You don’t need to love animals
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org
You don’t need to “love” animals. Let’s simply stop
thinking about our fellow earthlings as inferior beings and resources whom
we can objectify and consume.

"Mary Had a Little Lamb (Then She Ate It)" courtesy of
Dana
Ellyn
“I love animals,” how often do I hear or read this seemingly pleasant
assertion. The word ‘love’ signifies the deepest affection for another.
According to Merriam-Webster, one of the word’s definition is: “unselfish
loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another”. For me, loving
someone means you want the best for them. You’d think that since my greatest
passion is animal advocacy, I’d be thrilled hearing that phrase. But I
always take it with a big grain of salt…
I have no doubt that many humans love certain nonhuman animals. I see
immense affection for companion animals: dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and
other creatures whom people adopt and bring into their homes. They take
great care of them and grieve deeply when they pass away. Caring
individuals, when finding homeless companion animals, rescue and adopt them.
Others work tirelessly on a regular basis, volunteering many hours in animal
rescue organizations and shelters, to save dogs and cats.
Compassion towards animals is demonstrated in so many ways. Those who notice
a bug at home, gently catch and release him outside. Others, feed birds in
their backyards, and enjoy watching them, or when finding an injured bird,
try to save her. Another common show of concern for animals is the outrage
towards trophy hunters who post photographs with murdered wild animals. The
examples of empathy towards animals are limitless.
All that is indeed fantastic. However, fondness and compassion end sharply
for most when it comes to their habits, consumer choices and satisfying
their desires. Those positive feelings not only cease to exist – I’ll be
blunt here – they turn into endorsing animal cruelty.
You volunteer at an animal shelter to rescue homeless dogs, and find them
loving forever homes. And when you and the other volunteers are hungry, you
call for a cheese pizza. What’s wrong with rescuing dogs and eating a cheese
pizza?
To answer that, let’s just imagine that people were raised on consuming the
milk of dogs instead of cow’s milk. You’re accustomed to it, after all,
you’ve consumed it all your life and the industry tells us we need dog’s
milk for our health. Would you think it’s okay to forcibly impregnate female
dogs, the same way it’s performed on dairy cows year after year? Or take
their puppies away shortly after birth, and sell them for their prized soft
flesh, much like calves? Would you agree to have female dogs milked
intensively, then have them killed at a young age, when they’re no longer
able to produce enough milk, much like dairy cows? And for the sake of
argument, let’s say that all the dog milk products would be labeled as
‘humane’, ‘organic’, ‘free range’; would that be fine with you? If not, why?
What’s the difference between a cow and a dog as far as their ability to
think, feel and socialize? No difference. Both species are mammals who are
capable of having a full life, love their babies, and care for them, if
given the chance to do so. Cows, much like dogs have amazing qualities,
they’re smart, affectionate, love to be petted and have unique
personalities. The only reason most of us love dogs and think it’s okay to
exploit, rape and kill cows, is because we were raised on their milk, and
have lived in a society that endorses this barbaric norm. We conveniently
ignore the cows’ and calves’ suffering and death when we eat cheese, butter
and ice cream. If you love dogs, why support cruelty to cows and calves
who’re as precious and value their lives as much as the dogs and puppies you
love? Why not simply leave dairy products off your plate?
Another example of the schizophrenic nature of our relationship with animals
is people who love their companion birds, or wild birds, but eat the flesh
of birds and their eggs. Chickens go through tremendous anguish and get
ruthlessly killed for your chicken soup, nuggets or breast. Consuming eggs
is a custom that supports a horrendous industry – crowding, mutilation,
slaughtering young female chickens, and the barbaric killing of male chicks
(‘organic’, ‘free-range’, ‘cage-free’ and ‘humane’ eggs, all come from the
same killing hatcheries). If you love birds, how can you bear this type of
brutality to feathered creatures? How can you say you love them and eat
their flesh?
Chickens, turkeys and other birds used for food are very similar to the
birds we “love”. The only difference is that we are accustomed to using them
as a food source, not seeing them for what they are: sentient beings who are
adorable and love life as much as we do. Did you know that chicks can
perform basic arithmetic, and that they can demonstrate self-control and
self-assessment? Indeed chickens are as cognitively, emotionally and
socially complex as most other birds and mammals. It may make us
uncomfortable to know that the chickens we treat as food supply machines are
intelligent and loving. Why not show the same kindness you have for wild and
companion birds, towards farmed birds?
The disconnect between our perceived feelings (i.e. “I love animals”) and
our actual behavior, has many facets. The same folks who get upset about the
hunting of wild animals, may be those who enjoy seeing captive animals in
zoos and marine parks. I confess, I was one of them, oblivious to the
suffering of the imprisoned animals. Let’s think about it. Zoos and marine
parks are rooted in the colonial tradition. Capturing, imprisoning and
breaking social and familial bonds of wild animals for the sole purpose of
entertaining privileged humans, is nothing but cruel. Animals in zoos suffer
stress and boredom. The limited space, artificial environment, lack of
stimulation and ability to satisfy their natural needs, cause them to go
crazy. Baby animals are a source of income, and breeding leads to surplus
animals who are sold to other zoos, private breeders, circuses, roadside
zoos, canned hunting ranches and even get slaughtered.
What right do we have to capture and confine nonhuman animals? I believe
that humans feel they’re entitled to gawk at captive animals because of
their sense of superiority. When I see a photo or a video of animals in a
zoo or a marine park, my heart breaks, but not only for the animal. I also
feel sorry for the people who have never considered the beautiful majestic
animals as worth anything but being confined in an artificial environment
and the subject of mindless “entertainment”.
All those examples show the disparity between our self image and the
consequences of our actions – our cognitive dissonance. We believe that
we’re ethical and good people who don’t harm anyone, let alone those
creatures we profess to love. The truth is, not only do we turn a blind eye
to their suffering, we’re responsible for the immense wrongs done to our
fellow animals. For a species which considers itself to be the most
intelligent on the planet, we exhibit very little rational thinking when it
comes to nonhuman animals.
Our behavior also sheds light on our prejudice and discrimination. The idea
that some species are valued more than others, and therefore should be
treated differently, is entirely arbitrary and isn’t based on any logic.
It’s comparable to other forms of prejudice such as racism and sexism. Sadly
it informs our mistreatment of animals, much like certain types of bigotry
shape how we treat different groups of human beings.
To those who’ve saved dogs and cats, I’ll go out on a limb and say: you’ll
be sparing more lives by not eating animal flesh, milk and eggs, than you’ll
ever do by rescuing dogs and cats. The average number of animals spared each
year by one person’s vegan diet is estimated to be between 95 to 365. And
it’s not only the lives that are spared from death, but also the ones who’re
saved from lifelong misery.
Each year humans kill 74 billion land animals and an estimated 90 billion
marine animals worldwide. These are astounding figures and every one of us
who consumes animal flesh, dairy and eggs, contributes to this bloodbath.
This is the furthest thing from love.
And yet, it’s so easy to change our behavior towards animals. I believe it
requires insight, self reflection and developing empathy. It can start with
putting ourselves, or our companion animals, in their place. For instance,
when you drink milk with your morning coffee, eat a piece of cake made with
eggs, or bite on flesh of a chicken or a fish, please ask yourself: would
I’ve consumed it if a dog or a cat were the source of the food? More
importantly, ask yourself, what right do I have to cause such pain and
death, merely to satisfy my taste buds?
If you care about wild animals and the planet, you probably know that animal
agriculture is ruining the environment. It’s a major source of emissions,
greater than all transportation combined, and it’s one of the leading causes
of climate change and air pollution, soil degradation and water shortage,
and the reduction of biodiversity.
The irony is that there is no shortage of tasty foods made with vegetables,
fruit, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. There are so many delicious and
healthy (without any antibiotics, hormones and pus) plant based milks,
cheeses, butters and ice creams. Eggs can be easily substituted with various
products. And let’s not forget that eating the tortured flesh of sentient
beings is not only unnecessary for our health and survival, it’s actually
bad for our body.
You don’t need to “love” animals. Let’s simply stop thinking about our
fellow earthlings as inferior beings and resources whom we can objectify and
consume. We should evolve and view our victims for what they are,
individuals who can feel and think. Please, treat all animals with the
respect and the humanity they deserve. Go vegan.
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