Why animals deserve kindness

Animals deserve kindness. Animals are not just lower creatures that hobble around us begging for food. They are living, breathing individuals that have feelings like we do, think thoughts similar to ours, and they are just like us in many ways.

First of all, it’s a proven fact that animals have thoughts of their own. They think about things like where they live, they recognize people they know, and they recognize objects that can help them. Not just this, but they also can express their feelings. You know how dogs wag their tails when they are happy, and cats purr when they are content, just as we smile and laugh when we are enjoying something. Animals just express emotions differently. When you make a dog sad by neglecting or abusing it, it whimpers and puts its tail between its legs, expressing pain, sorrow, and disappointment.

Secondly, animals give off vibes. You know when someone is sad by the way they act, and you can tell when someone is happy by the way they act and move. It is the same with animals. When you see a hungry dog, you know by the way it hangs its head that it is feeling pain. You know when you see a chirping hopping bird that it is happy in a sense, because of its body language. While, we have an oral language, animals communicate to others by using their bodies and voices.

And now we come to the strongest point. We are animals too! Have you ever seen a documentary on gorillas? I’m sure you have, or at least you’ve seen a different species of animal nurture its young. Doesn’t that remind you of what you see parents doing? In just about every specie of animal, you see at least one human trait. Take the chimpanzee for example. It expresses happiness in an interesting way by “smiling” and “laughing.” There are even animals that would risk their lives to keep their young safe. Have you ever heard of a little bird that would pretend to have a broken wing, just to keep you away from its nest? Or more commonly, have you ever been chased by a chicken when you tried to pick up a chick? Those are examples of guardianship in the animal community. And if you think a chicken is scary, imagine trying to hurt a human child! You know how protective people are about their kids because of the love they feel for them. Don’t you think that animals deserve that too?

Animals are like us. If we have the right to be treated kindly and there are laws forbidding neglect for humans, it’s only fair that animals should receive the same rights. So next time you see a lost, hungry, or wounded animal, think of it as a child. How would you like to be treated? Would you like it if I just walked away and left you suffering? No, you wouldn’t, so do the right thing. Treat animals with kindness, just like your human brothers and sisters.