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| "I am sometimes asked, 'Why do you spend so much of your time and money talking about kindness to animals when there is so much cruelty to men?' I answer, 'I am working at the roots.'" --George T. Angell We all have enough compassion to go around. We can care about animals and people at the same time. Animals don't have a voice; they need our help. If we wait until human problems are solved before helping animals, well . . . animals would never get help. We need to act now. If you care more about people than animals, you should still be concerned about animal issues. All life is interconnected. We share this planet with animals, and the web of life eventually affects us all. Consider the following: Indifference and cruelty to animals can easily lead to indifference and cruelty to people. Many studies in psychology, sociology and criminology during the past 25 years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of animal cruelty. The FBI has recognized the connection since the 1970s. "Cruelty to animals is one childhood warning sign regarding the potential to be a serial killer." --John Douglas, profiler of serial killers for the FBI Animal abuse is a form of battery. Animal abuse, child abuse and spousal abuse are closely related. Violent criminals frequently share a common history of cruelty to animals. A recent study of 57 families treated for incidents of child abuse by New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services revealed 80% of the families also abused animals. A 1997 survey conducted by the Humane Society of the United States found that 85% of women and 63% of children entering domestic violence shelters revealed pet abuse was taking place within their home. Children who learn compassion for animals are more likely to grow into emotionally healthy, caring adults. In animal agriculture, people are treated terribly. The working conditions for factory farm and slaughterhouse workers are appalling. The turnover rates and injury rates are very high and the pay is low. The work inherently desensitizes people to suffering. Can you imagine having a job of killing all day long, surrounded by blood and the cries of terrified animals? Imagine doing that all day, every day! That's not good for the human spirit. If you buy meat, you are supporting horrid working conditions for humans. If you had to kill the animal yourself for your nugget or burger, would you do it? Let's not leave the dirty work to others. We don't need to eat animals. It's all unnecessary. Journalist Eric Schlosser wrote the national best-seller Fast Food Nation. The book goes into great detail about the behind-the-scenes abuse of humans in the meat industry. Check out this book at your local library. NEXT PAGE |