Is keeping pets similar to slavery?

I do not own a pet because I think of it as slavery. Ah, do I hear you say, where would these animals be without us? I suppose most of them wouldn't exist because evolution would never have produced them in the first place. Then, you would talk about how good we are to them.

 

Really? They said the same about slaves in the 19th century and before.

I am not talking about the kind of animals that humans have needed as beast of burden until we reached the technological stage where we were able to produce machines to replace those types on animals. I also accept that there are still places in the world where, for whatever reason, it is still imperative to use animals. I am only talking about those animals we use as pets. "But", you may say. "What about the old and infirm whose only comfort is the keeping of pets?"

Well, that is more down to an uncaring society than the need to enslave animals.
The sooner we substitute the term 'pets' for 'slave-animals' the better we will be in seeing it for what it really is.