1er November is International Vegan Day. Pretty much everyone these days knows what veganism is, but for those who may not know exactly what it is, veganism can be described as a way of life that seeks to exclude as much as possible any product emanating from the exploitation of animals. I take advantage of this day to defend a radical idea: animal cruelty is wrong. I know, quite an unpopular opinion!
It seems obvious, but animal abuse is wrong, and I’ll make it clear that it’s wrong because it’s wrong for them. Beating a dog is not immoral because the noise generated would disturb the neighbors, it is immoral because the dog suffers from it. But if the abuse of dogs is immoral because it is bad for the dog, the question arises: why don’t we also consider the suffering of other animals, such as pigs, cows, chickens and fish, who feel essentially the same way as our dogs? Why should harm done to so-called “farmed” animals be moral and justifiable?
This is essentially the dilemma posed by veganism. We know today that it is possible to live perfectly healthy by following a vegan diet. Knowing this, how can we justify participating in an industry that raises animals in miserable living conditions and killing these sentient beings, when it is not necessary? “Animal cruelty” can be broadly defined as an action that injures, causes suffering or kills an animal for no good reason. Eating animals is not a necessity, so can we really say that the suffering done to animals is justified? Is a gustatory pleasure coming from their flesh a valid reason to mistreat and kill them?
And the scale of exploitation is massive. It is estimated that 80 billion land animals are slaughtered each year for meat alone. This figure does not include animals killed in other industries, nor all fish and other sea creatures. exploitation are not necessary for our survival, how can we perpetuate this massacre? Adopting veganism means recognizing this absurdity and taking action to stop participating in the cruel exploitation of animals.
Like the signatories of the Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation, I believe that industries that use animals are a source of unjust violence and that animal exploitation is indefensible.