I don't get their stance on pets at all. Most pets have been bred to live better in households (compare a dog (domestic) to a grey wolf (original version in the wild) or a cat (domestic) to a desert lynx (original version in the wild)). They wouldn't really be able to survive in the wild, and... well, I don't see why they'd particularly suffer in a caring home. Dogs seem happy to live with their owners, and apparently think of themselves as part of their owner's "pack". Cats generally aren't constrained very much... they often come and go as they please, take food and get to be stroked when they like (hey, who hasn't wanted to be a cat every now and again?). I mean, I suppose it would be bad if you had an ideological belief in freedom, but pets just don't seem to have this concept.
I agree with what your saying, but I'd like to add something. Many living circumstances of today's society simply isn't fit for having animals in. Many people also aren't knowledgeable enough about their pets to treat them right, hence why we have people, for example, leaving dogs to die in their cars on hot days, or people who persist in keeping their horses alone, even though horses are so "sociably dependant", pack animals as they are, that they'll bond with rocks if they have to.
And don't get me started on the cages we keep our birds and rodents in. That's just a fucking disgrace, keeping something genetically bound to move over and/or survey large areas confined like that.
To summarize; I am not content with the minimum standards society has set for pet-keeping, both with the responsibility expected from the keepers, and the environments for keeping them in. The bar could, and in my opinion should, be set higher.