cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/11618175
Zoo defends ‘panda’ exhibit after criticism for using dogs dyed black and white
On May 1, the zoo drew large crowds of excited animal lovers as it prepared to unveil a new attraction.
When the zoo revealed the animals, visitors were met with the sight of little four-legged creatures, with white faces and black spots around their eyes and ears - not unlike the colorings of a panda.
The only thing is, these creatures weren’t pandas. In fact, they were Chow Chows - a dog you might recognize from real life or social media, since they’re very much the opposite of a wild animal.
The spitz-type dogs originally come from northern China, and were presented at the zoo because the owners said they didn’t have any actual pandas to show visitors.
The owners were accused of trimming and dying the dogs to look like pandas, causing some backlash as locals accused the zoo of animal cruelty.
However, a spokesperson for the zoo hit back at the criticism as they pointed out that ‘people also dye their hair’.
What if they just had an entire zoo where every animal was just a dog with dyed fur
I went to such a zoo recently. The only animal they had was a dog. It was a Shih Tzu.
Animals cannot consent to hair-dying, and it can be an irritating/painful process for some humans, so that likely extends to animals as well. A person cannot knowingly, in good conscience, condone it.
Edit: I see we’ve got some of the anti-consent crowd in here.
In our society, when a person or thing cannot consent, another person or a thing can be assigned to consent on their behalf. This is how children get vaccines. This is how some people with mental illnesses have their finances managed. This is how Grandma gets looked after in the nursing home.
If you are okay with all of the above, then your problem is not with our model of delegated consent. Your problem is with the actions the delegate is choosing to take.
Now, if you would make it illegal for a delegate to consent to hair dying, then for consistency you would also need to be okay with parents not dying the hair of their children. Children cannot consent. Is that a statement you’re willing to make?
Hair-dyeing is an aesthetic choice for entertainment. Children can consent to dyeing their hair because they can understand and accept the skin irritation. When we say children cannot consent, we are talking about activities with consequences they cannot grasp.
If you are equating dyeing the hair of animals with giving children vaccines necessary for their health, you’re a laughably obtuse self-centered buffoon, at best.
Depends on the dye, depends on the process
There are a heck of a lot of places that only use dyes that are non-toxic in case they lick themselves
