Can we deprive animals of the right to live?

Leonardo da Vinci wrote in his notebooks: "The time will come when people like me will consider the killing of an animal as they consider today the assassination of a man”. This is not to deny that there are differences in intelligence between animals and human beings and that, from a relative point of view, the life of a human being is more valuable than the life of a human being. 'an animal. But why should the right to live be the prerogative of humans?

All living beings yearn for happiness and try to escape suffering. So to claim the right to kill billions of animals year-round (ten billion are killed each year in the United States alone for human consumption) is simply to exercise the right of the most strong. Until a few centuries ago, the trade in “ebony” – slaves from Black Africa – was considered acceptable. Nowadays, slavery persists in many countries, notably in India, Pakistan and Sudan, where children are sold for work in factories or in the fields, and young girls for prostitution. But in general, slavery is considered an abomination.

What do people, peoples, do when they are exploited or oppressed? They organize themselves, unionize, revolt… The animals are incapable of this and are therefore exterminated. It deserves to be reconsidered.