A Universal Truth: Hurting Animals Hurts Ourselves

Society typically fails to describe institutionalized animal abuse as a social issue - because it refuses to include animals within its moral purview. However, vivisection (animal experimentation, which additionally involves product testing) and factory farming are also human rights issues, as will be elucidated later. Part of our attitude that "animals don't matter" may come from religions that tell us animals "have no souls," are "inferior" to us, or are here for us to "use." Yet, the Bible says, "Man shall have no pre-eminence above a beast." The Jains attempt to avoid any harm to animals. The Jewish religion states that every living thing is a part of the soul of God. And I'm told that Islam is very adamant in its proscriptions against hurting animals. The Hebrew word for "dominion" means "stewardship" - not "exploitation." We are mandated to care for creation, not abuse it. Many people love animals but still support the notion that animal suffering is necessary or acceptable to make human life better or more enjoyable.

I define institutionalized animal abuse as a social issue, because I consider animals to be citizens, too. They may not be interested in some of the same rights or privileges we pursue - such as driving, voting, or protesting - but, as sentient beings who occupy our homes; gardens; streets; parks; waterways; and skies, they certainly do have rights. I perceive those to be to fulfill their individual and collective evolutionary destinies, to live as nature intended, and to be safe from human intervention (unless such is to offer sustenance, assistance, or love). A useful way sometimes to look at the situation is to say from what animals have a right to be free - and that would be the notion that their purpose is to serve humans. They are not here to give up their skins to provide us with fashion garments. They are not here to entertain us. They are not here to sit on our dinner plates. And they are not here to be our research subjects. The animal rights movement has an eloquent and succinct way of expressing it: "Women are not here to serve men. Children are not here to serve adults. Blacks are not here to serve whites. And animals are not here to serve humans." So, when we extend the circle of compassion to embrace animals, their suffering becomes a social issue. And I would also propose that those who disregard animal life likewise disregard human life. One of the hallmark symptoms of the congenital and irremediable condition known as psychopathology, which is characterized by the inability to feel empathy towards others or remorse for one's misdeeds, is the abuse of animals. It often starts as early as four years of age and is not amenable to any modern therapeutic modality. The vivisection industry allows people afflicted with this egregious disease to legally perpetrate atrocities against animals that would land them behind the business end of a lethal injection barrel if done to humans. It feels no different to animals than it would to us to be burned, electroshocked, drowned, starved, sleep-deprived or have bleach dripped into our eyes and oven cleaner poured down our throats. Finally, I am convinced that a society with little sympathy for animals ultimately attracts dysfunctional domestic and international relations.

Animal rights activists come from diverse backgrounds. They hail from different countries and represent all ages, economic classes, and religious persuasions. What they have in common are the conviction that harming animals is wrong and the commitment to fight against it. One will hear statements from them like, "I've never considered myself superior to animals" or "My best friends have always been animals." They often feel that animals display more affection and loyalty than humans.

Are animals really inferior or "dumb"? Scientists say that without the presence of insects, human life would be impossible. Baby birds learn a 2,000-mile migratory route in one pass. The memories of pigeons are 300 times better than those of humans for landscape details. Beavers can build dams. Cetaceans can echolocate. Bees can communicate the distance and direction of a remote food source using the sun's rays. Microbes can hijack our cellular nuclei and force us to feed and replicate them. And plants produce the oxygen we require to breathe and the food we need to eat.

Animal abuse injures humans. Animal experimentation is not only immoral, but also scientifically fraudulent. Its applicability ranges from 5% to 25% and explains why, despite decades of research, we haven't found cures for the devastating conditions that plague us. Drugs (and products) that are tested "safe" in animals go on to maim and kill thousands of consumers, while those tested "unsafe" in animals and which might have been curative or prophylactic are discarded and never brought to market. Animal researchers have discovered something like seventy ways to cause cancer in mice but not one way to cure it in humans.

The irony is that eating animals underlies most of our degenerative conditions. We are designed to eat plants. We have flat molars to grind plant fibers - not long, pointed canines to tear flesh. We have round, dull nails to dig up roots - not sharp talons to catch and hold prey. We don't have the speed, agility, or endurance with which to chase prey like the obligate carnivores. But we don't need them. Our "prey" is stationary. Our stomach acid is not strong enough to kill the pathogens found in meat. And our intestines are long and convoluted for the slow extraction of plant nutrients - not short and straight for rapid elimination of the toxins of putrefaction.

Factory farming causes horrific suffering. The animals live in crowded and filthy conditions, contract painful chronic illnesses, and experience torturous methods of slaughter. The practice also contributes to pollution, deforestation, topsoil erosion, aquifer depletion, desertification, and world hunger. (It takes from 8-15 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat.) And those who consume animal products have a 50% chance of ending up with cardiovascular disease or cancer. "Red" meat is now definitively implicated in the development of cancers of the breast, prostate, stomach, rectum, colon, and liver. (The latter is usually a secondary metastatic site of colorectal malignancy.)

Animal rights activism expresses itself within the confines of three basic categories. Those are welfarism/rescue, abolitionism/protesting, and underground/liberation. Into which group one will fall depends on individual personalities, philosophies, resources, and risk tolerances. The welfarist will petition the legal system to provide better living conditions for animals on factory and fur farms or in labs. The rescuer will typically "bail" animals from kill shelters and place them with caring guardians. The abolitionist will engage in street demonstrations to expose abusers and bring public awareness to the issues. The underground operative will carry out illegal direct actions to either release animals from places of abuse or inflict property damage on those who administer and profit from such abuse. There is much infighting in the movement as to which method is most effective, but the argument is essentially baseless and counterproductive. People have to work within their personal comfort zones, and all forms of activism contribute in their own ways to the reduction of animal suffering. Laws have been enacted that benefit animals, people have become much more conscious of animal issues, and many animals have been rescued or liberated. The message has to continue to be disseminated - through protests, interviews, media reports, lectures, articles, and books. But institutionalized animal abuse is entrenched in our society. Its eradication will be a long time in coming, if ever.

In conclusion, animal rights and human rights intersect across multiple dimensions. The interests and wellbeing of animals should not be neglected simply because nonhumans are members of other species. This is called "speciesism" and foreshadows damage to our individual characters and interpersonal relationships. Animal experimentation retards human medical progress as we wait for cures that will never come and which could be discovered much more quickly and reliably via the many technologically advanced methodologies we can employ today - such as imaging, autopsies, cell cultures, demographics, computer modeling, pre-market testing, and clinical studies. Factory farming destroys the environment and taints the meat with antibiotics, growth hormones, and other unsavory substances. The consumption of animal products creates a 50% likelihood of having a heart attack, stroke, or cancer. It's fascinating that the universe evolved - or was designed - in such a way that hurting animals hurts ourselves. What more proof do some of us need that animal abuse is a compelling social issue?

Lindy Greene
lindygreene [at] roadrunner.com