Today I am posting a short comment I made about a show on TLC called "My Monkey Baby." The show features a couple who keep a monkey as a pet, dressing it up in baby clothes and taking it with them everywhere they go. They become offended if someone calls it a pet; they insist that it is their baby.
There are many comments posted, some saying that this is cruel, and others saying it is not cruel because the people are protecting the animals from all of the dangers and discomforts of the wild. I plan to write a longer essay addressing the fallacy of this argument, but for now, here is the comment I posted on TLC's website:
"Wild animals are dignified, self-sufficient creatures with complicated needs that are best met by living with their own kind. Research and common sense reveal that primates especially need the social interaction of their respective species. No matter how safe we are keeping them from the elements when we put them in our houses or in cages, when we do so we corrupt their dignity by taking away their choices. Our own children face all kinds of dangers and risks out in the world, but we don't lock them up in their bedrooms for the rest of their lives. We don't do this because we know that if we do, we deny them the opportunity to be who they really are. It is not a wild animal's job to fulfill our human need to be needed. We are decimating wild populations of animals with this foolishness. It is time to face the truth: wild animals do not now, nor have they ever, nor will they ever, belong to us. They are not our children or our property. If we really love them, we will restore their rightful homes that we destroyed and allow them to live peacefully within them."
Sharyn Beach
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