Is seeing pets as a member of the family a "1st world/western thing"?

[Ad_Quid_Orator]

I remember I was talking to someone from China about first world privileges and one thing that she mentioned was how people in the "collective west" love their pets to the extent that they see them as a family member is a western thing.

I would have to disagree with that. I mean I don't think seeing pets as family is universal, but I don't think it's a first versus third world thing. For example, I would wager that people in Latin America also view their pets as family like many in the west do. And looking at the archaeological record, many pre-industrial societies buried pets with similar rights that people were buried with.

But what are your opinions on the manner?

[Kori1236]

I would call it more of a cultural thing as opposed to 1st world and probably just a family values thing. Viewing animals as part of the family is a somewhat newer concept. In previous generations it was what can this animal do for me (and we still have this mentality with other animals) but we primarily had dogs for specific jobs they weren’t couch potato lap dogs they had specific jobs they were bred for so they were treated more as an asset or stock as opposed to family. That same concept is still applied to livestock animals they provide a resource and we protect that resource but I wouldn’t consider a cow or chickens part of the family while I consider my dog to be family.

[menina]

I agree with her. It's not that non-western people don't have pets or don't like them, but most people that I've seen with pets were white, most of them European.

[grega239]

No. Its common here too in southern Europe. Especially on farms

[NathanDavis]

my pets are registered with my surname and all... lol

[DizzyDesii]

Im not sure. I see animals as animals. I don’t want to see then get hurt just as i wouldn't want to see a human hurt. But i also dont consider animals to be on the same level of humans. So i dont see them as family.

[CrimsonAngel09]

A Western thing it feels like.