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Past social justice movements have met with great resistance from people in positions of power. Today, billions of animals are slaughtered, experimented on, shot, poisoned, beaten by “professional trainers”, chained, drowned and dissected. These abuses happen routinely – despite humans’ ability to choose alternatives and even though scientific proof and common sense show that animals feel pain, love, joy, terror and other emotions. It happens because animals – whose appearance, interests and methods of communication may seem quite different from ours – are powerless to stop us.
Just as it was always wrong to oppress and abuse less powerful humans, it is wrong to abuse and oppress animals. Because animals are unable to defend themselves, it is vital that principled people speak out for them.
Animals’ lives are as important to them as our lives are to us. We must stand up for them, just as good people from other eras spoke out – and even risked their own lives – in order to defend women, children, people used as slaves and other oppressed groups.
!["[Animals] are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time …." – Henry Beston, author, The Outermost House](quotes/henryBeston.gif)
Our "Animal Liberation" exhibit shows that animals are feeling, thinking beings who deserve consideration of their interests, regardless of their usefulness to humans. They are individuals who should be respected, left in peace or protected. They are not ours to use – for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation or any other reason. As author Henry Beston explained, "[Animals] are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time …".
Fortunately, there are many easy ways to bring about progressive change in the way these “other nations” are treated. Whether it’s by exploring humane and healthy vegetarian meals, choosing products that haven’t been tested by having caustic chemicals dripped into rabbits' eyes, writing to lawmakers or choosing not to wear animal skins, you have countless opportunities to choose between harming animals and helping them.
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