Domestic animals are used to living with humans.
A domestic animal is one that is part of a species accustomed to living alongside humans . Generally, these types of animals are adopted or bought by people to share life with them in the family home.
The concept is made up of two words that, etymologically speaking, derive from Latin: animal emanates from animal , which can be translated as "being that has breathing" ; and domestic comes from domus , which is synonymous with "house" .
Living beings that belong to the kingdom Animalia are called animals . It is a very large group of which even humans are a part and whose members share characteristics such as having their own mobility (unlike plants ), reproducing sexually and consuming oxygen.
The adjective domestic , on the other hand, is linked to that or that which belongs to a home . When the term is applied to an animal, it refers to the individual whose breeding takes place in the company of people . This allows us to differentiate between domestic animals and wild animals .
Domestic animals or pets
Pets , as domestic animals are also known, offer people company. In any case, there are people who want animals to fulfill specific functions within the home, such as guarding the house and preventing intruders from entering. The latter is an example of the level to which human cruelty can reach, since it uses individuals of other species as slaves to defend its own interests.
It is important to establish that in recent years there has been a notable series of changes in terms of the species that men want to be part of their homes. And more and more people are making the decision to choose animals as pets that, in principle, are not advisable because they are somewhat dangerous or because they require specific habitat or feeding conditions. By this we are referring, for example, to snakes or iguanas.
Pets must be domestic animals.
Problems with wild species introduced into a home
Specifically, experts agree on highlighting a series of problems about animals like those mentioned wanting to be converted into domestic beings:
- Reptiles that undergo this "change" suffer from stress to severe adaptation problems that can result in their death or in attitudes that endanger the safety of those around them.
- Big cats, such as tigers or lions, are, in some cases, also made into pets. And that is a great danger for their owners and for those who are nearby since, although they may be properly cared for and "trained", we must not forget that their nature is predatory. All of this without overlooking the fact that they have a weight and size that can cause harm even if unintentionally.
Animals used as "guardians" usually receive very harsh upbringings, characterized by a profound lack of affection and rigid training. There are those who have a theory that the less love shown to them, the more efficient they will be in their imposed task of taking care of the house. In other words, adopting a pet to become a security guard is no different from slavery; However, since the victim is of a different species, the impact on people's psychology seems to be minor, as if the abuse was not worthy of repudiation.
The rights of domestic animals
It should be noted that some animals are domestic because, in their historical development as a species, they have adapted to living with humans and present very different characteristics to those exhibited by wild animals. Sheep , horses , chickens and cows , among many other species, belong to the group of domestic animals. However, the most representative species are those that usually live with people in the house, such as dogs and cats .
Talking about domestic animals including cows and chickens is dangerous, especially if the basis of the concept is that they have become accustomed to living with humans. While there are many dogs and cats that lead horrible lives, there are also others that are treated like " princes"; On the other hand, unless they are in a sanctuary, cows, chickens, pigs and sheep, among others, live true nightmares, a perpetual prison that ends with a premature death without having done anything to deserve such torture.
With respect to dogs, the most prominent representatives of domestic animals, there are two opposing positions regarding the life that we should provide for them: on the one hand, there are those who claim that a dog is only happy if a certain number is imposed on it. of rules; At the other extreme are people who defend an upbringing in which he himself chooses his obligations and feels as much freedom as possible.
The former usually defend practices such as training , which serves to teach the animal to respond to a series of very specific orders, and which in many cases turn it into an extremely obedient being, to the point of questioning its condition as a living being; Those who advocate equal rights , on the other hand, trust that each species learns to relate to its environment using its own tools and that it is necessary to respect differences instead of appeasing them.