First off, an animal shelter isn't just for feeding stray animals. It's one of the guise of the pet industry. So, reducing the argument to merely feeding needy animals isn't accurate since I'm opposing the whole idea of an animal shelter because it's an inlet for a much more lavish and wasteful activity.
Secondly, I mentioned that the practice of owning pets is foreign to this region because of "societal, religious, and even economic standards". Why you chose to ignore the first and third aspect of the standards and chose to address only the middle one is a bit interesting. For the sake of the argument, I'm going to assume that what you're advocating does not contradict the common religious belief here (and you'll find out in a bit that even that assumption isn't right). Say that religious standards do not mind the pet industry… what about the economic and societal standards that you ignored? They make up 2 thirds of the reason why pet ownership is foreign to this region. It's as if this society is too uni-dimensional: if Allah (or his supposed representatives) says it's ok to advocate the pet industry, then it must be ok to do so. No… there are many many layers to the society of this region, and religion constitutes only 1 of those layers. Reality is much more complex than this overly simplistic view of this society. So, even if your call is accepted religiously, it will still be rejected on other grounds that have nothing to do with religion, and the pet industry would still be very foreign to this culture.
Re: Not Region-Suitable
Secondly, I mentioned that the practice of owning pets is foreign to this region because of "societal, religious, and even economic standards". Why you chose to ignore the first and third aspect of the standards and chose to address only the middle one is a bit interesting. For the sake of the argument, I'm going to assume that what you're advocating does not contradict the common religious belief here (and you'll find out in a bit that even that assumption isn't right). Say that religious standards do not mind the pet industry… what about the economic and societal standards that you ignored? They make up 2 thirds of the reason why pet ownership is foreign to this region. It's as if this society is too uni-dimensional: if Allah (or his supposed representatives) says it's ok to advocate the pet industry, then it must be ok to do so. No… there are many many layers to the society of this region, and religion constitutes only 1 of those layers. Reality is much more complex than this overly simplistic view of this society. So, even if your call is accepted religiously, it will still be rejected on other grounds that have nothing to do with religion, and the pet industry would still be very foreign to this culture.
(To be continued)