The Animal Code: Giving Animals Rights & Respect

By Danny Crossman

How should we treat animals? And how do we? The Animal Code answers these questions, illustrating the myriad ways in which people exploit animals. Danny Crossman makes a compelling case for us to recognise animals' needs, feelings and legitimate place on the planet to live their lives as they wish. In a breakthrough concept, The Animal Code sets out a clear, five-point guide for how each of us can treat animals with respect and rights - and help our environment at the same time. "The Animal Code is brilliant. A must read for all. The code ... will be a dream for many. I look forward to the day it becomes a reality." Ruth Hatten, Legal Counsel at Voiceless, The Animal Protection Institute, Sydney "The Animal Code is well written, clearly heartfelt, and makes many points that the WSPA feels are vitally important about animal suffering and protection." Michael C. Appleby, Chief Scientific Adviser, World Society for the Protection of Animals, London "The Animal Code is an astonishingly helpful resource and offers convincing arguments for changing our lifestyle now." Jill Robinson MBE, Founder & CEO, Animals Asia "Danny Crossman provides a detailed account of the ways in which humans have exploited animals throughout history and continue to do so on a massive scale. A sound contribution to the animal welfare debate." Animals Australia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DoctorZed Publishing
• Release date: Sep 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9780987544513

Danny Crossman

Danny Crossman has been actively involved for many years with several animal protection organisations such as the World Society for Protection of Animals, Animals Australia and Animals Asia, and has connections with key people within these. He has worked towards ending exploitation of animals worldwide, has a broad knowledge of animal treatment issues and has developed a coherent theory of why animals have rights.

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Notes

PREFACE

Until a few years ago, my interest in animals was similar to most people’s. Animals were different, interesting things that one occasionally interacted with. I didn’t think about them all that much, as most people don’t in our busy, citified lives, even though as a teenager I had a wonderful pet dog. But a couple of events from my youth stand out. I remember the depressing sight of forlorn elephants and lions confined behind bars in small concrete zoo enclosures in a cold London winter. And once, when visiting an Australian farm in the bush, I watched, with dread, the farm dogs, cheered on by their farm-hand owners, trying to run down wild emus fleeing desperately across the paddocks; I was shocked by the attitude of these people to the native animals and was greatly relieved when the emus managed to get away. But otherwise, animals were not a major part of my life.

I’m not sure precisely what caused my views to change dramatically. It may have been a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa, watching a herd of elephants delighting in pushing each other down a muddy bank into the water. Perhaps living with my current dog, Caspar, raised my consciousness of the inherent goodness of some animals. Caspar is always good natured and accepting, wanting nothing more than company, affection and food – he would never mistreat another living creature. As American humorist Josh Billings said, ‘A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself’.

However, my concern for animals was catapulted to a new level a few years ago, when I came across the plight of the moon bears in China, Vietnam and Korea. These lovely animals have the misfortune to produce a chemical in their bile that is used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating a range of complaints. The bears are captured wild, or bred, and then each is put into a tiny wire cage in which it is imprisoned for the rest of its life, never again to move freely or carry out all the normal activities of a bear. Some moon bears bang their heads against the bars in frustration and despair. I am shocked that this is still happening today and that we are powerless to stop it.

I started looking more closely at other animals’ lives and how people interact with them. The further I looked, the more keenly I became aware of what we are doing to the myriad species we share our world with. By the side of the roads we have built through their homelands, lie the dead bodies of native animals and birds struck by fast-moving traffic. A truck passes by and through the slats I see the faces of cows and sheep on their way to be slaughtered. At a dinner party, I hear about experiments someone is conducting that involve damaging the brains of rats. When the meat dish is served, I envisage the animal it came from.

Like many people, during my lifetime I became aware of the suffering of various sections of humanity. When I was a teenager, it was shocking to find out about the injustice meted out to black people in apartheid South Africa. More recently, the terrible treatment of women in certain maledominated societies has been a focal point. But now, I have been struck by the powerlessness of animals, and their environment, in the face of human exploitation. I realised the need to address our latest injustice – the widespread mistreatment of non-human species by people.

I became involved in various organisations working to assist animals, and discovered dedicated individuals and groups struggling to turn the tide of entrenched, world-wide human behaviour. There is an international movement to change the way people treat animals, but it is battling powerful commercial forces. On a personal level, I became less and less comfortable about eating animals. In the past, I had assumed that humans had evolved, in Darwinian fashion, as meat eaters and that this was normal, and even genetically necessary for good health. But now I don’t want an animal to have to die for my supper. I began to move towards a vegetarian diet and my research indicated that vegetarians were no less healthy than meat eaters.

As I investigated the problem further, it became apparent what we humans are prepared to do to satisfy our desires at the expense of other species. Much of our animal use is out of sight and out of mind, such as intensive farming. Apparently we are either ignorant of this exploitation or uninterested in it. We seem to have an assumption that because we are humans we have the right to take what we want, or think we need, from other species. We don’t consider that animals should have any say in the matter. And generally we are not aware of the effects of our practices on the environment and global warming. From this realisation, I felt compelled to set out my thoughts on this injustice, and the result is this book. I hope it is a catalyst for a rethinking of the way we live, and our interaction with the lives of the other species on this planet and the environment we share with them. My aim is to arrive at a set of principles that humans can follow to treat animals with the respect and rights they deserve – hence the Animal Code.

INTRODUCTION

There have been many books written about how animals are treated by people, particularly since renowned philosopher Peter Singer’s groundbreaking book Animal Liberation was published in 1975. Most of these have explored particular topics, such as factory farming, animals used in experiments and animal rights. The Animal Code takes the debate to the next step, showing specifically where society needs to head now in our relations with animals, and taking into account current climate issues. First, this book shows how completely humans dominate and exploit almost all non-human species, and the devastating results our actions have on them and the environment. It then considers animals’ right to not be used by humans. Finally, the book provides a Code that we can all follow to change our behaviour, so as to treat animals with respect and rights, and explains why it is in our interests to do so, including how this can reduce global warming.

The Animal Code takes the reader on a journey. We examine the myriad ways in which humans exploit animals; but this recognition is just the beginning. We then consider animals’ legitimate place on this planet, their right to be left alone to live their lives as they wish, and how we can make this possible. We examine the costs and benefits if people do emancipate animals, and show it is entirely feasible, and even desirable, for us to act morally and responsibly towards all animal species, human and non-human. This book aims to paint a holistic picture of humans’ interaction with the animal world and how we can make the massive shift to rectifying our relationship with animal life, and help our environment at the same time.

A note on terminology used in this book: many authors refer to ‘human animals’ and ‘non-human animals’ to make the point that we are all animals, and humans are just another species of animal. Although this position is correct, in this book the terms ‘humans’ for human animals and ‘animals’ for non-human animals are used, purely for simplicity, clarity and ease of reading. The term ‘animals’ includes all non-human living and moving species including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds, insects, etc.

Humans haven’t always treated animals as clearly inferior species. In the early stages of our evolution, humans were the same as other animals and there were no ‘human animals’. Gradually humans began to emerge as separate species, living side by side, in relative harmony, with other animals in the forests, jungles and plains. We didn’t regard ourselves as superior beings, nor assume that animals were subservient to our needs.

Gradually, humans started to exert control over animals, using more efficient hunting weapons. People began migrating to distant lands, having a devastating effect upon native species there. The long road towards human domination of the animal world had begun.

Then, two to three millennia ago, organised religion introduced the concept of the uniqueness and superiority of the human species. Animals were relegated to subservient beings placed on the earth to serve the purposes of man. At around the same time, the Romans were abusing animals for entertainment and sport. By this stage animals generally were not considered to have any intrinsic value.

We began to domesticate and farm animals, removing their right to live out their lives in their natural environment. Then, intensive farming exacerbated the limitations already placed on domestic animals’ freedom, confirming the terrible transition animals had made under mankind’s domain. Animals began to be farmed out of sight of the consumers’ eye, and were ultimately reduced to products on supermarket shelves. Factory farming increasingly turned to mechanisation and confinement for animals destined for mass-marketed human consumption.

Environmental damage by humans has also wreaked havoc on the lives of other species. People have destroyed animals’ homelands by logging their forests and turning their complex, natural environments into mono-cultural plantations or cattle-grazing pastures. We have left many animals with nowhere to live.

Humans make use of animals in many ways, the greatest being as our food. But we also use animals for our entertainment, to profit from trade in wildlife, as work slaves, for our clothing and fashion items, as subjects for experiments designed to enhance human lives, and for our medical needs. Traditional medicine practitioners in China and other countries use parts of many exotic animals to supposedly cure a variety of human illnesses. Not to mention the moon bears caged in bear bile farms (discussed in the Preface and Chapter Two).

The value humans place on the quality of animals’ lives is low enough that the benefits for us of exploiting them outweigh the animals’ misfortune. We consider ourselves a superior species whose needs and desires must come first, virtually irrespective of the costs. Non-human species pay the price and are helpless to do anything about it.

But isn’t it arrogant of us to assume that we are the superior species? All species have a legitimate right to enjoy their lives on this planet. Many non-human species have amazing qualities and abilities, as do humans. It is inappropriate to consider whether any species can be superior to others. Each species is unique.

It is time to consider the interests and rights of all animals. There is a lot of work being done on this topic all over the globe, and ‘animal rights’ is entering the legal lexicon. The World Society for the Protection of Animals has called upon the United Nations to introduce a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. The important point is for we humans to acknowledge the valid needs of non-human species, and take these into account in all our actions.

People used to regard human slavery as acceptable and even necessary. We thought it was normal for males to have greater rights than females; and that some races and classes were superior to others. We have finally come to terms with the realisation that all humans should be treated equally. We have tried hard to emancipate humans – animals will be next. In the future, we will look back at what we have done to animals and feel shame and amazement that we could have mistreated other living species so badly and thought little of it. We will realise that the long period of humans exploiting animals was very wrong. It is up to us to emancipate animals – they can’t do it for themselves.

There will be costs and benefits in ceasing to exploit animals. This book examines these, and also considers whether some limited use of animals under appropriate conditions can be justified – if it is also good for the animals. It will become apparent that the potential gains of ceasing to treat animals badly counterbalance and probably outweigh the disadvantages of finding other ways of satisfying our needs and desires. When considered holistically, humans would benefit overall, through healthier diet, environment and relationships with other species, by living in harmony with animals rather than using them at will. Ideally, this would mean not eating animals at all, and that day may come. In the meantime, many of us can improve our health by eating fewer meat and dairy products; and if these come only from free-range animals, the quality of the food will be higher. We can reduce water consumption, methane emissions and deforestation by farming fewer animals, so we can improve our environment and slow global warming while eliminating cruel farming practices. We can free up valuable farming land and water to grow fruit, vegetables and cereal crops that should then all be cheaper. So, it is in our interests to commence the path towards treating all animals with respect and rights.

Specifically how can we achieve this? What can each of us do in our daily lives that will not result in mistreatment of animals? This book sets out a set of principles called the Animal Code that is required for our fellow species to live their lives naturally and with minimal interference. We consider the practical implications of this code for our lifestyles, and show how it is possible for each of us to enjoy our lives and have the satisfaction of knowing we are not harming animals at the same time.

The way we treat animals is reflected in our attitude to the whole globe. Our consumer society has wrought havoc on the natural environment as we transform the planet mankind inherited millions of years ago into a degraded and toxic world. We have lost touch with nature; growth at all costs is now resulting in the loss of our earth’s very essence. It is little wonder that we regard other species as unimportant and expendable. But people really don’t want to end up with a ruined planet and the extinction of many animal species. So it is time to change our ways, and shift our focus towards creating a sustainable environment that is still worth living in.

We need to discover how we can genuinely live in harmony with all other species and the planet we share with them. Humans are a part of nature, but we have upset its balance – how can we restore this so that all species can thrive? The Animal Code gives us the basis for achieving this in the 21st Century, and a guide that each reader can follow. Then we will have truly emancipated not only animals but also ourselves.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The first chapter of the book shows how humans have evolved from a species living in relative harmony with others, into one that now dominates all non-human species. The many ways in which humans exploit animals are outlined in chapter two. Chapter three illustrates the great damage that people have inflicted upon animals’ environment and the resultant impact on these species and ourselves. Humans’ assumption of being a superior species and the questionable validity of this view are discussed in chapter four.

Chapter five considers animals’ right to have their interests respected and protected by humans. The various costs of people ceasing to exploit animals are weighed against the potential benefits in chapter six. Finally, we set out the Animal Code that we can each follow, so as to live in harmony with animals and our environment.

The use of animals varies between countries and states, and the examples and statistics provided in the book reflect this. Some resource material is by American writers, so some practices described herein occur in, but are not restricted to, parts of the United States; others are widespread throughout Australia and other regions of the world.

EMERGENCE OF THE

RAPACIOUS HUMAN

As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love. Primoque a caede ferarum incaluisse puto maculatum sanguine ferrum (The blood of animals was the first to stain our weapons).

— Pythagoras (ca. 580–520 bce)

ONCE WERE ANIMALS

In the long distant past, we were all animals. The evolutionary split between humans and our nearest evolutionary cousins, chimpanzees, occurred roughly 6 million years ago. And it may not have been a clean break, but rather a messy cohabitation and gradual separation. Comparison of the genetic sequences of humans and chimpanzees suggests the two sets of ancestors may have interbred for thousands of years before finally parting company.

Gradually, over millions of years, we have evolved into the modern human beings of today, and we no longer consider ourselves to be animals. However, perhaps humans are merely sophisticated animals; we’re just a species that has adapted extra well to its environment and progressed towards a very different lifestyle from that other species lead. But we are not alone in differentiating ourselves from others. Many species are just as different from each other as they are from humans; butterflies differ from elephants more than humans differ from several of the primates. And links between people and chimpanzees may still be seen.

Signs of a chimpanzee Stone Age have been found in the Ivory Coast’s Tai national park. Primitive stone hammers and anvils dating from 4300 years ago were used by chimpanzees to crush and crack food such as nuts. Since there were no humans living in this region then, it is thought the chimpanzees learnt to use tools from their forebears. Recently, chimpanzees living in Senegal have been observed, by researchers from Iowa State University, fashioning deadly spears from sticks and using these to hunt small mammals such as bush babies.

Humans have developed many different attributes, skills and desires from those of animals, and we generally regard ourselves as superior to animals. But we were once all animals and in many ways we still are.

EARLY HARMONY

Earliest mankind lived in relative harmony with most animals, sharing the environment with them. We scavenged or hunted animals when we needed food, just as animals hunted each other. We used their skins to keep us warm. But other than that, the few humans exerted little control over animals’ lives. We lived in primitive conditions and animals lived in a natural environment relatively free from human interference. Humans had great regard for animals, inventing stories about their creation, worshipping them, understanding their habits and lifestyles, and respecting their powers. Early humans understood a great deal about the lives of animals through daily contact with and observation of them.

An episode of the documentary series Tribe follows Bruce Parry into a protected Indigenous Amazon Park in the far west of Brazil where he meets the Matis tribe. The Matis still rely on hunting game with their blowpipes, as they have done for thousands of years. The episodes shows the Matis, in their longhouse, acting out a hunt scene, dressing up a wild animals and being caught in a trap. This traditional animal dance continues to connect the people with their prey.

Renowned philosopher John Gray has noted that for much of our history and all of our prehistory, humans did not see ourselves as being any different from the other animals among which we lived. ‘Hunter-gatherers saw their prey as equals, if not superiors, and animals were worshipped as divinities in many traditional cultures.’ There was no sense of