The ethics of animal use

There are several types of categories into which human usage of animals may be divided. Animals may be used as food items, such as pork and chicken, objects of self-adornment, such as mink coats, and other miscellaneous uses that tend to be uncommon in daily life.

Almost all animals intended for food are specially raised for the purpose,
even if the food produced, such as cow milk, does not involve the pain or
death of the animal. Indeed, it is often unsafe to consume wild meat, which can contain a plethora of potentially harmful bacteria. There is some more variance in the methods used to procure animals used for clothing, and both ways attract a great deal of controversy. Rabbits, mink, and even foxes can be farmed and bred to produce great yields, but in the farms they are frequently kept in small and tightly packed surroundings and subject to conditions some would claim are inhumane. Fur farming is banned in some countries, including the United Kingdom and much of Austria. Also, many hunters and trappers oppose animal farming because it cuts into their own business.

However, many of the same criticisms of fur farms can be made of food farms. This provides an interesting insight into human psychology. Human beings are conditioned to think of food animals like chicken, which are nearly universal, as appropriate for use. However, a common view is that companion animals should not be slaughtered for human use; in fact, the United States and the European Union have banned products with dog or cat fur. The main ethical dilemma involves animals that are neither typical companion animals nor food items, including foxes, chinchillas, and rabbits.

Consumption of food products derived from animals and love of animals are not mutually exclusive. It is not hypocritical for one to simultaneously eat meat from humanely farmed animals, raised especially for the purpose of human use, and decry the poaching of wild animals. Farmed animals exist solely for human consumption, and while it is important that they are treated humanely, they are ultimately not intended to live the same life as a wild or a companion animal. Companion animals are raised for an entirely different purpose, to provide mental comfort for their owners.