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Cats could be the ideal pets - if they can move around freely, says Friederike Schmitz.
Photo: Axel Heimken / dpa
SPIEGEL:
Ms. Schmitz, animal shelters are currently reporting historically low stocks, while dealers are again reporting record inquiries.
You yourself live as a vegan and demand that livestock farming be stopped.
Do you also want to get rid of pets?
To person
Friederike Schmitz
, 38, researches the ethics and politics of the human-animal relationship.
She published the anthology "Animal Ethics".
At its core, the question is whether it is legitimate to use animals for human purposes.
Icon: enlarge Photo: Hannes Jung
Schmitz:
I think: Most shapes should no longer exist.
Far too often the needs of the animals are not taken into account.
They are considered entertainment objects that are easy to get rid of.
Many pets have been adapted for their own convenience, they are like an accessory.
You don't have a good life.
SPIEGEL:
You sound like all pets suffer and people torment them.
Schmitz:
Often there is no intention or bad will behind it, but rather ignorance.
But also ignorance.
That is why many more animals certainly suffer than we realize.
But I can also imagine variants in which humans and animals live together and both sides benefit from it.
But that would have to change a lot.
SPIEGEL:
What is it?
"Animals should not be considered property or children's toys."
Schmitz:
Only animals should be kept whose needs can be met.
Hamsters and rabbits in apartments, for example, or fish in aquariums are always extremely restricted.
Animals should not be considered property or children's toys and no one should make money from them.
Trade would therefore no longer be possible, neither would breeding.
From my point of view, profit as a goal is always dangerous.
Humans then tend to put the profit intention higher than the interest of the animal.
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