Pattern-chaser wrote: ↑Yesterday, 9:14 am
Sy Borg wrote: ↑October 12th, 2024, 7:33 pm
Consider all the ways that farmers can be inconsiderate and harsh towards animals, in ways that they could not if all parties were of comparable power.
In fairness (😯), farmers are captors, or jailers. This is intrinsically "inconsiderate and harsh towards animals", as far as the animals are concerned. The *role* of the farmer is antithetic to the welfare and wellbeing of their charges. We even disable them (removing horns, or putting nose-rings into bull's faces to control them) to prevent them from harming humans, and from resisting or escaping their captivity.
Is this bullying? I suppose it could be seen as so, but I think this 👆 goes way beyond bullying, don't you? We *own* and *use* the animals in our custody, then we execute and eat them. They live their lives, from birth to death, including breeding more victims, in controlled confinement. I'm not sure what the right word for it should be. Even slavery doesn't seem to go far enough. And "bullying" doesn't cover it, IMO.
No, you are completely off track. Farmers may or may not be bullies to the animals, just as bosses may bully or not bully their workers.
BTW, the word you are groping for is "predation".