Well, it goes back to the blog I wrote about the term owner vs guardian. See, in my world, animals are not people. This is something I stress quite frequently. The children in my family are raised to realize that animals are not people, and they treat them accordingly - with respect, providing proper care and nutrition, but understanding that they are our responsibility, they are a privilege, not a right, and that they are going to die for a multitude of reasons, one of which is to feed us.
When people start using terms like "furbaby", it's humanizing the animals. Yes, you may feel like they are your baby, but you did not birth them, they are not a human, they do not require the care that a human child does.
It may seem like I'm waging a war on something very simple here, but to me, this goes far deeper than what Mrs. Smith calls her elderly poodle. It is about semantics, but it is also about our rights, and standing aside while the RARA's turn animals into little furry people, and afford them better protection than human children have.
Don't get me wrong. I love my animals. I've been guilty of saying my dog thinks he's people, of spoiling my pets and treating them better than many people would treat critters. But I understand as well that they are my responsibility, that they are here because of me, and that they are not nearly as valuable as a human life.
I said this in a previous blog, but it bares repeating - by using the cutesy terms that RARA's have introduced, you are unwittingly siding with them. If all people are calling themselves guardians, and their pets are furbabies, that is indicating to politicians that animals are more important than people. That they should be focusing on eliminating breeders, regulating animal homes and ignoring the important issues. The fact that so many RARAs are personifying animals and creating a feel that animals are more important is becoming evident as politicians focus their election platforms on those issues. What about public education? Assistance for low income family? Creating a sense of community?
When I read the news, I am struck by how many animal abuse stories there are, and how widely they've spread. It used to be that this kind of publicity was reserved for human abuse cases. Those have been pushed to the side, because people don't care about them. Why do they want to hear about a local shopkeep who was horrifically abused during a robbery when they can hear about the stray dogs half a world away? Animal related news travels the web, while human related issues stay close to home, only available through local news channels.
It's not right. I don't like that the world has become more involved as a whole in the "saving" of animals, while at the same time we are becoming more closed off from fellow humans. Human rights has taken a back seat to animal rights, and that's not right.
It's starting with the terms we're using. Furbabies makes it clear that you value your pets as much as, or more, than humans. People are often seen to comment that "I love my dog as much as my children, sometimes more!" or "I love my pet like a child." People will remark that they feel their pet is more important than a human they don't know, or are only aquainted with.
I love my dog. He's my constant companion, and a very important feature of my life. He is NOT my child, or like my child. He is not my "furbaby". I don't even call him my "baby". He's my dog, my critter, my pup. He's my little buddy, my sidekick. He comes with me almost everywhere, and he is known and loved by my friends and family. But he's a dog. He's not as important to the world as my neighbour(who I actively hate), nor is he more important than a stranger I might pass on the street. He does not replace my need for human companionship and conversation.
I urge everyone to consider the terms you use for your animals. Think about them. Do they give your animal a tone of being something that it is not? Does it make it seem like you feel animals are more important than humans? Does it elevate your animals to human status, or create an idea that they may be as important or more important than humans?
Be careful of what terms you use, because you're setting a tone for how your ideals will be judged, how you will be judged, and how the future will progress. Do you want to live in a world where your animal is considered more important than someone's human child, and offered more rights and protection?
I know that I don't.