treating animals humanely?

Continuing with the food theme for today, this article in the Coloradoan about how the Whole Foods in Maine is selling lobsters had a line that made me retch:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Virginia-based animal rights group, would rather Whole Foods not sell live lobsters, but it said the company should also be commended for ensuring that the animals are being treated humanely.

Is anyone else annoyed by the jarring mental dissonance of treating an animal “humanely”?

Someone ought to give PETA a lesson in set theory or maybe just plain logic. All humans are animals, but not all animals are humans. The need to have to explain why this is so depresses me.

It doesn’t make sense to try and treat an animal the same way that you would treat a human. Attempting to do so not only degrades what it means to be a human, but also demeans the animal as well, by forcing a paternalistic attitude on something that doesn’t even realize what’s going on. Think “noble savage” and apply it to animals, and you’ll see what I mean.

Humanity would be better served if a giant meteor fell on top of Virginia.

On the other hand, if PETA wants to continue to send hot chicks who strip naked, put on body paint, and sit in a cage all day to my town, I guess I’d be down with that.