Horse racing involves the slaughter of tens of thousands of horses every year, across the globe perhaps hundreds. The fact that people are completely unaware of this, and the other ethical issues surrounding horse racing, prompted me to write this piece for Animal Liberation Queenslands newsletter.
Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and 'animals' is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them — without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. It is unseemly of us, who often behave so unfeelingly toward other animals, to contend that only humans can suffer. The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us
This beautiful book about the emotional lives of animals is one of my favourites. So often in cases of oppression, a line is attempted to be drawn that justifies it. For African American slaves the fact that they couldn't blush (which they could of course) meant they felt no shame...