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Originally Posted by Knalus
A lot of people who are really upset about shark finning are upset because they think they should be upset. I don't buy Gordon Ramsay's outrage for a second as legitimate and from the heart. Why is it an outrage to cut off the fin of a shark, but not an outrage to cut off the head of a fish? The outrage over the cruelty in bashing the brains out of a fish to kill it? The arguments regarding cruelty are disingenuous, in my opinion.
The waste, and the likelihood that the species will go extinct - that is an issue of REAL importance. Not crocodile tears cause a fish got hurt, and you heard about it. ALL the fish you eat did not want to be eaten, and if you asked them, it would all be cruel.
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Two words: Biological complexity.
If we're more apt to care about one species more than another, it's because we believe they're exposed to a greater range of happiness and suffering, because of the relationship between biological complexity and the capacity for suffering. Of course, we could be wrong about this if we have misconstrued that relationship. But there's a reason we care more for the well-being of our fellow primates, dogs and cats, etc. versus a ladybug, or a fish. And we would place a shark in a higher tier than a lobster or a fish based on those same principles.
Now, having said that, I will say that if we are to continue making shark fin soup (which doesn't really seem to have any redeeming qualities where the fin itself is concerned), I would insist that the sharks should be killed humanely. The act of finning is not something I would see as acceptable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knalus
Yeah, and if you throw a lobster into a boiling pot of water, it also dies slowly. As do fish that have been caught, and put in a bucket to slowly starve of oxygen. Your empathy is selective.
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You're right, our empathy is selective. But it's selective for scientific and rational reasons.