Our equals, the animals

The withdrawal of care or the lack of any relationship at all with captive animals is perpetuated right through to the killing chambers where the animal has its life terminated. That emotional separation carries through to the packers and sellers and finally to the eaters of the animal.
How do we come to love animals, not just the cute and cuddly ones but all animals – well, obviously not by eating them. That’s the first step in changing the nature of our relationship with them, and of course it presupposes the application of vegan principle. But from there we need to go a step further, to regard animals as our equals. Not to give them voting rights or a comprehensive education or warm clothing (huh, the very idea!) but to live alongside them as partners in sentience.
Egalitarianism is really a gigantic levelling process, where dog, human and tree exist on one level, where (other than areas specific to species or gender) there is effectively no separation. If we can be one way with our beloved dog, then surely we can be that way with any living thing, even the most loveless. If we can love those for whom we feel affection, then shouldn’t we be able to extend that love to the unlovable?