Question:
I have read your column religiously for several years, and I must say that you are such a voice for animal rights that other members of my family, who aren't vegetarian like me and like to go hunting, sometimes laugh when I read your column to them. They are uncomfortable, I know. That's why they laugh. But they say you put animals before people, and I don't know what to say. What do you say?.
M.S., Flint, MI Mar 07, 2004
Answer:
Caring for animals and advocating for such basic rights as humane treatment does not mean putting animals before people. Those who oppose such advocacy today are like those a few decades ago who opposed human rights and the abolition of slavery. All living beings should be given equal consideration and respect, which is the essence of democracy. The moral progress of a society can be judged by how well its animals are treated, just as the deliberate infliction of pain on an animal is recognized by the courts today as a felony, not a misdemeanor, and a sign of psychopathology in children and adolescents.ANIMAL ANGELSMany readers will enjoy a book I recently received for review called "Animal Angels: True Tales of Creatures that Changed and Enriched Peoples' Lives," by Charlene R. Johnson and Michael Rebel (New Horizon Press, 2003). There are many other books, seminars, workshops and retreats that promote the educational, emotional and inspirational/spiritual powers of animals and nature.The human-animal bond
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