Expert: Lee Meyer - 11/28/2007

Question
My friend - carnivore asked me a tricky question which i couldn't answer:
Why shouldn't we capture wild carnivores and isolate them  and feed with non-meat food to save lives of many other animals? Is it connected with the social contract in which wild animals aren't participating, so they are not responsible for their behavior in front of anything?

Answer
Hi,

I won't answer this fully but  I will give you several main directions of thought for you to expand on.

First, his question assumes that by preventing carnivores from eating other animals, it will save many lives.  In the short run yes, but what about overpopulation causing large numbers of animals to starve to death because of larger populations and limited food supplies?

Second, it arrogantly assumes that man somehow knows better than nature how to arrange itself.  The main problems we have with nature is when we try to 'make things better' and end up making them worse.

Third, what happens if the carnivores don't eat non-meat food or it's not nutritious enough for them and they all end up dying?  So much for caring about animals, carnivore or not.

Fourth, who are they to say what part of nature is working acceptably and what parts are not?  

Last, why do they try to impose human morality on animals that are driven by survival instincts?  You can't apply human morals to wild beings that have no concept of morality.  He's basically proposing punishment (isolation, non-meat food) on carnivores because they are carnivores.

You can blow holes in this thing many different ways.