The animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) thinks the term ‘pet’ is derogatory and is calling out to the public to use words like ‘companion’ when they refer to their animals, and the word ‘guardian’ instead of owner.
On Tuesday, February 4, Senior Media Officer at PETA Ms. Jennifer White (pictured below), appeared as a guest on the daytime TV Show Good Morning Britain.
I did not watch the whole show, just an extract on You Tube (link below).
Ms. White struggled to explain the reasons why the word ‘pet’ should not be used.
She was constantly rudely interrupted by the Show’s presenters, especially Piers Morgan who even said to her at some point: “This is our show we ask the questions.”
Ms. White simply said: “A lot of people at home who have dogs or cats will call them pets and refer to themselves as owners and this implies that the animals are a possession, like a car for example.”
She added: “When you refer to animals not as the living beings as they are but as an inanimate object, it can reflect our treatment on these animals.”
Ms. Ingrid Newkirk, PETA founder and president, further explained the organization’s stance in a statement to Fox News.
The statement read: “Referring to an animal as a ‘pet’ or as ‘it’ reduces a sentient being with a personality and emotions to an inanimate object—a possession to be used in any way the ‘owner’ wishes. Contrary to some reports, we are not seeking to ban these words; we’re simply suggesting that it would be more respectful to refer to the animals in our homes as ‘animal companions’ and ourselves as their ‘guardians’ in the same way that all social movements concerned with cultivating respect have made appeals to stop using terms that are racist or sexist or that otherwise imply that the subject is less important than the speaker.”
Comments