Liberate

It is clear to even the most casual observer that the abuse of animals and environmental destruction are inextricably linked. From habitat destruction to pollution of waterways the destruction caused by the enslavement of animals is undeniable. I believe that the environmental destruction and the enslavement of animals are both far deeper symptoms of a culture that is completely alienated from the natural world. It is only by separating ourselves from the rest of the world that it is possible to see it as made up of objects for us to exploit. Without the comfortable barrier between us and the natural world that our belief system throws up it would be impossible to systematically enslave animals or destroy our surroundings

This idea that as humans we are somehow separate from the natural world has profoundly affected the way we view and interact with the world. Instead of seeing our surroundings as part of who we are we come to see the world in terms of how it can be used by us. Instead of seeing animals as individuals with their own purposes and lives this culture has come to see them merely as objects to extract profit from. As Animal Rights activists we are constantly challenging this belief and trying to reconnect people to the animals – the individuals which surround us.

Companion animals provide a useful example of a breakdown of this separation. Talk to almost anyone that has a cat or dog living with them and they will go on about their animals unique personality, moods and behaviors. It is quite clear that the cat or dog is an individual which the “owner” has a strong relationship with. Suggest to the person that farm animals are exactly the same and you are likely to get a blank stare as a reply. A lifetime of perceiving certain kinds of animals as objects has created a disconnection which is hard and painful to bridge.

This disconnection is present in virtually all relationships throughout our culture. One minute we can be interacting with someone as an individual with which we have a deep relationship, the next minute objectifying them soley as a worker, women or minority. Similarly we view our environment as something separate from us, made up of forests and rivers which are objects for us to use and exploit at whim rather than individual trees or landscapes to interact with.

To most indigenous cultures the notion of ownership or dominion over land or animals was simply unbelievable. Many believed that humans had a special place in nature as guardians or older siblings but this role implied more responsibility and care for not control or ownership over other beings. While these cultures killed animals and used resources I believe they did so in a fundamentally different way than our culture, often acknowledging the animal or for example tree as an individual and thanking it for the gift it had provided. I am not arguing these cultures were perfect but merely pointing out that there are many different ways of relating to the world. I believe our cultures way of perceiving the world is key to the destruction we have wrought.

As activists I think an awareness of the underlying belief systems embedded in our culture is vital. Often our campaigns will pander to peoples existing belief systems as it seems easier to make incremental changes and sacrifice larger change for later dates. An example of this is provided by the animal welfare movement which consistently fails to challenge human dominion over animals. People are given the message that animals still exist for us to use and kill at will but that we should do so more ethically. For the most part the assumption that animals are beneath us and therefore it is ok to exploit them is not challenged. Furthermore many arguments for vegetarianism or veganism are framed around how they will benefit humans. Lower pollution levels and the clear health benefits of veganism are arguments of this. While these arguments are valid and have a place if they are relied upon too heavily I believe that we will not see the paradigm shift in our attitudes towards animals that we need to see.

Similarly the environmental movement consistently fails to challenge human dominance over the natural world. Like the animal welfarists most conservationists argue that we need to slow environmental destruction for our own benefit. Arguments for protecting certain areas are advanced according to how the trees could help slow climate change or “developments” are fought because natural areas provide us with beauty or leisure. Even arguments to protect biodiversity or wild areas are based on these areas may contain new pharmaceuticals or that collapsing ecosystems may make it difficult for us to grow enough food some where else.

Transforming the way we perceive the environment is vital for those fighting for animal liberation. It is clear that if we continue to keep treating the earth as an object to be used solely for our own benefit, that life for most animals, human and otherwise will not be possible. If we simply switch from the industrialized enslavement of animals to the industrialized enslavement of the earth we will be merely slowing this cultures destruction. I believe that those of us involved in the animal rights movement must consciously work towards seeing our surroundings as a living ecology which we must relate with. Similarly I do not think that one can develop an attunement to the natural world and not strive to end dominion over animals. The separation between wild animals, environments and domesticated animals and environments is a division created by humans. To end exploitation we must attempt to break down this division and come to see the entire earth and everything on it as worthy of respect.

I believe that unless we challenge our cultures attitude of dominion towards animals and the natural world that our movements will become assimilated into the dominant culture. Instead of transforming the way our society is structured we will move to an industrialized society which continues to destroy the environment substituting some forms of oppression for others.

On a positive note I think it is in many ways easier for animal rights activists to challenge our cultures attitude of dominion. We have already had to radically reshape how we view animals a process which often takes a lot of thought and goes against mainstream belief systems. Those involved in animal rights also have experience forming strong bonds with non humans. This may not seem like much but coming from a culture largely based on hierarchy and control this is a radical step.