Treating Animals with Mercy
演讲人：Wayne Pacelle 韦恩·派瑟莱
My undergraduate years were a time of transformation for me not just a broadening of my mind with a liberal arts education，but also a broadening of my ethical consciousness.Growing up here in New Haven，I always had a heart for animals，and a natural abhorrence for the cruelties directed at them.It was during my time as a Yale undergraduate that these feelings became convictions，and bundled together，these convictions became an ethical framework.
It was here exactly two decades ago that I started the Yale Student Animal Rights Coalition，and where among other things，we protested deer hunting in the Yale forest in the northern part of the state，following hunters around in the woods，and in turn we were followed by the press.
I have come to recognize the cultural complexities associated with people"s views and their conducttoward animals.Yet，now as then，I believe that cruelty to animals is wrong，no matter what excuses people invent for it.
I believe that the way any society treats animals is a test of its character and a measure of its worth，exactly because animals are so completely at our mercy.Few qualities，I believe，reflect better on a person or a society than a kindly，merciful，and decent regard for the creatures with whom we share this Earth.
In broad moral terms，most people seem to share this outlook.The problems begin in application，when we try to live out the credo of kindnessand to shake off ages of habit.As Jeremy Rifkin has observed"，A worldview is a worldview when you don"t know it"s a worldview."We have certain constructs or beliefs，a certain way of looking at things，and this belief system appears as natural or normal，and alternate views are almost unthinkable.
For centuries，people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe.Galileo challenged that worldview，arguing that the Ear th revolved around the sun，and he was charged with heresy.Religious leaders and the public later caught up with his thinking，and a new scientific paradigm was accepted.
Through the ages，we have seen great scientific and moral struggles over these ideas and many others.Today，we look back on many of these discredited and appalling ideas and wonder how they commanded such a dominant place in social thought.
In our day，the cause of animals presents a similar challenge to our conscience and to our moral imagination.It requires our empathy and calls upon our idealism.It asks us tothink beyond ourselves and to make unselfish choices.We are in the midst of a struggle of ideas over the place of animals in society.Groups like The Humane Society of the United States question whether animals exist for human use and whether they should be subjected to the wide range of uses that they endure in our day.
People have always tried to separate themselves from animals……take the case of chimpanzees.Genetic materials，language，tools.They"d really be like us if they borrowed tools and didn"t return them.
One of the most significant historical figures in setting the stage for a more robust discussion of animal issues is Charles Darwin，who published The Origin of Species in 1859and in 1871The Descent of Man，In those books，Darwin postulated his theory of evolution，and argued that natural selection was the mechanism of species change.
Darwin wrote，"The difference in mind between man and the higheranimals，great as it is，certainly is one of degree and not of kind."He argued that we are composed of the same constituent parts，and the underlying assumption was that we are not fallen angels，but risen apes.
If we accept Darwin"s view that humans evolved from other animals，and the intrinsic physical and physiological similarities between us and other mammals，then how can we possibly justifythe radically different treatment we mete out to humans and non-human animals？In thissense，the humane movement is fundamentally concerned with the moral implications of Darwinism and our recognition of our similarity to animals.
If we accept the ethic that individual people should be protected from cruelty and abuse，then should we not also affordbasic protections to individual animals，even if they are not members of an endangered population and even if they are domesticated animals？
The idea of treating animals with mercy is，of course，not a new one.The institutional beginnings of the American humane movement date back to 1866，with the formation of the ASPCA just one year after the Civil War ended.By the turn of the 20th century，there were dozens of humane societies that sprung into existence to improve the lives of animals，not just companion animals and horses，but on livestock transportation，the slaughter of wild animals，and the wide range of issues that involve people and animals.
While the early part of the 20th century saw the movement retrench to some degree and narrow its focus on pet overpopulation and traditional companion animal issues，the revitalization of the animal movement in the 1970s，spurred by Peter Singer"s Animal Liberation，represents a rebroadening of the concern for the wide range of abuses.
Today，millions of people from every background today carry on the cause of animal protection.There are now some 5，000non-profit humane organizations constituted in this country alone including local humane societies，wildlife rehabilitation facilities，national humane organizations，andgroups with a particular focus，such as farm animals，antivivisection，or animals in entertainment.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation"s largest organization，with 8million members and constituents one of every 40Americans and a broad ma ndate to address the wide ra nge of human indignities heaped upon animals.This sheer number of organizations，alongwith their backers who enable them to operate，is a remarkable statement and indicator of the penetration of humane values in our country.
