For years, I have had discussions with people about
animal rights, but a new idea hit me today.
My discussions used to go something like this:
Other Person: It’s
the circle of life. We are supposed to
kill animals. We are predators. Animals in slaughterhouses don’t know you are
going to kill them. Animals don’t have a
sense of themselves, so it doesn’t matter.
I would usually argue back that we are primates and are
most suited to eating grains, fruits and vegetables; that we were not born with
tools in our hands; that animals do know fear and can smell blood and feel
terrible pain when they are slaughtered; that most animals do have a sense of themselves
because they react to pain, want love, and a few do look at their reflections
and realize it is them. I end up writing
a lot of information on all these topics in order to try to prove each aspect.
What I thought of today is that it does not matter
whether it is the circle of life, whether you think you are supposed to kill
animals, whether you are a predator, whether animals don’t realize they are
about to die, or whether animals have a sense of themselves - YOU know they are
about to die.
You know this is their only life – this is their only
chance to live on planet Earth. Why
would you take that away? Why would you
categorize them as “livestock” or “food” when you could eat something else and
allow them to live their lives? Why
betray them? Why be “The Devil” to them?
As long as they aren’t threatening your
life, why take theirs? Why not live as
morally and kindly as you can? Let them
experience life for as long as their natural lives will last and help make every animal’s life as good as
possible!
