On side isn’t enough

Animal rights is about developing a passion for non-violence, alongside an altruistic concern for animals (mainly those we eat). Animals and humans are inextricably linked. Their fortune is our fortune. Their plight and our own plight depend on our becoming protectors of them. We need to be close to animals to learn how to restore our sensitivity. They are significant teachers for us (but voiceless all the same). They need us as we need them, and not in an exploitive relationship.
At this stage, the need for human liberation is more urgent than animal liberation, if only because of initial repair work we needs to start on ourselves. Admittedly, over the past thirty years we have come a long way towards developing awareness of and compassion for animals, but were any of the achievements for their welfare too shallow to have been much help to them? And on our public relations front, have animal activists seemed too violent (or unlikeable) to inspire or educate others?
For animals to be liberated many people must vote ‘yes’ to it. First, the issues must be introduced to the public effectively, so vegans have to seem worthy of representing animals’ interests and clear about their “no-touch-animals” policy, which comes from the human track record with animals, there being something in our collective genes, that we can’t help exploiting animals if we get the chance. Vegans must be good communicators of this message if we want the majority to support this animal liberation quest.