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Answering Arguments Against Animal Rights |
| Part XV -- Argument Ten (conclusion) |
When discussing this argument, Rush Limbaugh states that he has never seen
a hospital built by an animal.
But, in fact, all hospitals have been built by animals: the animal called human.
What he must mean is that non-human animals have made no altruistic contributions
to life on earth, or even to the care of their own kind.
Such a statement reveals a great deal of ignorance.
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It ignores the enormous altruistic contributions animals have made in the
lives of people by simply receiving and offering unconditional love.
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It ignores the beauty with which they have enriched the world...
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...and the lessons they have taught us about survival, strength, courage,
and yes...
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...love.
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As for caring for their own kind: primates spend a great deal of time
preening one another: removing ticks and parasites which would cause
disease if left unattended.
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When threatened, they will sacrifice their own lives to save the lives
of their children and mates.
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Elephants act as midwives to an elephant giving birth. They surround her in
a tight, protective circle, and guide the 250 pound baby out. The male
elephants stand guard as the females remove the baby from the birth sac
and gently raise the baby to its feet. The entire herd will wait several
days until the baby is ready before traveling from the spot.
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Even fish -- whom humans delight in torturing and murdering -- have
exhibited self sacrifice and compassion towards one another.
In one case, a large goldfish was observed to gently pick up a smaller
deformed goldfish who could barely swim, put him on his back and swim
him around the tank and up to the surface to feed.
There are many documented cases of non-human animals saving the lives of
humans: sometimes at the cost of their own lives.
Saving human lives has been done by:
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dogs,
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dolphins,
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turtles,
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pigs,
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and even a canary!
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Dolphins have also enlisted the aid of passing sailors to rescue dolphins
caught in fishing nets. They have even protected the lives of sea-lions from killer whales,
and protected whales giving birth from shark attacks.
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So even though non-human animals may not be capable of constructing a
hospital, they certainly are not lax when it comes to the type of life-saving
care that a hospital represents.
But again: all of this is not to the point. We recognize the inherent rights
of people who do not build hospitals and who do not work in the
medical field. We even extend rights to people who never lift a finger to
help others...
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...and who even act -- in their own selfish interests -- against the environment and its inhabitants.
We may not admire them, but we agree that it would be immoral to torture and kill them.
So, we cannot deny rights to non-human animals simply because they
do not build hospitals or work in the medical field or help others.
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