Yep. The same people will think a husky living in the texan suburbs left alone for 6 hours a day is living the dream life while denouncing working sled dogs as abused and neglected.
Ffs these people are so alienated from working DOGS that they see a lean one and immediately yell neglect just because it isn't obese. That's how disconnected they are from working animals.
There will always be bad people who work their animals to the point of abuse, or exploit them purely for profit in inhumane conditions (there are horror stories of tourist dogsledding companies, and of course the gambling empire built around horseracing where the animals are viewed as nonliving assets), but working animals actually enjoy working! It's what they were bred for, we selected those traits, and soo many pets go stir crazy when denied fulfillment of said instincts. But imo the first world has internalized the concept of work as miserable drudgery thanks to capitalism, and I think we project those feelings onto the animals we keep. that they must love this easy life in our living rooms and would actually find misery in work.
There's been studies measuring blood cortisol levels in horses before and after working and guess what, when done correctly they aren't distressed by pulling carriages, even in NYC!!
At worst this attitude can be downright harmful to vulnerable populations. For example, animal rights groups successfully petitioned to have horse carts banned from cities under the banner of welfare.
But these animal drawn carts are vital to Palestinians who have EXTREMELY restricted access to cars and certain roads by the apartheid government. This guise of humane animal rights can so often be weaponized against minorities. From the demeaning paternalistic attitude that these folk must not know what's best for them to actively sabotaging their culture by uprooting and destabilizing their way of life in an effort to assimilate them.
These people who say "just left machines do it" think it is by default the more humane option. Would you also goad on the systemic culling of Inuit sled dogs and replacement with snowmobiles that was pushed by the Canadian government in the mid 20th century? Do we really need more gas guzzling machines to replace something an animal can do better and also brings a sense of cultural fulfillment and connection to the world around us?
I'm sick of leftists who haven't left sheltered urban or suburban areas speaking on animal welfare and the relationships humans have with their animals when it's anything beyond a pet cat or dog. Wtf constitutes a useless animal!?? Shouldn't you be in Yellowstone larping as a Disney princess and harassing the bison? They are so disconnected from the rich history and culture humans share with our domestic animals.
