wedonotconsiderthattheanimalmighthaveaspousewho
willsufferfromthesuddenabsenceofthedeadorcaptured
animal.Inasimilarwayweknowthattopartahumanmother
from her child is tragic for both; but neither farmers nor
breedersofcompanionanimalsandresearchanimalsgiveany
thoughttothefeelingsofthenonhumanmothersandchildren
whom they routinely separate as part of their business.^13
Curiously, while people often dismiss complex aspects of
animalbehavioras“mereinstinct,”andthereforenotworthy
ofcomparisonwiththeapparentlysimilarbehaviorofhuman
beings, thesesamepeoplewillalso ignoreoroverlookthe
importanceofsimpleinstinctivepatternsofbehaviorwhenit
isconvenientforthemtodoso.Thusitisoftensaidoflaying
hens,veal calves,and dogskeptin cagesforexperimental
purposesthatthisdoesnot causethemtosuffersincethey
haveneverknownotherconditions.WesawinChapter 3 that
thisisafallacy.Animalsfeelaneedtoexercise,stretchtheir
limbsorwings,groomthemselves,andturnaround,whether
ornottheyhaveeverlivedinconditionsthatpermitthis.Herd
orflockanimalsaredisturbedwhentheyareisolatedfrom
others of their species,
thoughtheymayneverhaveknownotherconditions,andtoo
largea herdorflockcanhavethesameeffectthrough the
inability of the individual animal to recognize other
individuals.Thesestressesrevealthemselvesin“vices”like
cannibalism.
Widespread ignorance of thenature of nonhumananimals
allowsthose whotreatanimalsin thismannerto brushoff
criticism by saying that, after all, “they’re not human.”
Indeed, they are not; but neither are they machines for
converting fodder into flesh, or tools for research.