Human uses of animals include both practical uses, such as the production of food and clothing, and symbolic uses, such as in art, literature, mythology, and religion. All of these are elements ofculture, broadly understood.Animals used in these ways includefish,crustaceans,insects,molluscs,mammals andbirds.
Economically, animals providemeat, whether farmed or hunted, and until the arrival of mechanised transport, terrestrial mammals provided a large part of the power used for work and transport. Animals serve asmodels inbiological research, such as ingenetics, and indrug testing.
Non-human mammals form a large part of thelivestock raised for meat across the world. They include (2011) around 1.4 billioncattle, 1.2 billionsheep, 1 billiondomestic pigs,[7][11] and (1985) over 700 million rabbits.[12]
Textiles from the most utilitarian to the most luxurious are often made from non-human animal fibres such aswool,camel hair,angora,cashmere, andmohair.Hunter-gatherers have used non-human animalsinews as lashings and bindings.Leather from cattle, pigs and other species is widely used to make shoes, handbags, belts and many other items. Other animals have been hunted and farmed for their fur, to make items such as coats and hats, again ranging from simply warm and practical to the most elegant and expensive.[13][14] Snakes and other reptiles are traded in the tens of thousands each year to meet the demand for exotic leather; some of this trade is legal and sustainable, some of it is illegal and unsustainable, but for many species insufficient data is available to make a determination either way.[15]
Working domestic animals including cattle, horses, yaks, camels, and elephants have been used for work and transport from the origins of agriculture, their numbers declining with the arrival of mechanized transport and agricultural machinery. In 2004 they still provided some 80% of the power for the mainly small farms in the third world, and some 20% of the world's transport, again mainly in rural areas. In mountainous regions unsuitable for wheeled vehicles,pack animals continue to transport goods.[25]
Police, military and immigration/customs personnel exploit dogs and horses to perform a variety of tasks, which cannot be done by humans. In some cases, smart rats have been used.[26]
Vaccines have been made using other animals since their discovery byEdward Jenner in the 18th century. He noted that inoculation with livecowpox afforded protection against the more dangeroussmallpox. In the 19th century,Louis Pasteur developed an attenuated (weakened) vaccine forrabies. In the 20th century, vaccines for the viral diseasesmumps andpolio were developed using animal cells grownin vitro.[34]
Different non-human animals unwillingly help humans with creating medicine that can treat certain human diseases. For example, the anticoagulant properties of snake venom are key to potential medical use. These toxins can be used to treat heart disease, pulmonary embolism, and many other diseases, all of which may originate from blood clots.[36]
A wide variety of animals are used aspets, from invertebrates such as tarantulas and octopuses, insects includingpraying mantises,[42]reptiles such assnakes andchameleons,[43] andbirds includingcanaries,parakeets andparrots.[44] However, non-human mammals are the most popular pets in the Western world, with the most utilized species beingdogs,cats, andrabbits. For example, in America in 2012 there were some 78 milliondogs, 86 millioncats, and 3.5 millionrabbits.[45][46][47]Anthropomorphism, the attribution ofhuman traits to non-humananimals, is an important aspect of the way that humans relate to other animals such as pets.[48][49][50] There is a tension between the role of other animals as companions to humans, and their existence asindividuals with rights of their own; ignoring those rights is a form ofspeciesism.[51]
A wide variety of both terrestrial and aquatic non-human animals are hunted for sport.[52]
The aquatic animals most often hunted for sport are fish, including many species from large marine predators such assharks andtuna, to freshwater fish such astrout andcarp.[53][54]
Animals feature in many different roles invideo games, ranging from backgroundNPCs and basic enemies to theprotagonist of a game, as in the 2022 gameStray.[67]Virtual pet video games, such as theNintendogs series and the mobile gameNeko Atsume, are a popular type of game where the player cares for a fictional pet, usually a dog or cat.[68] In 2019, aTwitter account namedCan You Pet the Dog? was created to document whether the dog and cat characters in a game can be petted.[69]
Animals including manyinsects[70] and non-human mammals[71] feature in mythology and religion.
Among the insects, in both Japan and Europe, as far back as ancient Greece and Rome, abutterfly was seen as the personification of a human's soul, both while they were alive and after their death.[70][72][73] Thescarab beetle was sacred in ancient Egypt,[74] while thepraying mantis was considered a god in southern AfricanKhoi andSan tradition for their praying posture.[75]
^"The Purpose of Humanimalia". De Pauw University.Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved12 September 2018.animal/human interfaces have been a neglected area of research, given the ubiquity of animals in human culture and history, and the dramatic change in our material relationships since the rise of agribusiness farming and pharmacological research, genetic experimentation, and the erosion of animal habitats.
^Churchman, David (1987).The Educational Role of Zoos: A Synthesis of the Literature (1928-1987) with Annotated Bibliography. California State University. p. 8.addressing the broad question of the relationship between animals and human culture. The committee argues that zoos should foster awareness of the involvement of animals in literature, music, history, art, medicine, religion, folklore, language, commerce, food, and adornment of the world's culture's, present and past
^Helfman, Gene S. (2007).Fish Conservation: A Guide to Understanding and Restoring Global Aquatic Biodiversity and Fishery Resources. Island Press. p. 11.ISBN978-1-59726-760-1.
^"Cochineal and Carmine".Major colourants and dyestuffs, mainly produced in horticultural systems. FAO.Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. RetrievedJune 16, 2015.
^Pearnchob, N.; Siepmann, J.; Bodmeier, R. (2003). "Pharmaceutical applications of shellac: moisture-protective and taste-masking coatings and extended-release matrix tablets".Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy.29 (8):925–938.doi:10.1081/ddc-120024188.PMID14570313.S2CID13150932.
^Barber, E. J. W. (1991).Prehistoric Textiles. Princeton University Press. pp. 230–231.ISBN978-0-691-00224-8.
^Munro, John H. (2007). Netherton, Robin; Owen-Crocker, Gale R. (eds.).The Anti-Red Shift – To the Dark Side: Colour Changes in Flemish Luxury Woollens, 1300–1500. Vol. 3. Boydell Press. pp. 56–57.ISBN978-1-84383-291-1.{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)
^Munro, John H. (2003). Jenkins, David (ed.).Medieval Woollens: Textiles, Technology, and Organisation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 214–215.ISBN978-0-521-34107-3.
^Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "anthropomorphism,n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1885.
^Hutson, Matthew (2012).The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane. Hudson Street Press. pp. 165–181.ISBN978-1-101-55832-4.
^abTsutsui, William M. (April 2007). "Looking Straight at "Them!" Understanding the Big Bug Movies of the 1950s".Environmental History.12 (2):237–253.doi:10.1093/envhis/12.2.237.JSTOR25473065.
^"Butterfly".Encyclopedia of Diderot and D'Alembert. January 2011.Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved10 July 2016.
^Hutchins, M., Arthur V. Evans, Rosser W. Garrison and Neil Schlager (Eds) (2003) Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volume 3, Insects. Gale, 2003.
^Ben-Tor, Daphna (1989).Scarabs, A Reflection of Ancient Egypt. Jerusalem. p. 8.ISBN978-965-278-083-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^McCone, Kim R. (1987). Meid, W. (ed.).Hund, Wolf, und Krieger bei den Indogermanen. Innsbruck. pp. 101–154.{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Lau, Theodora,The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp. 2–8, 30–5, 60–4, 88–94, 118–24, 148–53, 178–84, 208–13, 238–44, 270–78, 306–12, 338–44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005
^"The Zodiac". Western Washington University.Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved12 December 2018.
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Animals in Christian Art".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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