There are many points I could take up in this article (a regular one, whenever these statistics are released) but will confine myself to only four.
One is that the connection is not made that it is the same people who humanize animals as those who devalue human life. There is no logical connection there.
Two, those who spend large sums on their animal’s health are simply fulfilling their responsibilities to animals they have contracted to look after. It is the size of the vets’ bills that should be questioned, not the willingness of people to pay them.
Three, those who spend large sums of money on unnecessary and extravagant goods on their pets are foolish and wrong – but so are those who spend similar amounts on luxuries like designer clothes, fast cars and foreign travel.
Four, those who over-humanize their pets are not expressing love for the animal, so much as indulging in self-love, while ignoring the natural needs and behaviors of the animals they are using. They are not true pet-lovers.
To follow up these points, do read my book “The School of Compassion: a Roman Catholic Theology of Animals” (Gracewing) or my Catholic Truth Society booklet, “Concern for Animals from a Roman Catholic perspective.”
Dr Deborah Jones
Catholic Concern for Animals
