Taxonomy vs. ethics

[Thomas G. Lammers]

I think the reason that animal rights arguments do not often incorporate
an environmental focus is that much of the support organizations such as
PETA enjoy come from folks who equate "animals" with "pets".  They dearly
love their dog, cat, or other mammal and cannot imagine their animal
companions being subjected to the kind of cruelties that laboratory,
fur-producing, and meat-producing animals are subjected to.  I've often
noticed that animal rights concerns do not seem to extend to animals
lacking vertebrae, and is pretty spotty for those that are not endothermic.

Thomas G. Lammers
Department of Botany            lammers at tfm.fmnh.org
Field Museum of Natural History
Chicago IL 60605-2496 USA