Industrial agriculture kills more than 150 million land animals every day to feed billions of people worldwide (Espanol, 3). This revelation could not have been more shocking to me as a young boy who loved animals and aspired to one day own a farm so that I could interact with them every day. My first visit to a ranch, with a slaughterhouse attached to it, happened during a family trip. Although I did not witness any actual slaughters, seeing the permanent brown stains that years of blood had left around the slaughterhouse drain was one of the most disheartening experiences. The mass killing of animals has issues of morality associated with it. One of these moral issues is the negative impact that the exploitation of animals has on the ecosystem. Another ethical issue is the question of morality posed regarding whether humanity has a right to decide what fate is and commit heinous crimes against them. In exploring this issue, we are forced to ask ourselves: Is it right to kill animals carelessly? Who grants humanity the right to butcher and harm innocent animals? There is a need for the human race to develop satisfactory answers to this question. Historically, the focus on human improvement and financial greed have made people blind to the consequences of their actions. Only the recent emphasis on conservation has created an attitude of reflection among the human race. In this essay, I present my stance: animals should be protected and treated humanely. I believe that animals cannot stand up for themselves on this issue, which makes it our duty to do so on their behalf. Therefore, this article provides the argument that it is wrong to improve humanity's living conditions at the expense of the animal species, that animals deserve fair treatment, and that it is beneficial for us to care for animal species rather than exploit them.
In comparison to humans, animals are ill-equipped to defend themselves from the danger we pose. It makes the fact they struggle to live – and live happily – due to our actions all the more immoral. For the sake of bettering human life, we harm millions of them through industrial pharmacy and agriculture every day. In many cases, animals are poisoned and blinded for research. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 2018 statistics, more than 100 million animals are blinded, burnt, and poisoned in the laboratories every year (Espanol, 7). For many years now, animals have been used to test products such as household chemicals and pharmaceutical products. For instance, laboratory animals are exposed to three necessary tests for product security, evaluation, and biomedical research. The most harmful laboratory tests are oral toxicity, Draize Test, and skin irritant testing, which kill, blind, and burn them. On the agricultural end of things, for the sake of yielding bigger batches of meat and milk, animals are imprisoned in warehouses and fed hormones to grow bigger or yield more products. These animals are rarely let out and lead a poor quality fo life. Thus, it is wrong to exploit them purely for our benefit.
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Ultimately, animals are not a resource to be used, but rather appreciated, and their conservation and care would benefit us. They are necessary for tourism and for maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. The destruction of their lives and habitats harm not just them, but the human race as well. Animals provide scenic views and provide revenue for the countries where they are protected and treasured. People enjoy interacting with animals, especially in the zoo, by feeding them and relating with the friendliest ones. Their eradication is something that we have witnessed before, as many animals have gone extinct. According to Zoo Portraits 2018, there are about 500 dinosaur genera and only 1000 distinct species (Espanol, 5). As a race, we need to learn from our mistakes and protect rather than exploit animals.
Animals also represent a resource in that they can be used for humane research testing and help develop future treatments and medical procedures. Humane animal tests have led to the success of developing antibiotics, cancer treatments, insulin, and HIV/AIDS drugs ( Selter, 197). For instance, hormone replacement therapy, Vitro fertilization, and oral contraceptives have been significantly contributed by animal therapy ( Selter, 201) . Other medical healthcare procedures such as controlling blood pressure, eliminating the bone diseases, and developing lung and heart machines were first tested on animals before being introduced to human surgery processes. Animals also provide power and labor, as they assist in carrying luggage and tilling the land. Humans can achieve great success when they combine their abilities with animal power. Consider the importance of dogs in the home compound. Dogs provide security for their masters as well as guiding the blind people to trace their way. Treating animals with care is a way of adding value to human life because the services are simultaneously extrapolated.
In conclusion, rather than an exploitatory relationship, humans and animals should have a symbiotic relationship for co-existence. Man has the power to control everything on the earth, and diverting from the will of God’s creation is an absolute abuse of power. Animals are as important as humans are and deserve fair treatment, especially because of how incapable they are of defending themselves as we can. Some animals have become extinct, and the destruction of forests, pollution, and massive killing of animal species may lead to living in a world without animals. There is a strong chain connecting humans, animals, and plants, and when one of them is mistreated, the world becomes lifeless. The human race needs to understand the humane and ethical ways of treating animals to preserve dignity and enjoy life-long benefits.
References
Espanol, E. (2018). “Why are animals used for testing medical products?” U.S. Food & Drug Association. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-basics/why-are-animals-used-testing-medical-products
Selter, F. (2020). Back to the Ethics of Killing Animals. In Planning for the Future (pp. 173-238). mentis.
