<h2 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">Pampered prisoners?</h2>

Josh Gabbatiss put the final touches to his drawing of a chimpanzee. It was over! After 21 years, he had completed the project he had started aged nine: an encyclopaediaA book, in alphabetical order, giving information on many topics. of every living creature: invertebratesAnimals without backbones., fish, amphibiansCold-blooded vertebrate animals such as frogs, that live on land and in water., reptiles, birds and mammalsWarm blooded animals where the female gives birth to live young. . "For me it feels really special," he says, "because I know that in many ways, I feel the same way as I did when I was nine about these things."

Josh is just one of many people who are passionate about animals. In the UK, 52% of adults own a pet. Between them they have 10.2 million dogs and 11.1 million cats.¹ In China, there are 251 million pets.²

But in an article for the Guardian, environmental historian Troy Vettese argues that we are harming animals by keeping them in our homes. Here are seven of his most prominent claims:

According to Vettese: "Pet ownership's more insidiousSomething which is gradually and secretly causing harm. injury is the hardening of our hearts for the sake of a selfish, possessive happiness. Rather than seeing other animals as autonomousHaving the freedom to control itself or its life. beings with their own lives, desires and cultures, they are reduced to mere dolls."

People, he adds, crave the unconditional love that pets offer, but keeping them involves training which aims to break their spirits and suppress their natural instincts.

Vettese would like others to follow the example of New York State, which recently banned pet shops from selling dogs, cats or rabbits. It wants people to adopt animals from rescue centres instead of buying them.

Yes: Animals are meant to live in the wild with their own kind. Keeping them in cages is particularly cruel. The enormous global trade is often immoral and a terrible waste of resources.

No: Vettese's arguments are mainly about irresponsible pet owners and breeders. As long as animals are bought from a respectable source, and given proper care, there is nothing wrong with owning them.  

Or... It is better for dogs and cats to live as pets than in the wild, where they struggle to survive and pose a greater threat to other species. The average feral cat kills 130 birds a year.   

Encyclopaedia - A book, in alphabetical order, giving information on many topics.

Invertebrates - Animals without backbones.

Amphibians - Cold-blooded vertebrate animals such as frogs, that live on land and in water.

Mammals - Warm blooded animals where the female gives birth to live young.

Detriment - Harmed or harmful.

Insidious - Something which is gradually and secretly causing harm.

Autonomous - Having the freedom to control itself or its life.