"In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a
tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other
tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of
protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include
blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America
and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and
hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we
have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery
and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of
the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research
tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter and the destruction
of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of
ethics."
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