Maybe, but for modern-ish humans in western cultures cats aren’t prey and really never have been. Certainly never to the extent that torturing non-prey animals for fun has been. AFAIK that behavoir is currently considered a predictor for escalating to similar abuse against humans.
Contrast that to society’s reaction to meat production: don’t make them suffer needlessly, or at least don’t make me watch/know about it.
Contrast that to society’s reaction to meat production: don’t make them suffer needlessly, or at least don’t make me watch/know about it.
This shows you that there are barriers that aren’t easy to overcome. A hunter gather needs to overcome those emotional barriers to be a functioning hunter gatherer. Evolution needs to have installed strategies that allow a hunter gather to overcome his empathy towards an animal and kill it.
Maybe, but for modern-ish humans in western cultures cats aren’t prey and really never have been. Certainly never to the extent that torturing non-prey animals for fun has been. AFAIK that behavoir is currently considered a predictor for escalating to similar abuse against humans.
Contrast that to society’s reaction to meat production: don’t make them suffer needlessly, or at least don’t make me watch/know about it.
This shows you that there are barriers that aren’t easy to overcome. A hunter gather needs to overcome those emotional barriers to be a functioning hunter gatherer. Evolution needs to have installed strategies that allow a hunter gather to overcome his empathy towards an animal and kill it.