Brian W
Conscientious Christian
But we do - we put bits of human beings in museums, just not while their immediate relatives are alive.
Using animals after death?
- Thread starter Aurora
- Start date
Good point but maybe anthropological/anatomical reasons have more of an ethical grounding than other reasons?
Brian W
Conscientious Christian
How do you feel anthropological "needs" would allow us to ethically use human bones if it were unethical to do so for any other reason?
Educational needs, which, like anatomical needs, may help to benefit humans in some way, if only by understanding how we have evolved. Compare this to cosmetically altering the parts in some way purely for pleasure?
Brian W
Conscientious Christian
But why is that important compared to the life of an animal? If it is unethical to use body parts for one reason, surely it is equally unethical for every other reason other than if it becomes essential to survival?
Yes, you could argue that and I wouldn't dispute it. I'm just raising the question, in respect of the post, as to what maybe regarded as unethical and what perhaps is not?
Jaydoesitgood
Forum Devotee
So, personally, I dont think collecting remains of animals (assuming its roadkill or scavanged bones) is unethical. Wild animals dont really get a say in what happens to their bodies after death with or without human intervention and dont really have any of the long term rituals reguarding death that humans do. Unless youre talking animals like Elephants, which i super doubt youre going to find just on the side of the road anywhere. I dont think it unfairly impacts the animal in any way and theyre incapable of consenting to anything about death, be that being naturally eaten by magots out by the road, buried, or turned into an articulated skeleton. Maybe its just because Im a morbid and death positive person and would let people turn my skull into a drinking cup for all I care after I die, but I dont see the harm in it.
And most of the animals you find on the road or on a hike will have either have been gotten to by insects and scavengers by the time you find them so theyve probably already begun to give back to the food chain. If youre concerned about that, you can possibly do what some hunters do and make a little uh...mesh bone cage, so that smaller scavangers like insects and rodents can eat it and return the nutrients to the soil, but not larger scavengers that might scatter the bones. Plus its like a free dermestid beetle treatment for free!
Speaking of morbid roadkill stuff! You should check out Paul Koudounaris on instagram! They do roadkill funerals and theyre very sweet.
And most of the animals you find on the road or on a hike will have either have been gotten to by insects and scavengers by the time you find them so theyve probably already begun to give back to the food chain. If youre concerned about that, you can possibly do what some hunters do and make a little uh...mesh bone cage, so that smaller scavangers like insects and rodents can eat it and return the nutrients to the soil, but not larger scavengers that might scatter the bones. Plus its like a free dermestid beetle treatment for free!
Speaking of morbid roadkill stuff! You should check out Paul Koudounaris on instagram! They do roadkill funerals and theyre very sweet.
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Interesting point J but the same thing happens to the corpses of humans too, the buried ones at least. I tend to think though that the remains of a creature, be they human or non-human, is very much about those they leave behind, such as their loved ones. For example, I personally would have no objection to my skull being turned into a work of art to adorn someone's bookshelf, but my wife may not like it. As for non-human animals the same would apply to our pets, I would like my dog's body to be treated with respect and not used for any other purpose after death. But then that wouldn't apply to road kill, unless we project our empathy (or anthropomorphism if you like) to all corpses. However, on a purely pragmatic basis I can see little wrong in the use of corpses for medical reasons or artistic ones, but on a spiritual level there is a lot more to this subject than pragmatism.
Thank you for the really interesting post.
Here in Japan, for people and most pets, cremation is the way to go.
There is a small “niche” business in producing memento Mori from the ashes. Usually jewel-like stones mounted in rings or pendants.
Interesting conversation starter.
“How do you like my ring? Say hello to Rover!”
They are very pretty but again, vegan or not, the ick factor is there and the crematoriums are definitely making money off it.
Here in Japan, for people and most pets, cremation is the way to go.
There is a small “niche” business in producing memento Mori from the ashes. Usually jewel-like stones mounted in rings or pendants.
Interesting conversation starter.
“How do you like my ring? Say hello to Rover!”
They are very pretty but again, vegan or not, the ick factor is there and the crematoriums are definitely making money off it.
Yes, very much the "ick factor." Rather like my wife having certain parts of my anatomy turned into earrings!
I've thought a bit about this since reading this thread.
My basic reaction is to say that this wouldn't be wrong, since it doesn't shorten the animal's life or cause them suffering. But after reading the comments about how we would feel if this were done to human remains, I think I know why I might not feel the same way about doing this with human remains- and I think the reasons are emotional, not logical.
My basic reaction is to say that this wouldn't be wrong, since it doesn't shorten the animal's life or cause them suffering. But after reading the comments about how we would feel if this were done to human remains, I think I know why I might not feel the same way about doing this with human remains- and I think the reasons are emotional, not logical.
The Victorians were into death in a big way, I think, so they had lots of Memento Mori, but I think most of us nowadays have a strong taboo against things like photographs of dead people and trinkets made from ashes or bones.
One of my sons had a photo of a baby on his table and “Who’s this?” I asked.
“It’s my friend’s little boy. He died last month and they sent out post mortem photos to everybody. I hate it but I don’t know what to do with it.”
It was hard even just to touch it.
Very weird even for Japan. This is not what people usually do.
We took it to a Buddhist temple and had the priest dispose of it respectfully.
(Shudder)
One of my sons had a photo of a baby on his table and “Who’s this?” I asked.
“It’s my friend’s little boy. He died last month and they sent out post mortem photos to everybody. I hate it but I don’t know what to do with it.”
It was hard even just to touch it.
Very weird even for Japan. This is not what people usually do.
We took it to a Buddhist temple and had the priest dispose of it respectfully.
(Shudder)
Photographs of the deceased was a very popular thing in Victorian Britain. I cannot understand for the life of me why? I guess this is one use of the dead that's particular to human corpses only!
