According to a pioneering study, children believe farm animals deserve the same treatment as humans, but this view fades by puberty.
Researchers from Exeter and Oxford universities polled a group of British youngsters aged nine to eleven, young adults aged 18 to 21, and elderly men and women on their sentiments about various animals.
Farm animals are treated equal same as pets
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Children, unlike adults, believe farm animals should be treated the same as people and pets, and that eating animals is less moral than eating humans, as per ScienceDaily.
The findings show that "speciesism," a moral hierarchy in which different creatures are valued differently, is taught throughout adolescence.
According to Dr. Luke McGuire of the University of Exeter, humans' connection with animals is replete with ethical double standards.
Some animals have cherished home pets, while others are confined to factory farms for profit.
The species of the animal in issue appears to have a big influence on how we judge it: dogs are our buddies, pigs are food.
According to the paper, "moral acrobatics" is an essential component of the human mind: people might have ethical beliefs that conflict with each other and use moral double criteria.
However, the roots of moral acrobatics in relation to animals are unknown, and the researchers claimed that this new study is the first to look at the differences in how children and adolescents think about animal care, as per The Guardian.
Participants in the research were given photographs of farm animals and companion animals and asked to categorize them as "food," "pet," or "object," among other things.
They were questioned about how animals were handled in the past and how they should be treated in the future.
Children did not hold all animals in the same regard. They came to the conclusion that dogs should be treated better than pigs, but that pigs should not be treated differently than people.
The two adult groups agreed that pigs should be treated worse than dogs, but people and dogs should be treated equally.
According to McGuire, the study showed that while youngsters feel farm animals and humans should be treated similarly, adults believe companion animals and humans should be treated better.
He said that youngsters considered eating animals as being less acceptable than young adults and adults.
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The development of speciesism
Moral acrobatics is a fascinating facet of the human mind, as per Sage Journals.
People frequently hold ethical principles that contradict each other and use moral double standards.
Humans split the world into "us" and "them," and feel it ethically acceptable to treat our own and other groups differently.
Several nations, for example, have legal mechanisms in place for fair trials of national residents while holding immigrants without a trial or a release date.
The human species' interaction with nonhuman creatures is one of the situations where moral acrobatics become most obvious.
Pet animals receive the same level of attention and affection as human companions, and spending time with them might be more pleasurable than spending time with other people.
In addition, many individuals donate to animal welfare organizations and show worry about the hazards that wild animals face.
Many individuals, however, recognize that certain animals suffer greatly. People, for example, are quick to defend the terrible treatment that is common in industrial farming.
As a result, humans have strong feelings for some animal species while yet supporting the mistreatment of others.
