no more pets

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Tue May 10 13:54:52 UTC 2011


At 8:56 AM -0400 5/10/11, Garson O'Toole wrote:
>David Barnhart wrote
>>  I just saw a little story on CNN about the political incorrectness of the
>>  term _pet_ meaning an animal kept as a companion.
>
>There is a short video segment available at the CNN website that might
>contain the material that David Barnhart viewed. Below is a link:
>
>Is the word 'pet' politically incorrect?
>Added On May 10, 2011
>Some animal rights activists want to replace the term "pet" with
>"animal companion." CBC's Colleen Jones reports.
>
>http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/05/09/dnt.pet.politically.incorrect.CBC
>Shortened link
>http://goo.gl/RkwUS
>
>The report refers to the Journal of Animal Ethics as the source of the
>following suggestions: Replace "pet" with "animal companion." Call a
>raccoon dining from the garbage can of a house a "free living animal"
>and not a "pest." Replace "wildlife" with "free range" or "free
>living."

I know "zoo" or "zoological gardens" is also incorrect, but I forget
what we're supposed to call them instead.  Maybe "unfree living
non-companion animal forced enclosure"?

--LH, human associate of two feline former pet companions

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