Yea or Nay? Vote Now! Should Humans Be Able to Use Animals in Any Way That’s Not Cruel?

Elephant as warrior

In a recent post, I shared how, throughout history, humans have sometimes used animals for their own purposes, and sometimes those purposes were and are not nice:

• During segregation, police used dogs to attack black people who were standing up for equal rights.
• Elephants have been used to help fight wars, and so have dogs and bugs.
• Monkeys have been trained to help thieves steal.

I wondered if humans using animals this way is cruel. The Humane Society defines animal cruelty as “either deliberate abuse or simply the failure to take care of an animal.”

Under this definition, maybe using animals in nefarious ways isn’t cruel, but I’m not sure that makes it right.

What about you?