This issue parallels the environment to some extent, but it also embraces the concept of experimenting
on rats and monkeys, and the like, to perfect life saving drugs. I'm an animal lover, and nothing gets
my blood boiling faster than cruelty to animals, but scientific research is a marvel of our modern
society which promises to eliminate terrible human suffering, discover new cures for debilitating and
fatal diseases, and if animal suffering in a clinical environment can make a significant contribution,
then what's the beef about?
Look at it this way. We put on a uniform and expose ourselves to death and mutilation to protect our homes
and loved ones. Sacrifice on the part of a soldier, and the support personnel at home, is considered a
noble act. What is any less noble about an animal doing the same thing?
I would expect hard core animal righters to argue that an animal has no choice in the matter. I've got a news
flash...an animal doesn't have a volition! In fact, they don't have a soul. They have no self-consciousness,
no conscience, no norms and standards, other than what they are taught.
Animals have instinct. Remember when I mentioned that a curse was put on nature when man fell (if you've
read the environment issue comments)? Well, animals became hostile for the most part, leery of man. Their
natural instinct is to avoid us, kill us and eat us, whatever. There are animals that can be domesticated,
and animals have the ability to learn, but not on a cognitive level of the human intellect. They are "programmed".
They have no power of reason.
We have two miniature weenie dogs, and one of them is smart as a whip, but her volcabulary is an acquired ability,
and one that is limited. She does some eerie things, they seem so human, but she is still an animal. We love
our dogs like members of the family, and we spend oodles of money at the vet's every year getting their shots,
having their claws trimmed, tending their occasional sickness. They, in turn, are devoted little creatures,
very much adored and protected.
Cruelty to animals is one thing, but using them to help save lives and relieve human suffering is quite another.