Our cultural boundaries in the US are so much stricter in some ways than other countries. Some of the comments here reminded me of an article regarding a teacher who was going to feed two puppies that were doomed at the HS to his snakes. There was a HUGE to-do, because in this country people actually believe that the life of a dog is more valuable than that of, say a rabbit.

Does a chicken not feel the same pain as a parrot? Is their life any less valuable to them? Is a dog's life really any more valuable than a cow's? I don't think so. Unfortunately, society places higher value on the lives of some animals than others, so in cases like this we see a knee-jerk emotoinal reaction from most people.

Does this mean I would eat dog? Probably not. I have also, on some level, fallen into this trap. (Not to mention predatory animals are poor food sources, but that's irrelevant right now) However, I would not scorn or be disgusted with anyone else for doing so.

Meh, sorry to ramble...