SPECIESISM

The same spark of life is in all beings, no one should be discriminated against just because they are in a different body...

HAUS OF CONSERVATION

WHAT IS SPECIESISM?

Speciesism is the human held mindset that all other animals are inferior to humans, allowing us to exploit or discriminate against for our own personal use or capital gains, by treating animals as a product, property, or ingredient. There are varying levels of speciesism and sometimes we even discriminate against different animal species differently.

Here are some examples of speciesism:

EXAMPLE: If you were campaigning against feminist issues or for female rights, but you weren't leading a plant-based lifestyle or vegan, that would be a form of speciesism because the whole of the meat and dairy industry is discrimination and exploitation against female biology, and effectively you would be saying female rights matter for humans but not animals.

EXAMPLE: Many people love dogs and see them as sentient companion animals with thoughts, feelings, needs and their own personalities. These same people would be less likely to drink dog milk or eat dog meat. Yet many of the same people also partake in the meat and dairy industry which condemns cows and pigs who also display the same affection and sentience as dogs, but the person values the lives of cows and pigs less, allowing them to discriminate and exploit against for their own personal needs, such as cow milk or cow and pig flesh. 

ANIMALS IN ENTERTAINMENT & CAPTIVITY?

Animals within the entertainment industry also suffer due to speciesism. Many animals are forced to perform tricks, or confined for animal selfies, riding experiences, animal encounters, kept in zoos or dolphinariums, kept in other forms of captivity for exhibiting purposes or spend a life in travelling captivity with circuses. Our need to see these animals, see animals perform tricks or even get up and close for riding or selfie experiences is for our own benefit, amusement and often ego and this is where the exploitation and discrimination comes in.  Seeing an animal in entertainment does not take in to account the wellbeing of the animal, its needs or its natural environment often causing the animal to suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally. Animals are forced into these positions with no choice to make money for the establishment or owner. The establishment or owners are relying on the lack of education of speciesism so they can continue to profit and exploit, meaning people keep buying tickets to these types of attractions or roadside activities. 

ANIMAL HUNTING?

Many animals are persecuted for a sport know as hunting, trophy hunting, shooting, baiting, or coursing. These hunting acts are a very clear form speciesism. The fact that people that partake in this type of activity knowing they are taking life from a non-human animal for the joy, thrill, amusement or to fill one’s own ego is a clear example of speciesism. Many animals suffer here in the UK and all over the world from this activity and speciesist mindset. 

ANIMALS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY?

All animals in the meat, dairy or fish industries suffer due to speciesism. These animals are not treated as living breathing sentient beings but rather as a product or ingredient. The welfare of the animals is poor and one of suffering throughout their entire life span and when they have fulfilled their purpose, or they can no longer breed or produce milk or eggs the result will be death. Many of these animals will be continually inseminated (raped) and have their young taken from them almost days after birth for other production use. The industry markets words like pork or beef to make it more comfortable for the consumer when the real product is pig or cow flesh, not “pork” or “beef” this is strategic marketing.  The reliance of humans exploiting non-human animals in this way is one of the biggest forms of speciesism and speciesist mindset. 

ANIMAL TESTING?

Around 4 million animals are used in UK laboratories every year. These animals consist of: beagles, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, fish, rats, rabbits, cats, dogs, monkeys, reptiles, pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, and mice. Beagles are deliberately exploited as they are more placid and less likely to resist or retaliate towards lab workers. It is currently UK law that animal testing is required for the development of new medicines and treatments, however more and more research is proving that we need to move away from animal research and many organisations such as PETA and Animal Aid UK are campaigning for change around this legislation.

"The government describes an animal experiment as a ‘procedure’ that is ‘likely to cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm’. The majority of animals used are bred specifically for the purpose and are kept in small cages or kennels inside the laboratories. After the animals have been used in experiments they are usually killed. Some will be used in ongoing experiments over a period of months, or even years". Animal Aid UK.

Now with no alternative you could argue how is this speciesism. REMEMBER we would always recommend you follow the advice of your doctor or physician, but shouldn't we also have a choice around the way our medicines are developed rather than have it dictated to us?  Shouldn't we all be campaigning for this change? This is where if we are happy to just go along with the system the speciesist mindset exists.

Medical research is developing all the time and there are lots of non-animal tested products out there. Some of these medicines have been developed by humane non animal methods, such as: human cells or tissue cultures, clinical case studies, epidemiology studies, computer programs, microfluidics and organ-on-a-chip technologies.

Animals are also tested on for: product safety tests and warfare research. 

Does animal testing save lives? Here is what Animal Aid UK states: "Animal experiments are unreliable and misleading. This is because animals’ bodies are different from ours. They do not react to chemicals in the same way, and they do not suffer from the same diseases as people. The success rate for predicting the harmful side effects from animal experiments is only 5 - 25%, which means we would be better off tossing a coin. It is hardly surprising that nine out of ten new medicines that pass animal tests, fail when they are subsequently tried out on humans in clinical trials. Substances that are harmless to humans may be toxic to animals, and vice versa. Many drugs that were passed as safe in animal tests have been withdrawn after causing serious side effects, even deaths, when given to people". Animal Aid UK.