Asthemovementgainsincreasedvisibilityandsupport,the
groundswell ofpeople doingtheir partgathersmomentum.
Rock musicians have helped to circulate the Animal
Liberationmessage.Moviestars,models,anddressdesigners
havepledgedtoavoidfurs.Theinternationalsuccessofthe
Body Shop chain has made cruelty-free cosmetics more
attractive and readily available. Vegetarian restaurants are
proliferatingandevennonvegetarianrestaurantsareoffering
vegetariandishes.Allthismakesiteasierfornewcomersto
jointhose already doing what theycan to limitcruelty to
animals in their daily lives.
Nevertheless,AnimalLiberationwillrequiregreateraltruism
on the part of human beings than any other liberation
movement. The animals themselves are incapable of
demandingtheirownliberation,orofprotestingagainsttheir
condition with votes, demonstrations, or boycotts. Human
beings have the
powertocontinueto oppressotherspeciesforever,oruntil
we makethis planet unsuitable forliving beings. Will our
tyrannycontinue, proving thatmorality counts for nothing
whenitclasheswithself-interest,asthemostcynicalofpoets
and philosophershavealways said?Orwillwerise to the
challenge and prove our capacity for genuine altruism by
endingourruthlessexploitationofthespeciesinourpower,
notbecauseweareforcedtodosobyrebelsorterrorists,but
because we recognize that our position is morally
indefensible?
Thewayinwhichweanswerthis questiondepends onthe
way in which each one of us, individually, answers it.