Our equals, the animals

The withdrawal of care or in fact the complete absence of any relationship at all with captive animals is perpetuated right through to the killing chambers, where the animal’s life is terminated. That emotional separation carries through to the packers and sellers and finally to the eaters of the animal.
How do we come to be this way, with these animals? How can we change? How can 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 that presupposes vegan principle. But from there we need to go a step further, to prevent the habit of hubris regaining a footing – we need to regard animals as our equals. Which doesn’t mean of course giving animals the vote or a license to drive a car but to allow them to live alongside us, respecting them for their 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 have a natural affection, then shouldn’t we be able to extend that love to the unlovable?