Who Cares About Animals?
A special guest blog from Joyce D’Silva
Aristotle’s influence.
Aristotle, one of history’s most influential thinkers, had a keen interest in farming. He even penned a detailed guide on how best to raise and feed farmed animals. But he also held a chilling belief: that animals existed solely for human use, writing that ‘nature…has made all animals for the sake of man’.
This notion didn’t vanish with the ancient Greeks. Instead, it echoed down the centuries—picked up by philosophers and religious leaders alike, eventually weaving itself into the fabric of everyday human attitudes. We came to see ourselves as superior. After all, we can speak, write, build cities, fly across oceans. For many people of faith, we are distinct from animals as we have an eternal soul which seeks unity with god and/or liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Aristotle’s influence is unmistakable. Centuries later, Martin Luther, one of the founders of Protestantism, wrote: ‘The beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven were created for mankind; they are the wealth and possessions of men’.
How we (ab)use animals
And just look around. We hunt animals for ‘sport’, applaud them at the circus, test products on animals in laboratories, poison them as ‘pests’, and confine them in factory farms—all to satisfy human desires. It’s hard to deny: we are a profoundly self-centred species.
But there is hope—and it’s coming from two seemingly different sources: science and spirituality.
Science and Sentience.
Science now overwhelmingly agrees that animals are not mere biological machines. They are sentient beings who feel pain, fear, joy, grief, and other emotions. Mice can demonstrate empathy. Cows literally jump for joy when they solve a puzzle. Crows and cockatoos use tools. Sheep can remember the faces of fifty fellow sheep after two years apart.
Animal languages.
With ever more sophisticated tools, researchers are uncovering the rich languages of the animal world. Sperm whales produce at least 143 distinct vocalisations. Birdsong and the calls of sheep are known to carry a variety of messages. Yes, we build homes—but bees create honeycombs with mathematical precision. We build roads—but dogs can follow for miles scent trails invisible to us. Migratory animals traverse vast distances without maps, compasses or GPS.
These insights are not just fascinating—they demand change. As we learn more about the rich emotional and cognitive lives of animals, the question becomes urgent: How should we treat them?
As with so many other developments, the law can be slow to catch up with the obvious – think education and votes for women.
Can Faiths help the world’s animals?
Turning to faith, can the world’s religions help us reshape our relationship with animals and help us to view animals in a more generous way?
The answer is yes—if we look closely.
Judaism teaches that we must not cause pain to any living creature. Respected Rabbi David Rosen urges, ‘Truly religious Jews (and indeed all people of moral sensibility) should avoid animal products as much as possible’.
Many spiritual leaders see the Divine reflected in all beings. Franciscan friar Richard Rohr insists, ‘Either God is for everybody, and the divine DNA is somehow in all creatures, or this God is not God by any common definition, or even much of a god at all’. Echoing that, the late Pope Francis wrote that ‘we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures but joined in a splendid universal communion.’
The Qur’an, the holy book of the Islamic faith, tells the faithful that all creatures ‘are communities like yourselves.’ The Qur’an emphasises that animals also praise God, and that Allah (God) has concern for each creature, ‘He knows where it lives and its final resting place’.
The modern document Al Mizan, written by Islamic scholars, declares that as God is the Lord of all creatures, we are called on to do ‘the greatest good to all His creatures.’
Hinduism has evolved significantly over time. While ancient rituals included animal sacrifice, later teachings emphasized reverence for all beings. ‘The Lord of Love shines in the hearts of all. Seeing him in all creatures, the wise forget themselves in the service of all’, states one of the Upanishads.
Swami Vivekananda, a famous 19th century Hindu teacher, explained, ‘Between me and the smallest animal, the difference is only in manifestation… he is my brother, he has the same soul as I have’. Mahatma Gandhi echoed this reverence, saying, ‘I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body.’
In Buddhism, compassion for all sentient beings is a core principle. A beloved Buddhist prayer says, ‘May all beings everywhere be happy. May they be healthy. May they be at peace. May they be free’.
The revered 8th-century monk, Shantideva, vowed, ‘For as long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, may I too remain to dispel their misery’.
Sadly, these powerful teachings are too often overlooked in daily life. But they are there — deep and resonant reminders of a more compassionate path.
Finding your own inspiration.
It is my hope that people of faith will revisit their own sacred teachings and rediscover the wisdom that calls us to live with kindness toward all creatures. And I hope that those who trust in science will keep learning about and appreciating the amazing inner lives of animals. Some readers will surely listen to both.
If we listen—both to what science reveals and to what spirituality teaches—we might just transform our world into a more compassionate one.
Joyce D’Silva, is our Ambassador Emeritus who was also Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming from 1991 – 2005.
Joyce played a key role in achieving the UK ban on sow stalls in the nineties and in getting recognition of animal sentience enshrined in the European Union Treaty.
She now speaks and publishes widely on the welfare of farm animals.
Joyce is the author of “Animal Welfare in World Religion: Teaching and Practice” (Routledge, 2023)
