I think some anti-meat activists really gloss over how humanity spent 1000s of years molding dogs + cats into companions and co-workers who pretty intuitively understand our emotions- we haven’t done this with pigs and cows.
It’s not exactly shocking that many people thus don’t want to eat pets.
Because dogs and cats are considered companion animals - even those born in the wild who have never encountered a human. Horses are considered utilitarian, and the shift from "work animal" to "food animal" isn't a huge one.
Eating a dog feels closer to eating a human.
