Question: A relative participated in the liberation of pomfret yesterday. Being a non-vegetarian, she is concerned that she would not be able to consume pomfret or any other kind of fish again in future. She must have heard it from somewhere that one cannot consume the meat of the kind of animal that one has liberated. If this is indeed true, will it not deter non-vegetarians from participating in the liberation of animals. Please advise.
Answer: The short answer is that there is no obligation to refrain from eating the kind of animal liberated. The more complex, varied and significant answers can be seen at http://purelanders.com/2011/12/11/must-i-refrain-from-eating-the-kind-of-animal-i-liberated Maybe you can see if she is ready for the answer and send the link to her? Or if she is not ready, maybe you can summarise the part you deem approriate for her?
Liberation of animals is an act of compassion. Meat eating is considered an act of cruelty by vegetarians For non – vegetarians, meat eating is generally considered a social norm and even a form of enjoyment. Therefore, I think it depends on which mindset you are looking at, to determine whether both acts are at odds with each other.
If a tiger rips your family members apart for food, as a tiger’s ‘social norm’, and even as a ‘form of enjoyment’, is this mindset of the tiger ok for you?
We are not tigers or such. Just as we appreciate not being killed and eaten by tigers, we should minimise or abstain from killing and eating sentient beings when the power of supply and demand is controlled by us consumers.