That's the kind of thinking that when extended by induction, supports killing of all sorts of things. Insects might be annoying but as humans all we have over them is our ability to build, shape the tera, and command respect of intellect by the deeds we do.

The fact that it is hardly necessary is the main facet here. We should not be killing and destroying homes for pleasure or entertainment. Unfortunately the pleasure part is already being done in the form of eating animals, so it's hard to argue a facet of morality that 99% of the world espouses with.

>That's the kind of thinking that when extended by induction, supports killing of all sorts of things.

And that's totally fine. Nature also kills "all sorts of things", has all sorts of things killing each other, and could even wipe out the planet tomorrow with a huge comet or something...

Note that every time you wash your hands you're killing millions of germs...

Visit a jungle, or an African savannah, or go for a swim in shark-infested waters. Go make friends with some animals. When you meet a hungry predator, or a swarm of parasites, you will be attacked and eaten.

What will you say? Survival of the fittest? Or immoral animal unnecessarily eating an innocent human being for its pleasure?

If you really believe that humans are just another animal, then we have as much right to eat them as they have to eat us--and they do.

But that's the point. We have intelligence and morals. It's what we base our humanity on - achievements in the realm of mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry, etc. We cannot use "well we're animals" as justification for intellectually reprehensible acts like torture. A cogent human has no business factory farming, ie. torturing animals for tastebud entropy unless it's by necessity. Hunting and eating animals is a blurred line but I'd generally say its OK given that it's a lot more filled with respect and lack of torture than the meat industry.