A childhood trip to the circus profoundly impacted my connection to animals. Every year, I excitedly awaited the entrance of exotic animals into the ring, but this particular night, my thrill over the spectacle quickly turned to shock. Sitting in a front-row seat, sorrow overtook me as I saw fear and misery on a beautiful tiger’s face. A fringe vest and little hat degraded his majestic frame, and his eyes darted nervously as the audience laughed at the humiliating tricks he was forced to perform by his whip-wielding handler. My stomach knotted as I was confronted with the reality of animal abuse for the first time, and I still feel the same knot 30 years later recounting this story.
The suffering of this tiger continues to impact my life and activism for animals, but his abuse isn’t uncommon. Human speciesism, the belief that humans are somehow more valuable than any other species, is often used to justify the objectification of feeling, intelligent animals. Like the frightened tiger I saw at the circus, exotic animals are crammed into tiny, filthy cages for strangers to gawk at in roadside zoos. Right now, male chicks, deemed useless by the egg industry, are being ground alive and discarded like trash. Animals in laboratories suffer in painful and terrifying experiments, such as having their eyes sewn shut and their limbs mutilated. The wool industry subjects gentle sheep to violent shearing, often resulting in open wounds, which are typically stitched with sewing needles and no painkillers. Breeders force animals to produce unhealthy offspring to be bought and sold as merchandise while an estimated 70 million homeless dogs and cats in the United States fight to survive the elements, traffic dangers, and cruel human predators.
These horror stories are just a few examples of the cruelty humans inflict on animals, the same sentient beings created and loved by God. Genesis 1:24 teaches us that God did not create animals as disposable products for human use but rather as essential and valuable individuals and Proverbs 12:10 tells us God sees the abuse of animals as wicked. Humans enslaving animals is a grave sin.
But we don’t have to accept the speciesist status quo. Every day, our choices have a huge impact on animals. God intends for us to live compassionately and be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), and we can show the light of Christ to imprisoned animals by taking action on their behalf against the industries that exploit them. Start today by signing up for PETA Action Alerts, commit to only buying cruelty-free home and beauty products with the help of PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies database, and request a free Vegan Starter Kit to learn how to keep your plate compassionate. Be sure to download our Creation Care Toolkit for easy ways to get your faith community active in animal liberation, and email us to get connected! Together, we can be the light for all the world.
