Thekilling of animals isanimal euthanasia (for pain relief),animal sacrifice (for a deity),animal slaughter (forfood),hunting (for food, for sport, forfur and otheranimal products, etc.),blood sports,roadkill (by accident) or self-defense.
Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from Greek: εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of putting an animal to death or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. This is often done for domesticated livestock and house pets. It is considered ethically acceptable when performed to prevent prolonged pain or distress, often referred to as "necessary euthanasia."[1] However, euthanasia is also sometimes employed for non-medical reasons, such as shelter overcrowding, lack of adoption, or behavioural issues.[2] These instances raise ethical concerns, as the animal's life may be ended despite the possibility of recovery or rehoming. An increasingly recognised alternative to non-essential euthanasia is temporary fostering which offers short-term home care that helps animals recover from stress, minor health issues, or behavioural problems, increasing their chances of adoption.[3]
InAssam andWest Bengal states of India andNepal someHindu temples sacrificegoats andchickens. Occasionallywater buffalos are also sacrificed. Temples followingShakti school ofHinduism are the ones where sacrifice usually takes place. There are many village temples in Tamil Nadu where this kind of sacrifice takes place.[4][5] Many animals are sacrificed during the three-day-longGadhimai festival in Nepal. In 2009 it was speculated that more than 250,000 animals were killed[6] In 2014, 100,000 animals were sacrificed which was a decrease from previous numbers.[7] Animals range from buffalo torats have been sacrificed. The temple authorities enacted a ban on animal sacrifice in 2015.[8]
ManyIndo-European religious branches show evidence forhorse sacrifice, and comparative mythology suggests that they derive from aProto-Indo-European (PIE) ritual.
Muslims engaged in theHajj (pilgrimage) are obliged to sacrifice a lamb or a goat or join others in sacrificing a cow or a camel during the celebration of theEid al-Adha,[11][12] an Arabic term that means "Feast of Sacrifice", also known asal-Id al-Kabir (Great Feast), orQurban Bayrami (Sacrifice Feast) in Turkic influenced cultures,Bakar Id (Goat Feast) in Indian subcontinent andReraya Qurben in Indonesia.[10] Other Muslims not on the Hajj toMecca also participate in this sacrifice wherever they are, on the 10th day of the 12th lunar month in the Islamic calendar.[10] It is understood as a symbolic re-enactment ofIbrahim's sacrifice of aram in place of his son. Meat from this occasion is divided into three parts, one part is kept by the sacrificing family for food, the other gifted to friends and family, and the third given to the poor Muslims. The sacrificed animal is a sheep, goat, cow or camel.[10][13] The animal sacrifice, states Philip Stewart, is not required by the Quran, but is based on interpretations of other Islamic texts.[14]
The Eid al-Adha is major annual festival of animal sacrifice in Islam. InIndonesia alone, for example, some 800,000 animals were sacrificed in 2014 by its Muslims on the festival, but the number can be a bit lower or higher depending on the economic conditions.[15] According to Lesley Hazleton, inTurkey about 2,500,000 sheep, cows and goats are sacrificed each year to observe the Islamic festival of animal sacrifice, with a part of the sacrificed animal given to the needy who didn't sacrifice an animal.[16] According toThe Independent, nearly 10,000,000 animals are sacrificed inPakistan every year on Eid.[17][18] Millions of animal are brought into the Middle East from north Africa and parts of Asia and slaughter every year on Eid al-Adha.[19]
Other occasions when Muslims perform animal sacrifice include the 'aqiqa, when a child is seven days old, is shaved and given a name. It is believed that the animal sacrifice binds the child to Islam and offers protection to the child from evil.[20]
Animal slaughter is the killing of nonhumananimals, and often refers to the slaughter oflivestock. Animals may be slaughtered for humans to obtain food, and also if they are diseased and unable to be consumed as food.
Halāl (Arabic:حلالḥalāl, 'permissible'), also spelled "hallal" or "halaal", is any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according toIslamic law. The term covers and designates not only food and drink but also all matters of daily life.[21] There are three ways of halal killing: slitting of the throat (dabh), plunging the knife into the dimple over the breast bone (nahr), and killing in some other way ('aqr). The name of God (bismillah) must be said before killing the animal. The killing must be swift and with no prior stunning of the animal being killed.[22] Blood must be drained out of the carcass.[23]
Ikejime is a method of paralyzingfish to maintain the quality of its meat.[24] The technique originated inJapan, but is now in widespread use. It involves the insertion of a spike quickly and directly into the hind brain, usually located slightly behind and above the eye, thereby causing immediatebrain death.
Kashrut (alsokashruth orkashrus,כַּשְׁרוּת) is the set of Jewish religiousdietary laws. Food that may be consumed according tohalakha (Jewish law) is termedkosher/ˈkoʊʃər/ in English, from theAshkenazi pronunciation of theHebrew termkashér (כָּשֵׁר), meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption).Shechita is the process of slaughtering prescribed by Jewish dietary laws.
Qurbān usually denotes the sacrifice of a livestock animal duringEid al-Adha, aMuslim holiday.
In Shechita the killing must be performed by ashochet (Hebrew:שוחט). The process involves severing thetrachea,esophagus,carotid arteries,jugular veins andvagus nerve swiftly with a special knife which is extremely sharp. This is done with the intention of causing a rapid drop in blood pressure in the brain and loss of consciousness, to reduce the pain felt by the animal andexsanguinate it at the same time.[25][26]
Tza'ar ba'alei chayim (literally means: "the suffering of living creatures"[27]) is theJewish principle which bans inflicting unnecessary pain onanimals. This concept is not clearly enunciated in the writtenTorah, but was accepted by theTalmud (Bava Metzia 32b) as being a Biblical mandate.
In 2014 nearly 25 million animals were killed in the United States for laboratory testing, with most being "designer" mice.[28]
TheHumane Slaughter Act is aUnited States federal law formulated to decrease livestock suffering during slaughter. The act was approved on August 27, 1958.[29]
The smallest animal that can kill a human is theNaegleria fowleriamoeba.N. fowleri does this by crawling up the target's nose and eating the targets' brain. Most attacks happen in moist areas like ponds or lakes.[30][31]
In the middle is theblowfish (fugu) that can kill animals with its toxic organs that containtetrodotoxin.[32]
The largest animal killer is theblue whale, which is the largest animal on Earth. The blue whale mostly feeds onkrill (euphausiacea) which is a small, abundantcrustacean. Blue whales are almost entirely killed bykiller whales and by humans.[33][34]
Chimpanzees wage war against rival groups, killing rival males and eating the baby chimps.[35] Ants also wage warfare on other ants, even engaging in cannibalism.[36]
Many plant based items if eaten in sufficient quantities can cause seizures, spasms, tremors, gastroenteritis, cardiovascular collapse, coma, and then death.[37][32]
Many plants kill animals by trapping or poisoning them, then digesting them for nourishment. Some plants can kill a rodent with various methods.[38][39]
In North America, animals such asbear,wolf,caribou,moose,elk,boar,sheep andbison are hunted. In South America, deer and other species are hunted. In Europe, sheep, boar, goats, elk, deer, and other species are hunted. In Asia, several species of deer, bear, sheep and other species are hunted. In Australia, several species of deer and wild boar are hunted.
Big-game hunting is thehunting of largegame, almost always large terrestrial mammals, for meat, other animal by-products (such as horn or bone), trophy or sport. The term is historically associated with the hunting ofAfrica's"big five" game (lion,African elephant,Cape buffalo,leopard andrhinoceros), and withtigers andrhinoceroses on theIndian subcontinent. Along with the big five animals, many other species are hunted including but not limited tokudu,antelope,and hartebeest.Moose,elk,bear,mountain lion,caribou,bison anddeer are the largest game hunted in North America, which is where most big-game hunting is conducted today.
Big-game hunting is conducted in Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In Africa, lion, Cape buffalo, elephant, giraffe and other large game animals are hunted.
Animals are often killed by moving vehicles. This is known asroadkill. In one case in North Carolina in early 2016 a deer was road killed and butchered outside a restaurant. A concerned citizen took cell phone images and called the police. The restaurant owner was contacted by the police and stated that he had no intention of selling roadkill meals to his customers. Because the deer was butchered outside the restaurant the authorities decided to drop the matter. The restaurant owner also stated he was not aware of any prohibition against eating roadkill; he merely wanted to try something new.[40] In many areas in the United States it is illegal to consume roadkill. However, as of November 2014[update] it is estimated that 34 percent of U.S. states have passed laws allowing thegleaning of roadkill.[41]
WhenCecil the lion was killed in Africa in summer 2015 by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer it caused a worldwide commotion. As of July 2015[update] Palmer went into hiding when it was alleged that his guides and he had lured Cecil out of a Zimbabwe animal preserve at which point Palmer admittedly shot Cecil with an arrow. Cecil ran off wounded for 40 hours before Palmer's guides found Cecil, admittedly shot him, and decapitated him, leaving Cecil's head and tracking collar behind. Palmer later broke silence to say he was heartbroken over the pain he had caused his dental staff.[42]
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an animal rights group founded in America and is based inNorfolk, Virginia. It is led byIngrid Newkirk. It claims to have 3 million members and supporters, which would make it the largest animal rights group in the world. Its slogan is "animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way."[43]
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of all animal products, particularly in diet.Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption ofmeat (red meat,poultry,seafood,insects and theflesh of any otheranimal and may also include abstention fromby-products ofanimal slaughter). Vegetarians, however, may consume eggs, dairy products and honey.
Ahimsa is an important tenet ofthree Indian-origin religions (Jainism,Hinduism, andBuddhism). Ahimsa is a multidimensional concept, inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy; therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. Ahimsa has also been related to the notion that any violence haskarmic consequences.[44][45]
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