You Know

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!