What is it about my critters that makes them such an important integral part of my life? Perhaps, they fill a need in my life to be needed, to love and be loved. Perhaps, it is something even deeper. The Zen religion teaches us all things are connected. Native Americans held a ceremony when they killed a buffalo to acknowledge and atone for the death. Animals have feelings, are adventuresome, curious, capable of love, thinking and expressing joy or sadness. These are all qualities shared with humans. Perhaps, we need to get over the opinion we are superior to animals which are not human. When my kitty Oscar climbs into my lap and crawls up to my chin and gives me a kitty kiss, there is no doubt that he is expressing love. When my kitty Sam sneaks up on one of the kitties and playfully smacks them on the head, there is no doubt he thought the act through and attained much joy from it. When Sam expresses his displeasure with my disturbing his sleep, there is no doubt he is angry. Animals are not things. They are thinking, feeling spiritual beings created by God just like we were.

Gandhi said you can tell a lot about a culture by how it treats its animals. In american culture, we conveniently have developed the ability to think of animals as pets or food. Animals used for food are given other labels; pork,veal,beef and are packaged in pretty packages. McDonalds tells kids hamburgers come from "hamburger patches". When humans de-value the existence of other animals, we de-value ourselves and lessen the quality of our experience of life. We don't think of animals as the spiritual beings they are, so it is easy to overlook the grisly horror of factory farms and slaughterhouses, the abuse of horses in the manufacture of HRT products and the unnecessary use of animals for laboratory testing of cosmetics. What does this tell us about OUR culture?

ANIMALS RIGHTS LINKS:

Feminists for Animal Rights

Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights

St. Louis Animal Rights Team (START)

I would also highly recommend you read John Robbins "Diet for a New America".

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