Non Animal-loving vegans

[MaryStella]

My original reason for going vegan was in response to health issues that was I having. Which are no longer issues by the way. I don't own and never have owned any pets as I have bad allergic reactions to animals. Therefore when I am around animals if they engage me to play with them I will and usually regret later but if they don't, I don't. I have come to agree with animal rights after being exposed to them after already being vegan. I believe people go vegan for different reasons and to say all vegans are animal rights lovers is just not correct. I've met many other vegans that did it only for health reasons. I've also met other who have done it for environmental reasons.

[Guest]

I love all animals and the truth is my heart melts every time I look into an animals eyes but I don't think it's weird to be vegan even if you don't. I know people who hates women and are still feminists

 

That is EXACTLY how I am and how I look at it. Personally, I LOVE pretty much all animals and it hurts to see them suffer. I also very much agree with revolushuneyz. Seeing people who claim they love, say, their dog, yet gives him/her commands makes me want to slap the fucker in the face. These people do NOT love animals. I, as an abolitionist, am opposed to OWNERSHIP of any animals, including cats, dogs, etc. It just seems wrong to me, period. I don't take into consideration the fact that I absolutely love being around cats, dogs and most other animals. And yes, you can certainly be a non animal-loving vegan, no problem. Because we give rights to people/other animals based not on whether we personally like them but rather because it's a right thing to do. For example, you don't have to necessarily LOVE, say, women, asian men, homosexuals, kids, disabled people etc. in order for them to have rights. Your personal likes/dislikes do not matter in that sense. The same with non-human animals... Personally, I absolutely love them, but that's not why I'm vegan. I'm vegan because to me it seems the right thing to do.

[RAINRA]

Vegan for me is respecting animals not owning them and loving them. I actually think it is worse owning pets because even thought they are great around many people have them in apartments and indoors which is not in their nature. I have two guinea pigs and I got them before I became vegan. Knowing now that they are in a 6 by 2 foot fence all day makes me sad. They are not in their nature even thought we feed them goodies all day long. I think they are bored. When I take them out from their the two fight and then spend hours hating each other. I guess they are very territorial. They don't like sharing. I still think they would be happier outside running around free from people. Maybe I give them protection from harm but still it is not natural to their environment. Same with other pets. Pets are amusing to us or keep us company. I think much more of a selfish idea than letting them run wild where their belong. Do you think a dog like staying home all day while owners work 9-5. I think not. If they were packs like wild dogs they would be running and busy all day. If humans never tried to domesticate animals they would be where they belong. In the wild.

 

I believe that is more vegan than owning animals. Just a different view. I still totally understand though why people have pets. They are really great company.

[awaken375]

I have animal compassion.

I have cats.

I enjoy being around most fluffy moving things with a heart.

 

But I don't think that I should conform to some vegan standard about loving animals more than anybody else.

 

I think animals shouldn't be domesticated.

 

But I don't think I should bother telling people since nobody will change animal domestication in the next million years, or at least the next 100, which is how long I will probably be around for.

What I want to be is happy, and I think veganism is the way to go.

I care about animals, but I don't care about animals enough to change my diet based on them.

I changed my diet to vegan because I cared about myself.

I like how people aren't stupid when they don't eat meat (read: literally)

 

I enjoy the presence of people who agree.

[Ryofire]

At least you're not one of those Hipster douchebags who claim they're vegetarian and even vegan, but yet doesn't give two shits about animals or smokes and exessivly drinks as well as does drugs.

 

As far as the drinking goes I have nothing wrong with drinking I really don't at all have anything wrong with it, but I don't like drunks. Let me tell you it's not fun being harrassed by a bunch of drunken losers who want to start a fight with you when they got their friends backing them up. If you can't drink responsibly you shouldn't be drinking at all.

[oneandonlyhypnos]

I'm the opposite. I've always loved animals. When I was a kid I had billions of plush toys that I used to play "vet" with hahaha!

When I see a person walking a dog pass me on the sidewalk I always say "hi" to the dog

I would definitely say I have a special bond with animals.

 

Just like me, I alwas had a special bond with animals and they always feel very comfortable near me.

[VeganGirl2006]

I've always been an animal nut. I totally admit it. My cats own me and I like it that way.

[Odidnetne]

I like animals, but that's not the reason I originally went vegan. Realistically though, I find people are more likely to pay attention to you if you say you do it for health as opposed to animal welfare.

[lobsteriffic]

For me it was due to ethical concerns/a love for animals. I wasn't into reading up on nutrition and health concerns weren't an issue. Now I would put health right up there with concern for animals.

[HCPinGviini]

For me animals are everything. I feel so connected with all of them - those in the wild and domesticated. My fascination towards them isn't just related to whether they are hairy, hairless, big or small. It doesn't matter in my book.

 

I've always had animals around me (my family had pets even before I was born) and so I've learned to be around them and I've come to understand them more deeply than most others I know.

 

Though I still got a lot to learn from them. You have to learn how to be a top dog and still let your dog feel the need of loyalty towards you.

 

My dog's from a rescue shelter. It was found wondering in the woods as she was just a little puppy. It obviously had been beaten by it's master(s) and so it had ran away. Or she could have also been left there for the lack of interest. Who knows.

 

Forming a pack with a dog is a complex thing when looked through the eyes of a animal-friendly vegan. But what some might not understand about teaching dogs is that they're just like little children without any understanding about these so-called unnatural things like cars and such. My relatives' dog wasn't properly trained and got killed as she wasn't obeying my relatives commands and instead run to the freeway and got hit by a car.

 

I have to leave now - to put my dog on a leash and dominate her by taking her for a walk.

[chrisjs]

I definitely enjoy being around most animals and I originally went vegan when I realized that the family cat was no different than a factory farmed chicken in terms of their rights. When I realized the hypocrisy I changed.

 

I also consider myself an abolitionist in that I don't think there's any right way to treat and then use an animal, such as is the case with animals destined for someone's plate. I do have two cats, both are rescued from shelters. I don't believe in domestication of animals, but for me, these domesticated cats already exist and I do feel that we can take care of them and that it's in their best interest as they don't really have a natural environment. It's better than being euthanized in a shelter. As much as I like living around the cats, ultimately they shouldn't be bred and one day I hope there wouldn't be a need to rescue them as their populations would be much smaller or nonexistent.

 

It's hard to separate what is love from compassion. My wife's grandfather passed away a month ago. I've only met him three times but never even talked to him due to his health. My wife only saw him once a year when growing up and wasn't very close to him. When I was at her grandmother's house after the service, they were going through a photo slideshow of him. It made me sad even though I didn't know him and others in the room seemed more amused than upset. Does that mean I am a people lover, or that I was sensitive to what it means for a life to end?

 

Yesterday I was cleaning out an awning in front of my house where some birds are always trying to build a nest. We plan on removing the awning soon and I didn't want them to lay eggs and have babies in there. Well apparently they beat me to it, and when I pull some of the nest out, two eggs fell to the ground and broke open, exposing the little birds. I saw one of them moving... That made me cry for quite a while last night and I'm still upset about it. Does that make me an "animal lover" or just someone who values life? (This being my fault, though I didn't do it intentionally, makes it that much worse.)

 

So, in conclusion, I don't know if I'm an "animal lover" or just a compassionate.

[Im Your Man]

In my opinion animals should be left alone in the nature with no intervention whatso ever from humans, and the samething from animals towards humans; this includes cats and fogs. But of course, animals that are already domesticated and are ill-treated, abandoned and endangered should have a shelter and kind people to take care of them.

Most people that are not even vegan love animals but they rarely make the connection with meat. They like animals but also in their plate. Some others don't like animals at all, except in their plate...

[DavidR]

Well, there is a joke that goes like this:

 

"I am not a vegan because I love animals. I am a vegan because I hate plants."