The movie Plague Dogs was a very sad movie, but I think it put experiments into reality for many of us. I know that we use animals to experiment, but I thought it was mostly just animals like rats or mice. I did not know that dogs were used. I know that there should be know difference and it is not okay to use rats or mice either, but to see them experiment on Rowlf until he drowned was so depressing. I think it puts into perspective how overboard us humans go with the power that we have. We should not be allowed to treat animals like that and use our power in cruel ways.
I really liked how the movie put us into the minds of the dogs and had the animals talking so we could see it from their perspective. It made the entire movie more realistic. I also like the aspect of the movie that the one dog wanted a master. he loved how he was treated and wanted another good master. That goes to show that we as humans know the proper way to treat animals, but that is not everyone. Some people still think it is okay to make animals suffer. In the end it made Rowlf stronger because he was able to withstand staying in the water for a longer period of time, but all the suffering he had to go through to get to that point was very disturing.
In the book it said that both of the dogs ended up being saved in the end and they both recieved masters. I think that is a good ending, but I do not think this is by any means a kids movie. I do not even know if I agree with this movie being shown in public. I think it should only be allowed to be shown for learning purposes and research. It is a very disturbing, depressing movie.
Yeah, animal testing goes far beyond mice and rats. Today, companies legally use all sorts of animals to conduct scientific -an other- testing. Most notably, chimpanzees and orangutans can even still be used for everything from AIDS test modeling (ie they give chimps AIDS to see how it can affect them and might be treated) to the harmfulness of certain chemicals for the cosmetic industry (real important research, right?).
ReplyDeleteThere are laws to prevent abuses, but what defines "abuse" is as nebulous and frustrating as trying to define unhappiness. Even in the EU, where animal cruelty and humane slaughter laws are much more stringent, they still have problems.
And then there are those people who get picky about which animals qualify for "humane" treatment. For example, in the US, those animals classified as livestock (cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens etc.) are not protected by the same animal abuse statutes that protect your cat or dog (kind of a problem when you decide to have a pet chicken or something, right?)
Anyway, what we have is just a great big mess of hypocrisy and inconsistency. Comforting, isn't it?