How treatment of animals informs human values

By: David Martosko
Newspaper: Christian Science Monitor

In response to Barbara Cook Spencer's recent Opinion piece on animal cruelty: The author exposes an interesting conundrum in her exploration of how modern society treats animals.

While gratuitous cruelty toward animals clearly lowers humanity's value, the same can be said of the gratuitous elevation of animals' worth.

The same animal advocates who rush to judgment about the reckless behavior of a few slaughterhouse employees apparently see nothing wrong with extending legal "rights" to lab rats – regardless of the cost to cancer and AIDS patients.

Doesn't the establishment of legal rights for these animals also debase humanity?

At the end of the day, it is probably impossible to guarantee both "rights" for animals and disease cures for humans.

I see siding with my own species as the only compassionate option.