"Humanization" is fueling explosive (and weird) growth in the pet industry

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/magazine/13pets-t.html?em&ex=1215835200&en=fad6f7111244cfb4&ei=5070

by theoneill • 18 years ago

13 3 18 years ago

joeter• 18 years ago

I always thought it was that funny that animals have humane societies.

Locke• 18 years ago

This is a pretty long article. The title here makes it sound like a business article, but it doesn't really strike me as such.

At the heart of the article is the philosophic question: Do animals think in the way humans do? Do they feel not only fear but anxiety? Do they reason? Or, are they thoughtless automatons, acting on instincts and learned behavior alone?

Turns out a lot of big pharma companies are developing doggy equivalents of a lot of human drugs like prozac and friends. Vets are prescribing medications for separation anxiety and other behavioral problems that were once addressed soley with training (or euthanasia).

If human drugs work the same way in animals, what does that say out about an animal's capacity to think and feel?

Or, turn it on it's head: If unwanted behavior is seen more often in animals that are in "unnatural" environments (for example, a horse left in a tiny stall all day, as opposed to horses in the wild), and we "fix" those animals with the same drugs we prescribe humans, what does that say about us?

Do we need drugs strictly because we lead unhealthy lifestyles?

Tichy• 18 years ago

Wow, an 8 page NYT article that didn't bore me. Well done.

"Humanization" is fueling explosive (and weird) growth in the pet industry

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