years he's about 24.
 
My cat can open doors that are latched shut, move and hide a food bowl so the other cat doesn't eat it, recognizes his name and several instructive phrases, and has changed the channel on the TV to Animal Planet twice.

I think he should be able to vote in the next presidential election. In cat years he's about 24.

Cats aren't stupid. But my dogs don't get trapped in the closet. :lol:
 
I wonder what PETA's stance on abortion is...
 
Cats aren't stupid. But my dogs don't get trapped in the closet. :lol:

ONE of my cats has a thing for hiding in the closet. The other one (the smarter one) doesn't care for dark places. He's the strangest cat I've ever met.
 
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