"subjugation"

The other night on television, I caught a Travel Channel program where the host was in Central or South America. As he sampled various native cuisines, he entered a village where they seemed to specialize in cooking armadillo and iguana. The host walked past piles and piles of seemingly live armadillos and iguanas. All of them had their limbs bound and some had soe sort of string woven through their noses for easy handling.

The scene was pretty off-putting and sad to me.

I asked myself why I seemed to feel more sad for these animals than animals I have seen hunted and killed on television.
Attempting to reject any anthropocentrism, I told myself that these creatures were just the same as any deer I might see killed on another program. So why was I feeling different? Afterall, I have never had any relationship with armadillos or iguanas.

Then it occured to me.
These animals lying bound in piles waiting for a torturous death were being subjugated by the humans.
Maybe I am splitting hairs and I certainly do not condone killing any animal for food but I guess I do feel worse for an animal subjugated and waiting for death than an animal living out its life in its environment and then being killed.

Subjugation. That's it.