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A standard argument is that humans have evolved to the point that
we don't need to cause animal suffering for our clothes and food.
In response, we state:
"Maybe some humans have evolved, but the vast majority of
behavioral scientists worldwide believe that there has not been
sufficient time for modern people to make significant changes in
mind or body from our Paleolithic ancestors, and that in fact
trying to deviate from our instinctual nature is a primary cause
of mental disease. Some people can eat a vegetarian diet and stay
healthy, if they carefully watch what they eat and use dietary
supplements..."
"Carleton Coon, one of the most respected anthropologists of our
times, has proposed that we have not yet had time to adapt from
our hunting and gathering nature to the agricultural frame of
mind, and the disease from the move from being hunters and
gatherers to becoming an agricultural society may be a cause of
violence and tension in human society..."
"The hunting instinct is bred into the bones and blood of at
least most of us and is one of the most fundamental elements of
human nature. Our challenge as humans is to find the best ways to
express our instinctual nature. That is where ethics, values,
mythology, the higher self, and spirituality come into play as
guides enabling us to be healthy, happy human beings." [p. 176]
Lastly:
"What is the difference between humans killing animals and
animals killing other animals? All animals must ultimately die,
and natural deaths are not normally quick and humane. Starvation,
infection, conflict, and many diseases may include long suffering
before death. Some predators begin eating their prey before the
downed animal is dead. Hunters kill animals quickly, sometimes
instantly, and certainly as humanely as any other predator. Why
is that killing an animal is so immoral for a person, and not so
for a chimpanzee, a cougar, a wolf, or a shark?" [p.120-121]
James A. Swan. 1995. "In Defense of Hunting". HarperCollins
Publishers, New York. ISBN 0-06-251237-4
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