Faunalytics
December 2017
All around the world, there are still cruel traditions involving animals that are seen as a source of entertainment for many people, but which cause the animals terrible distress and pain, and in many cases their death. Whaling, bullfighting or sport hunting are some known examples of such traditions. These practices are often defended by appealing to the value of cultures and traditions in themselves, to their role as creators of social identity and cohesion, or to the risk of cultures weakening or disappearing. In this paper, Paula Casal considers many of these defenses and argues that none of them are convincing reasons to maintain these practices.
Casal also gives examples of instances when a tradition has disappeared from a particular culture in the past, and how this did not damage its robustness but instead gave way to the flourishing of other aspects of that culture.
For more read Cruel Customs And The Conditional Value of Tradition.