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Asked by Marc M to Carrie on 16 Mar 2017.
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Carrie Ijichi answered on 16 Mar 2017:
Yes I do think animals are as important as humans but sometimes we have to make decisions to use animals or cause them harm for the benefits of humans. That’s very hard and people will all have different feelings about that. I think that an animal’s life is as important as a human’s but that there are more negative consequences when a human dies or suffers because many other humans suffer as well. So, if a human dies they often leave very distressed family members, children and friends who may have relied on them. Animals aren’t aware of death (mostly but some species might be) and this means they don’t grieve the way we do so it won’t affect as many individuals. That’s the only reason I would chose a human life over an animal’s.
That was a really cool question and I hope I’ve answered it for you. It’s a complex one!
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Comments
Rupert commented on :
Humans are animals too. At the end of the day we are just a bunch of cells that need food, need air, and want to reproduce. We are selfish, but so are all animals.
Humans are having a big effect on the environment so you could say that makes us important as we are affecting the lives of so many other species. But lots of other animals and species have a big effect on the world too, from slugs that eat up dog poop, to trees that provide oxygen, to antelopes that helped create the savannahs. Animals either eat other animals or plants – removing one can have a big effect – like playing Jenga, pulling out one block (or species) can bring the whole ecosystem crashing down. All species are important for different reasons.
Ellen commented on :
Absolutely! I think we have a more complicated lifestyle than some animals but that doesn’t make us any better than them. Without animals we wouldn’t be alive – and without plants animals wouldn’t be alive. We all fit together to make one ecosystem. The fact that humans value their lives over others is evident in the way we are massacring habitats and killing animals in the wild – i think a little bit less of that and a little more thought to what we are doing would make the world a much better place!