Animal
Rights
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Animal
Rights
Online

Newsletter - Animal Writes � sm
30 July 2000

Haven't You Got Something Better To Do?

When this is asked of an animal advocate, this question is an assumption that it is more important to help humans than to help nonhumans.

Many of the consequences of carrying out the animal rights agenda are highly beneficial to humans. For example, stopping the production and consumption of animal products would result in a significant improvement of the general health of the human population, and destruction of the environment would be greatly reduced.

Fostering compassion for animals is likely to pay dividends in terms of a general increase of compassion in human affairs. Tom Regan puts it this way:

"...the animal rights movement is a part of, not antagonistic to, the human rights movement. The theory that rationally grounds the rights of animals also grounds the rights of humans. Thus those involved in the animal rights movement are partners in the struggle to secure respect for human rights -- the rights of women, for example, or minorities, or workers. The animal rights movement is cut from the same moral cloth as these."

Finally, the behavior asked for by the animal rights agenda involves little expenditure of energy. We are asking people to NOT do things: don't eat meat, don't exploit animals for entertainment, don't wear furs. These negative actions don't interfere with our ability to care for humans. In some cases, they may actually make more time available for doing so (e.g., time spent hunting or visiting zoos and circuses).

Living cruelty-free is not a full-time job; rather, it's a way of life. When you shop, check ingredients and consider if the product is tested on animals. These things only consume a few minutes of the day. There is ample time left for helping both humans and nonhumans.

Go on to Ohio Animal Rights Conference 2000
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