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WITH so many
pressing issues confronting us — the rising crime rate, political strife, war,
injustice, violations of human rights, overpopulation and climate changes — why
should we care about animal rights?
Shouldn’t our
goal be to alleviate the suffering of our fellow humans first before we extend
help and sympathy to other species?
For many people in the developing world, animal welfare and concern for fellow
humans appear to be mutually exclusive.
In actual fact, however, concern for human well-being and the protection of
other species — plant or animal — work hand-in-hand to form the twin pillars
holding up what we know as a civil and compassionate society.
Animal rights is a movement that seeks to end all forms of exploitation of
animals, including meat-eating; whereas the animal welfare school of thought
tries to prevent cruelty and suffering to animals and lobbies for better
treatment of farm animals and animals used for food and labor.
Animal rights
and welfare have not always been the prerogative of the “developed” West.
Oriental schools of thought, including Buddhism and Hinduism, have long
advocated vegetarianism and kindness to animals.
Contrast this
with the teachings of Greek philosopher Aristotle, who had argued that animals,
being inferior and imperfect beings, were designed to serve the interests of
humans, which are higher on the scale of intelligence and imperfection.
Let it not be forgotten that Aristotle used the same logic to condone, promote
and advance the Grecian slave trade!
Fortunately, many other great thinkers who succeeded Aristotle realized that
animals were not merely put on Earth to serve as food or labor for humans.
Prphyry of Tyre (AD 232 - 309) abstained from eating meat on the grounds that
“we owe justice to animals because we share similar tissues, appetites,
emotions, reasoning and perceptions in common”.
Simply put, a
chicken or a chimpanzee feels pain, fear, grief and stress just as humans do.
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RESPECT THEM: Wong believes that animals should be treated with the
same respect accorded to humans. |
We also
know, through documented evidence, that not only are animals capable of
feeling pain and sorrow as humans do, they are also capable of
problem-solving abilities and great selflessness.
In 1998, a deer hunter in Michigan reported that he saw a buck and doe
standing side-by-side in the forest. As they did not run from him, he raised
his rifle and shot the buck. In spite of this, the doe did not run away.
The hunter approached the doe and found, to his disbelief, that the doe was
blind. Careful inspection revealed a patch of fur worn away from the buck’s
left side, and a corresponding bald patch on the doe’s right side.
By pressing his side against hers, the buck had led his sightless companion
through the forest and cared for her.
The buck could have run away at the sight of the hunter, yet he chose to
stay with his mate and protect her from harm. How many humans do we know are
capable of the same level of sacrifice?
Animal rights movements such as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (SPCA) and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
worked hard to introduce procedures and laws to protect all classes of
animals including working animals, farm animals, pets, strays and those
living in zoos and circuses, on the grounds that animals are sentient beings
that have a right to five major freedoms, namely:
l Freedom
from thirst, hunger and malnutrition;
l Freedom from discomfort due to environment;
l Freedom from pain, injury and disease;
l Freedom to express natural behavior for the species; and
l Freedom from fear and distress.
Today, many
groups and government agencies rely on this charter of five freedoms as a
guideline to raising, keeping and treating the animals that humans rely on
for food, labor, companionship and educational or health benefits.
The animal rights movement, and indeed, many animal lovers and pet owners
who do not necessarily belong to any organization, believe that we should
feel ethically concerned about the treatment of animals because they are
conscious beings with their own purpose in Nature and do not merely exist to
serve human needs.
The brilliant English philosopher, jurist and economist, Jeremy Bentham,
said: “The question is not, ‘Can they reason?’ nor ‘Can they speak?’ but
‘Can they suffer?’”
Thanks to progressive and compassionate thinkers like Bentham, many people
today recognize that exploiting and harming animals is wrong; and this
realization has impelled society to find alternatives to cruel and
unsustainable systems such as factory farming, animal testing and the use of
animals for gratuitous entertainment.
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