Response to Skyla

I really, really enjoy this question that Skyla proposes. It's one that I think about often, but one that I find difficult to answer. First and foremost, it poses the question of whether or not you can indeed confine animals and to what extent? But than I believe it opens up a Pandora's box of sorts in regards to space. What makes a cow more deserving of space than a goldfish in a bowl? And where do draw the line or even begin to define this?

I would like to suggest that it is actually quite reasonable to keep animals in a confined space, as long as no obvious discomfort seems to be done to them. A few classes ago, we discussed how animals do have the ability to express pain or discomfort in their own way. So wouldn't it stand to reason that if a goldfish was displeased about it's conditions that it would swim frantically or express discomfort in its own aquatic way? I am no zoologist so I unfortunately do not know the technicalities, but I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from.

In the same regard, cows do not appear at all harmed by their confined pastures. In fact, their pastures are extremely big in some regards. Free-range cows have more land to their desire than the average human being. I don't see anything wrong with this in any way.

However, it becomes wrong to confine animals when they are expressing overt discomfort. Puppy mills put hundreds of dogs in small cages while awaiting shipment to pet stores across the nation. The conditions are deplorable and the yelps even more heart-wrenching.

Maybe more relevant, and more mainstream, is the treatment of egg-laying hens or broiler chickens. All confined to tiny cages where they cannot move for their entire lives, these chickens are forced to produce sustenance for hungry humans at back-breaking speeds. One look at a cage of these chickens tells you they are suffering.

So no, unfortunately we cannot know what an animals is thinking inside. And to prescribe to it human emotions seems a bit of a stretch, because we really can't be sure. What is safe to say is that we can observe the actions of these confined animals and notice their physical discomfort. And from this, we can deduce that animals can be kept in confined spaces as long as they are not brought to discomfort.

What I wonder is if there is someone who believes animals should not be confined to space? And does this in turn mean that animals should not be domesticated at all?