"In These Horrific Times, Why Do You Work for Animals?"
From All-Creatures.org Animal Rights/Vegan Activist Strategies Articles Archive

FROM Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today/Animal Emotions
June 2020


Nonhumans and humans need lots of help and compassion begets compassion.

The question in the title, "In these horrific times, why do you work for animals?" arrived in my inbox a few days ago, along with a nice note emphasizing that the writer—I'll call her Marita—was not meaning to be mean or "in my face." I know I am not the only person to whom these sorts of questions are directed, I didn't take any offense at her query. Below is what I wrote to Marita.

Many thanks for writing to me and for asking why I choose to work with nonhuman animals (animals) rather than with human animals. It's a good question, so here's a brief answer that I hope you find useful.

First, I do a good deal of work with humans in need, especially with inmates.1 I also know a good number of people who work hard for nonhumans and humans. I deeply care about humans, but only have finite time and energy, so I choose to work more with other animals....

Read the ENTIRE ARTICE HERE (PDF)


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