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All you have to do is imagine yourself in the animal's position and it clearly and immediately ceases to be okay.
Being stuck in a pen, unable to roam for miles as you would in Nature. Being forced into sexual intercourse with strangers in order to prolong and spread the sex ring. Being fed processed food, scraps, and likely not from many items that you would forage yourself if you were in your natural environment. Likely bored, only getting attention when it benefits the human(s) responsible for your "care".
So, below are some of the specific reasons regarding why I feel that "ranching", and sometimes even pet "ownership", is wrong and immoral.
1. I do not condone slavery / "ownership".
Most people do not see "having pets" or "owning animals" as slavery. We have been conditioned from very young ages to see other animal life as inferior. Christians are taught that dominion means domination. We are taught that other species would not survive without us. That we are doing the world a favor by "taking care of" these "lesser" species and that we are "good" for doing so. Not to mention the fact that we somehow need their products, including their flesh, in order to survive or be healthy.
Ideas exist such as animals needing humans to milk them otherwise their utters would get infected or somehow cause damage to the being, without recognizing that it's because the humans stole the babies that the issue occurs, or that humans bred the species to produce more milk which casued it to be like that in the first place. As with most things in today's society, folks do not seek the root cause of the issue, they simply analyze things at the surface level in order to justify their immoral behavior.
2. I do not help others offload their responsibilities.
If someone else has chosen to engage in owning livestock or pets, that is a choice they have made. If they are unable to care for the being, such as when on vacation, it's proper to find someone to aid them. Some may be open to doing this, even as a vegan. I see it more as if I were to be condoning their behavior. I do not feel moral when helping others to enslave other beings, allowing them to go on and do other things while I accept the consequences of their immoral choice.
3. Helping care for the critters allows the animal "owner" to justify having more.
Compounding on helping offload the responsibilities, by directly aiding in the care and maintenance of the non-human animals, it frees up time for the "owner". This allows them to consider whether they want to expand their operation. Whether it be more chickens for eggs, goats for milk, dogs for breeding, or whatever animal for whatever purpose, once someone has gotten into the livestock industry they tend to want to expand it, especially if profit is on their mind.
4. The non-human animals are not truly getting their needs met.
If I was to be put in charge for the animals, given any responsibility for them at all, then I would feel charged to take full responsibility and liberate them. If I am to be their caretaker, and I am tasked with aiding them in some way, then I will fulfill my moral duty to get them to some sort of situation where they can exist as free as possible.
Conclusion
So, what would my preference be, should all the non-human animals be let go into the wild? What s my solution? What should be done?
They should have never been bred to begin with. That would be my solution. The problem isn't that the animals would decimate Nature, or that there isn't enough space for them to all be free, it's that they were bred by humans in such unnatural states to begin with. My solution is solving the root cause. Bringing up the surface level issues and any of their solutions just feels ignorant to the entire issue itself.
Stop considering slavery acceptable, stop the sex rings (breeding), and stop the exploitation. Then we can work on creating rescues and other operations to treat the beings with as much kindness as possible. But until minds are changed, and the breeding and trading stops, then more and more beings will be spawned in order to fill people's bodies with poison and their pockets with currency, and the rescues and sanctuaries would have more and more work cut out for them.
Sidenote to Inhumanity, Responsibility Shifting, Guilt Tripping, etc.
Whether you are vegan or not, and someone else is "making you feel responsible" for a situation, such as saying that it is inhumane / immoral / etc of you to not help care for their animals, this is likely a form of deflecting, blame-shifting, projecting, or even gaslighting, and should be considered extremely toxic behavior.
Even if it's feeding their pet while they're at work, you are not responsible for their decisions, and while it may help the nonhuman animal in captivity, it allows the "owner" to get away with being irresponsible by putting that responsibility onto you. If you do not feel comfortable with the situation, assert your boundary and work to void the social or physical contract.
If it causes strife in the friendship then it may not be a friendship which serves you to begin with. This is way easier said than done, so best of luck. it may be difficult initially but you'll likely be thanking yourself in the long run. Being a good steward is one thing, and being stuck in people-pleasing and codependent behavior is another.
(I would go so far as to say that this also applies to humans as well, such as family or friends who are ill [usually of their own accord, but not always], and expect you to take care of them, possibly because they at some point cared for you. Guilt-tripping is toxic and you do not owe anyone anything, unless you have explicitly promised them such a thing.)
If you are caught in such a situation and feel you could use support, try looking into domestic and narcissistic abuse resources. Whether it be watching videos, calling a hotline, or seeking a therapist, there is help out there to free yourself from harmful entities.
Thank you for caring for yourself enough to do so! :)