Animals are Superior

I'd like to meet:

Music:

When I was a little girl...

I used to pretend I was the biggest, meanest dragon in the world....and that I slayed all the humans who harmed an animal in any way.

And you know...I still wish for that!

Movies:

“If one is trying to practice meditation and it still eating meat, he would be like a man closing his ears and shouting loudly, and then asserting that he heard nothing.”——Ancient Buddhist text by Surangama Sutra
Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. -Albert Einstein

Shall we, because we walk on our hind feet, assume to ourselves only the privilege of imperishability? -George Eliot
“One must not deliberately kill any living creature either by committing the act oneself, instructing others to kill, or approving of or participating in acts of killing. To completely abstain from the act of killing directly and indirectly, eat only pure vegetarian food.”—Buddhism
“The eating of flesh extinguishes the seed of great compassion.”—Mahaparinirvana Buddhism
“Because he has pity on every living creature, therefore is a man called ‘holy’”—Buddhism Dhammapada
“But ...meat eating in any form, in any manner, and in any place is unconditionally and once and for all prohibited ...Meat eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit’”—Lord Buddha in the Lankavatara Sutra

Television:

Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are like us." Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are not like us." Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction. ~Charles R. Magel

God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages. ~Jacques Deval, Afin de vivre bel et bien
We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. ~William Ralph Inge, Outspoken Essays, 1922
From beasts we scorn as soulless, In forest, field and den, The cry goes up to witness The soullessness of men. ~M. Frida Hartley

I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it. ~Abraham Lincoln
Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat and dog do not feel its benefits. Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility. ~S. Parkes Cadman
No one in the world needs a mink coat but a mink. ~Murray Banks

Never wear anything that panics the cat. ~P.J. O'Rourke
Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without. ~Rue McClanahan
Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't vote. ~Paul Harvey
Support your right to arm bears. ~Cleveland Amory

Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him? ~Pierre Troubetzkoy
Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight. ~Albert Schweitzer

Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game. ~Paul Rodriguez
Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. ~George Orwell, Animal Farm

Cockfighting was illegal in Oklahoma until 1963, when a judge ruled that chickens are not animals and therefore unprotected by anticruelty laws. ~U.S. News & World Report, 6 December 1999
Animals give me more pleasure through the viewfinder of a camera than they ever did in the crosshairs of a gunsight. And after I've finished "shooting," my unharmed victims are still around for others to enjoy. I have developed a deep respect for animals. I consider them fellow living creatures with certain rights that should not be violated any more than those of humans. ~Jimmy Stewart
If we cut up beasts simply because they cannot prevent us and because we are backing our own side in the struggle for existence, it is only logical to cut up imbeciles, criminals, enemies, or capitalists for the same reasons. ~C.S. Lewis

Michael W. Fox, vice-president of the Humane Society, said that, "to call an animal with whom you share your life a 'pet,' is reminiscent of men's magazines where you (a figure of speech, don't take it personally) have the Pet of the Month." It is supposed that the continued use of the word "pet" to designate dogs or cats threatens to reduce their level of respect to the current status of twentieth century North American women. Now that's radical. ~The McGill Red Herring
People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs. ~Author Unknown
The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest. ~Henry David Thoreau

Drinking without being thirsty and making love at any time, Madame, are the only things that distinguish us from other animals. ~Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro, 1784, translated
I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her. ~Ellen DeGeneres
When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him a vandal. When he destroys one of the works of god we call him a sportsman. ~Joseph Wood Krutch

The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of a gun. ~P.G. Wodehouse
If you love animals called pets, why do you eat animals called dinner? ~As seen on a shirt at veganstore.com

The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot. ~Mark Twain, What Is Man, 1906

Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself. ~James Anthony Froude, Oceana, 1886
The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. ~Alice Walker

As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: in their behaviour toward creatures, all men were Nazis. The smugness with which man could do with other species as he pleased exemplified the most extreme racist theories, the principle that might is right. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer
Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage. ~Sri Aurobindo
When I was twelve, I went hunting with my father and we shot a bird. He was laying there and something struck me. Why do we call this fun to kill this creature [who] was as happy as I was when I woke up this morning. ~Marv Levy
Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more. ~Edwin Way Teale, Circle of the Seasons, 1953

It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions. ~Mark Twain
The woods were made for the hunters of dreams, The brooks for the fishers of song; To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game The streams and the woods belong. ~Sam Walter Foss

Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored. ~Alice Walker
Lisa: "Do we have any food that wasn't brutally slaughtered?" Homer: "Well, I think the veal died of loneliness." ~Matt Groening, The Simpsons
Cruelty must be whitewashed by a moral excuse, and pretense of reluctance. ~George Bernard Shaw
In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics. ~Pete Singer
Get a feel for fur: Slam your fingers in a car door. ~Anonymous, on the use of steel traps to capture fur-bearing animals, cited in Audubon, November 1990

Dogs are getting bigger, according to a leading dog manufacturer. ~Leo Rosten
Whether hunting is right or wrong, a spiritual experience, or an outlet for the killer instinct, one thing it is not is a sport. Sport is when individuals or teams compete against each other under equal circumstances to determine who is better at a given game or endeavor. Hunting will be a sport when deer, elk, bears, and ducks are... given 12-gauge shotguns. Bet we'd see a lot fewer drunk yahoos (live ones, anyway) in the woods if that happened. ~R. Lerner, letter, Sierra, March-April 1991
Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit, your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one... that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~Mark Twain

Evolutionary biology is now uttering and seeking those forces that link us with all those that have being. If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion. ~Adrian Forsyth, A Natural History of Sex, 1986
Vivisection is a social evil because if it advances human knowledge, it does so at the expense of human character. ~George Bernard Shaw
I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't.... The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further. ~Mark Twain
The basis of all animal rights should be the Golden Rule: we should treat them as we would wish them to treat us, were any other species in our dominant position. ~Christine Stevens

If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth - beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals - would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals? ~Attributed to George Bernard Shaw
When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity. ~George Bernard Shaw
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth. ~Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928

I abhor vivisection with my whole soul. All the scientific discoveries stained with innocent blood I count as of no consequence. ~Mahatma Gandhi
I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months before I used one as a [heart] donor. When we put him to sleep in his cage in preparation for the operation, he chattered and cried incessantly. We attached no significance to this, but it must have made a great impression on his companion, for when we removed the body to the operating room, the other chimp wept bitterly and was inconsolable for days. The incident made a deep impression on me. I vowed never again to experiment with such sensitive creatures. ~Christian Barnard, surgeon

Terms like that, "Humane Society," are devised with people like me in mind, who don't care to dwell on what happens to the innocent. ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams
I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers. ~Author Unknown

Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. ~Bradley Millar

A Robin Redbreast in a cage Puts all Heaven in a Rage. ~William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
If a ferret bites you it is nearly always your own fault. ~Phil Drabble

The human spirit is not dead. It lives on in secret.... It has come to believe that compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind. ~Albert Schweitzer, Novel Peace Prize address, "The Problem of Peace in the World Today"
People must have renounced, it seems to me, all natural intelligence to dare to advance that animals are but animated machines.... It appears to me, besides, that [such people] can never have observed with attention the character of animals, not to have distinguished among them the different voices of need, of suffering, of joy, of pain, of love, of anger, and of all their affections. It would be very strange that they should express so well what they could not feel. ~Voltaire, Traité sur la tolerance
Zoos are becoming facsimiles - or perhaps caricatures - of how animals once were in their natural habitat. If the right policies toward nature were pursued, we would need no zoos at all. ~Michael Fox, Sierra, November-December 1990
The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality. ~Schopenhauer

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. ~Thomas A. Edison
To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the sufferings of animals than in the sufferings of man. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and that the man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be thought ridiculous. And that is the unpardonable crime. ~Romain Rolland, Nobel Prize 1915
When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. ~Ingrid Newkirk
Very little of the great cruelty shown by men can really be attributed to cruel instinct. Most of it comes from thoughtlessness or inherited habit. The roots of cruelty, therefore, are not so much strong as widespread. But the time must come when inhumanity protected by custom and thoughtlessness will succumb before humanity championed by thought. Let us work that this time may come. ~Albert Schweitzer

Deer hunting would be fine sport, if only the deer had guns. ~William S. Gilbert

Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account? ~Jean Paul Richter
God made all the creatures and gave them our love and our fear, To give sign, we and they are His children, one family here. ~Robert Browning

Deliberate cruelty to our defenceless and beautiful little cousins is surely one of the meanest and most detestable vices of which a human being can be guilty. ~William Ralph Inge
The indifference, callousness and contempt that so many people exhibit toward animals is evil first because it results in great suffering in animals, and second because it results in an incalculably great impoverishment of the human spirit. All education should be directed toward the refinement of the individual's sensibilities in relation not only to one's fellow humans everywhere, but to all things whatsoever. ~Ashley Montague
Wear your own skin. ~As seen on a shirt at pangeaveg.com

There will be no justice as long as man will stand with a knife or with a gun and destroy those who are weaker than he is. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer
The life spark in my eyes is in no way different than the life spark in the eyes of any other sentient being. ~Michael Stepaniak, quoted in Joanne Stepaniak, The Vegan Sourcebook, 1998

We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace. ~Albert Schweitzer, The Philosophy of Civilization
If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. ~St. Francis of Assisi

Books:

~~~~~Buddhism~~~~~

“Compassion is most important for happiness. We must treat fellow human beings as equal, that is very important, but also all beings who have capacity for feeling. So the innate desire for happiness that is the basis of human rights extends to all sentient beings, including animals and insects. There are now some individuals and organizations who care about animal rights and are showing concern about the suffering or torture of animals. I have noticed among ordinary people, out of their love and compassion, growing efforts for promotion of vegetarianism. These are the right kinds of expression of compassion, very positive and encouraging signs.”—His Holiness The Dalai Lama

“Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.”——His Holiness The Dalai Lama The Vegetarian Way, 1967.

“Today more than ever before life must be characterized by a sense of Universal Responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.”—His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Unconditionally and once and for all prohibited ...Meat eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit’”—Lord Buddha in the Lankavatara Sutra
~~~~~ Christianity~~~~~

“Whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do it unto me.”—Matthew 25:40

“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”—Francis of Assisi

“Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission—to be of service to them wherever they require it.”—Francis of Assisi

“Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2416

“Animals are God's creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God's sight…Christians whose eyes are fixed on the awfulness of crucifixion are in a special position to understand the awfulness of innocent suffering. The Cross of Christ is God's absolute identification with the weak, the powerless, and the vulnerable, but most of all with unprotected, undefended, innocent suffering.”— Reverend Andrew Linzey

“Animals have done us no harm and they have no power of resistance.…There is something so very dreadful…in tormenting those who have never harmed us, who cannot defend themselves, who are utterly in our power.”—Cardinal John Henry Newman

“Animals, as part of God’s creation, have rights which must be respected. It behooves us always to be sensitive to their needs and to the reality of their pain.”—Dr. Donald Coggan, former Archbishop of Canterbury

“They too, are created by the same loving hand of God which Created us...It is our duty to Protect Them and to promote their well-being.”—Mother Teresa. Artwork

“Animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren…the fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect…as near to God as men are.” He reminded people that all living beings came into being because of the “breath” of God. He spoke of St. Francis’s love for animals declaring, “We, too, are called to a similar attitude.”—His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Artwork

“It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer and die needlessly.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2418

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.”—Luke 12:6

“We may pretend to what religion we please, but cruelty is atheism. We may make our boast of Christianity; but cruelty is infidelity. We may trust our orthodoxy, but cruelty is the worst of heresies.”—Humphry Primatt. Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and the Sin of Cruelty to Brute Animals

“We should remember in our dealings with animals that they are a sacred trust to us from our Heavenly Father. They are dumb and cannot speak for themselves”—Harriet Beecher Stowe

“And the flesh of the slain beasts in his body will become his own tomb. For I tell you truly, he who kills, kills himself and he who eats the flesh of slain beasts, eats the body of death.”—The Essene Gospel of Peace

“To try to picture the Christ, the one whom Christians call ‘Agnus Dei’, the Lamb of God, chewing on a leg of lamb seems incongruous to me.”—Elizabeth Farians
~~~~~ Judaism~~~~~~

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and a little child shall lead them…They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,as the waters cover the sea.”—Isaiah 11:6-9. Artwork

“His compassion is over all that He has made.”—Psalms 145:9

“I will make a covenant on behalf of Israel with the wild beasts, the birds of the air, and the things that creep on the hearths that all living creatures may lie down without living in fear.” —Hosea 2:18

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the Earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”—Genesis 1:29-30

“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”—Genesis 1: 20-25

“When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I shall recall the covenant between myself and you and every living creature, in a word all living things, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all living things. When the bow is in the clouds I shall see it and call to mind the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth, that is, all living things. ..That' God told Noah, ..is the sign of the covenant I have established between myself and all living things on earth.”—Genesis 9: 14-17

“For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. And ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.”—Leviticus 7:23-27

“You have only to ask the cattle, for them to instruct you, and the birds of the sky, for them to inform you. The creeping things of earth will give you lessons, and the fish of the sea provide you an explanation: there is not one such creature but will know that the hand of God has arranged things like this! In his hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of every human being!”—Job 12:7-10

“And now the beasts of the field, they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, they shall tell thee.”—Job 12:7

“I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.”—Psalm 50:9-11

“For all forest creatures are mine already, the animals on the mountains in their thousands. I know every bird in the air, whatever moves in the fields is mine.” —Psalm 50:10-11

“...And who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.”—Psalm 136:25

“A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal.”—Proverbs 12:10

“A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast.”—Proverbs 12:10

“Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath, man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”—Ecclesiastes 3:19-21

“For that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts…As one dieth so dieth the other. Yet they have all one breath. So that a man hath no pre-eminence over a beast.”— Ecclesiastes 3:19
~~~~~Hinduism~~~~~

“I want to realize brotherhood or identity not merely with the beings called human, but I want to realize identity with all life, even with such things as crawl upon earth.”—Mahatma Gandhi

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated…I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by [people] from the cruelty of [human kind]”—Mahatma Gandhi

“To my mind the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to the protection by man from the cruelty of man.”—Mahatma Gandhi. Greeting Card

“I abhor vivisection with my whole soul. All the scientific discoveries stained with innocent blood I count as of no consequence.”—Mahatma Gandhi

“I do not regard flesh food as necessary for us. I hold flesh food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower [supposedly lower] animal world if we are superior to it. The only way to live is to let live.”—Mahatma Gandhi

“Life is life—whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage.”—Sri Aurobindo

“If you want to be spiritually higher you must be a vegetarian. In India It is said that what ever you eat It is reflected in your mind, so if you eat vegetarian you become purer and purer, and It is reflected in your mind. Those who want to go to spiritualism have to ultimately go to vegetarianism because if you are not a vegetarian your thoughts are disturbing and you can not achieve the higher things you want to achieve. Even in yoga, It is sometimes said that It is not necessary to change your diet but ultimately It is the change of the diet which starts the ball rolling.”— Jashu Shah

Non vegetarians should become vegetarian as soon as possible. They must understand that vegetarianism is ultimately for the benefit of the human race.”— Jashu Shah

“Meat cannot be obtained without injury to animals, and the slaughter of animals obstructs the way to heaven; let us therefore shun the use of meat.”—Hinduism

“Having well considered the origin of flesh foods. And the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beings let man entirely abstain from eating flesh.”—Manusmriti 5.49.

“Those who permit the slaughter of an animal, who kills it, who cuts it up, who buys or sells flesh, who cooks it, who serves it up, and who eats it, are all slayers.”—Hinduism

“What is religion? Compassion for all things, which have life.”—Hinduism. Hitopadesa
~~~~~Islam~~~~~

“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is a bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.”—Prophet Mohammed

“There is not an animal on the earth, nor a flying creature on two wings, but they are people like unto you.”—Islam. Qur’an
~~~~~Baha’i~~~~~

“The food of the future will be fruit and grains. The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten. Our natural food is that which comes out of the ground. The people will gradually develop up to the condition of this natural food.”
~~~~~Janism~~~~~

“Meat can not be procured without causing destruction of life; one who uses flesh, therefore, commits ahimsa (injury) unavoidably.”—Jainism

“One who harms animals, directly or indirectly, has not understood deeds of sin…those whose minds are at peace and who are free from passions do not desire to live at the expense of others.”—Jainism

“Non-injury to living beings is the highest religion.”—Jainism

“I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.”—Abraham Lincoln

“I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.”—Abraham Lincoln

“There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to beasts as well as man it is all a sham.”—Anna Sewell, author of Black Beauty

“We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.”—Anna Sewell, author of Black Beauty
~~~~~Native American~~~~~

“Every animal knows more than you do.”—Native American Proverb

“What is a man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die form great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man.”—Chief Seattle

“The Earth does not belong to man; Man belongs to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”—Chief Seattle

“Is not the sky a father and the earth a mother, and are not all living things with feet or wings or roots their children?; Hear me, four quarters of the world…a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft Earth, a relative to all that is,…all over the Earth, the faces of living things are all alike.”—John G. Neihardt in Black Elk Speaks

“We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees.”—Qwatsinas
“Though boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs do not die in sport, but in earnest.”—
"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ~ Martin Buber

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant
"My little dog -- a heartbeat at my feet." ~ Edith Wharton

"A cat is a puzzle for which there is no solution." ~ Hazel Nicholson

"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals" ~ Anonymous
"Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!" ~ Theophile Gautier
"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." ~ Roger Caras

"There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat." ~ Wesley Bates
"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." ~ Anonymous

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us" ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
"A dog is the only thing on earth that will love you more than you love yourself." ~ Josh Billings

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France
"A canter is the cure for all evil." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

"Dogs have owners, cats have staff." ~ Anonymous

"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." ~ Ann Landers

"In the beginning, God created man, but seeing him so feeble, He gave him the cat" ~ Warren Eckstein
"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul." ~ Jean Cocteau

"If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans" ~ James Herriot
"I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained, I stand and look at them long and long." ~ Walt Whitman

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." ~ Ben Williams

"A dog maybe a man's best friend but a horse made history..." ~ Anonymous

"No heaven will not ever Heaven be; Unless my cats are there to welcome me." ~ Anonymous
"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives." ~ Sue Murphy
"To err is human, to forgive, canine" ~ Anonymous

"To err is human, to purr, feline" ~ Robert Byrne
"A horse gallops with his lungs, Perseveres with his heart, And wins with his character." ~ Tesio

"A Horse! A Horse! my kingdom for a horse!" ~ Shakespeare

"All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it." ~ Samuel Butler

"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~ Dave Barry
"There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before." ~ Robert Lynd

"The dog was created especially for children. He is the God of frolic." ~ Henry Ward Beecher
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

"The Cat. He walked by himself, and all places were alike to him." ~ Rudyard Kipling
"If I have any beliefs about immortality it is that certain dogs I know will go to heaven, and very very few people." ~ James Thurber

"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg." ~ Samuel Butler
"I've met many thinkers and many cats, but the wisdom of cats is infinitely superior." ~ Hippolyte Taine

"Every boy should have two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one" ~ Anonymous
"Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled" ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"A dog has lots of friends because he wags his tail and not his tongue." ~ Anonymous

"The dog represents all that is best in man." ~ Etienne Charlet
"The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp." ~ John Berry
"And God took a handful of southernly wind, blew His breath over it and created the horse." ~ Bedouin Legend

"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person." ~ Andrew A. Rooney
"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." ~ Chinese Proverb

"Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later." ~ Mary Bly
"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." ~ George Elliot

"The trouble with a kitten is that eventually it becomes a cat"~ Ogden Nash
"The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too." ~ Samuel Butler

"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." ~ Abraham Lincoln
"If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer." ~ Alfred North Whitehead

"...he will be our friend for always and always and always." ~ Rudyard Kipling

"The best thing about animals is that they don't talk much." ~ Thornton Wilder

"When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her." ~ Montaigne

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