It was encouraging to read about our legislators' attendance at the Third Annual Animal Advocacy Day ("Legislators push a pet cause at advocacy day," June 5), but I wonder whether the same concern will ever be extended toward animals many humans consider to be food or toward animals we use for sport, entertainment or fashion.
A factory farm-raised pig is still considered "something" rather than "someone" because we couldn't eat them in good conscience if we had to recognize their dignity and worth as living beings. Chickens, turkeys and beef cattle are often raised and processed in ways that would cause a person to be arrested for cruelty if these were dogs or cats.
Wild animals such as elephants and lions are kept in circuses where their entire lives consist of confinement and, often, cruelty, just for our entertainment, as documented by Mother Jones in a 2011 report.
The fur industry has distinguished itself by inhumane practices that would horrify even the most hard-hearted fashionista.
Humans seem to have great difficulty believing or accepting that the entire universe was not created solely for our species and that we share this beautiful planet with other living beings who have a right to enjoy their lives.
The criterion for compassion is not whether other species are as smart as we are but whether they feel joys, sorrows or pain.
Even the most casual observer can see they do. An animal, any animal, has a right to be treated with respect, compassion and dignity.
Susannah Sulzman
Albany