Now, without delving back into the debate on the care that was being provided to the Gowanus rabbits(if you missed it, you can read my thoughts here and here,) I did want to show the context in which the aforementioned comment was made.
Food, Fur, Fancy. The only reasons to breed anything. To provide food for your family, to utilize the pelts to provide warmth, or simply because you like the breed and want to provide suitable pets(note that fancy is being used in a manner not normally used in North America, but common overseas). You can breed for one, two, or all three of these reasons, and it is applicable to most any species(while dogs and cats are strictly bred for fancy in North America, most livestock can be bred for all three reasons).
Of course, one cannot acknowledge the multipurpose nature of rabbits without being accused of killing them. And, of course, if you're willing to kill an animal for food, you obviously can't believe in keeping them healthy or treating them well. Because THAT makes sense.... /sarcasm.
Now, this is something that's always bothered me, that presumption that if someone works with animals in anything other than a rescue or medical capacity, that you don't care about the animals. It's always turned into people using the animals for money with no regard for the animals' welfare.
But if you stop for a moment, put down that glass of kool-aid and stop mindlessly eating the rescue rhetoric, how does that make financial sense at all?
Let's, for a moment, pretend that there IS money in raising animals. Big money. Let's pretend that a breeder really is a business person who cares nothing for animals on an emotional level and solely cares about the money they bring in.
Unhealthy animals tend to not breed well. A female that's been underfed will not conceive, a pregnant female that is underfed will not have the ability to nourish her offspring. A nursing female that is underfed will dry up and be unable to feed her offspring. For the sake of a few bags of food, a breeder has rendered one of his "machines" unable to operate. Food is the regular maintenance for these "machines", and it is cheaper to perform regular maintenance than it is to replace the machine.
The same goes for vet care. Yes, minor wounds may be treated at home, but a larger injury? It'll need the care of someone with experience - generally a vet would be consulted. Breeders may not be willing to pump thousands of dollars into one animal, as a rescue would, but a breeder is also not relying on other people's money, they must make the hard decisions when to stop pouring more money into an animal, and give it a calm, dignified end. While in a perfect world, everyone would have unlimited funds to throw at every sick animal, that is not reality,
So, if there was big money in breeding animals, and a breeder was strictly a business man, why would it make financial sense to starve the animals, preventing them from producing? How does it make sense to ignore medical issues and just "hope it gets better", without doing anything?
However... Sorry to burst the bubble, but there isn't big money in breeding. So if we break it right down to financial sense, there's no financial sense in becoming a breeder. It just doesn't make you money! So why, then, do breeders become breeders? Why do we undertake so much work if not for the money?
This is where the ARA's say its because we're evil and love torturing animals.
This is where common sense folks say its because we love the animals, and the joy they bring is worth the work and the financial risk.
Why would I opt to spend a good portion of my spare time cleaning poop, grooming, feeding, watering, making and fixing equipment, planning breedings, worrying about females, worrying about litters, socializing rabbits, maintaining a website and fb page, posting advertisements and dealing not only with people interested in buying rabbits but wanting to bring me down... Why do I choose that life?
Because I love my rabbits. Because rabbits are a plausible source of protein for my family and my dog, and because I enjoy raising them.
Now we come to the main quote.
"Why provide care for an animal you are just going to kill?"
Well, because it's the right thing to do. Because I have ethics, and because I raise rabbits so I can know that they've never known a day of abuse, or a day of hunger or fear. Because I want to know that my rabbits have lived as good a life as possible, with one bad moment at the end.
This question, of course, can also apply to pets. Why should I bother spending extra on grain free food for my dog, when in the end I will have him euthanized to prevent a slow, painful death? Why should I ensure my long haired cat is kept groomed and free from tangles, when eventually she will have to die?
All animals die in the end. It's sad, but it's a fact of life.
So why bother providing care for the rabbit that will end up in my freezer, why bother caring for animals that are just going to slaughter?
Again, there is the financial aspect. If the animals are not provided proper feed and water, they will not grow. If they're not kept reasonably clean, they have increased risks of illness and disease. If they are abused, they will go off their feed and not grow. In all three cases, I would have taken what could be a valuable animal at slaughter and turned it into a stunted, ill animal that's essentially without value.
Then the ethical aspect. Why do I care for animals that will end up on my plate? Because while they do have an "end date" and an ultimate purpose, they are still living, breathing animals that deserve proper care. I cannot pride myself in eating ethically raised meat if I am neglecting my animals. It defeats the entire purpose of raising my own meat if I allow them to live in squalor and do not provide food/water for them.
If I didn't care about the conditions my food lived in, I would be buying my meat from the grocery stores.
If I didn't care about rabbits and enjoy raising them, I wouldn't be raising them.
Get off your high horses RARAs and lose that hoarder mentality. Different isn't bad, and you don't have to be a vegan or RARA to be able to properly care for animals.