LET US LIVE WITHOUT HARMING!: NON-HUMAN ANIMALS TOO

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Non-human sentient beings suffer and possess a range of emotions similar to those of Homo sapiens: they feel physical pain just as we do, as well as pleasure, fear, stress, tranquility, sadness, and joy. They also experience desire, satisfaction, frustration, love, hatred, anger, aggressiveness, loneliness, curiosity, and more. They even possess consciousness and empathy.

In the case of mammals, the degree to which they experience these sensations is similar to ours, as their nervous structure, pain receptors, and the parts of the brain related to these emotions—such as the amygdala or the cerebellum—are alike. Even the hormones involved in these sensations are the same. We mammals are possibly more similar to each other than different types of trees are to one another.

In fact, if we were to dissect an animal, we would see that many of them are internally very similar to human beings: they have a brain, a nervous system, intestines, a heart, etc. Moreover, many of them share most of our genetics, some even up to 99% of our DNA.

Some supremacist speciesists claim they cannot be compared to humans because they lack intelligence, but this narrative—justifying abuse to suit our selfish interests like a tailor-made suit—is incorrect. According to scientific research, mammals such as pigs and cows not only think but also possess a level of intelligence similar to that of children up to 4 years old.

Read LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let us not be unscrupulous speciesists

HOW TO LIVE WITHOUT HARMING? Let us say no to exploitative anthropocentrism

FOR A WORLD WITHOUT HARM: Let us reject narratives that justify cruelty

On the other hand, being less intelligent does not mean feeling less. For example, in children aged 7 to 11, the amygdala is more developed than in adults, causing them to suffer more fear and anxiety despite having a lower IQ. Cognitive functions (related to thinking) are one thing, and feeling is another. They are as different as wine and potato chips. The most extreme example is Artificial Intelligence, which can process a much larger amount of information than people, as well as analyze it, draw conclusions, and even make decisions that translate into actions, yet it feels nothing. Something similar happens with robots, certain machines, and plants, which possess intelligence but not sensations.

The opposite of the high IQ of Artificial Intelligence is a newborn baby, who has far less intelligence but can suffer greatly. The same applies to other species, as some possess limbic systems larger than those of humans; consequently, scientists state they have more complex and possibly more intense emotions.

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In fact, there are animals with brains larger than ours, with a greater brain-to-body size ratio, and even greater complexity.

As other sentient beings feel, and feel deeply, they have the right to be respected and not to be harmed, with the exception of self-defense. They are free, and therefore we cannot hold them; they should be with us only because they wish to be with us.

LET US CUT THEIR CHAINS NOW AND FREE THEM FROM THE YOKE WE HAVE IMPOSED UPON THEM FOR MILLENNIA!

THE ART OF LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let us respect others

THE REVOLUTION OF LIVING WITHOUT HARMING: Let us respect the freedom of others

It may seem like a radical, revolutionary idea. And indeed, it is just as much as the concept that men are free or that women have the right to the same freedoms as men was relatively recently in our long history.

The above is the ideal, but it is very different from reality. The number of animal victims is immense: more than 92 billion land animals are killed every year after being exploited and mistreated in factory farms, laboratories, shows, etc. To this, we must add between 1 and 2.7 trillion fish caught every year, most of them after spending a miserable life in a fish farm.

We are talking, therefore, about TRILLIONS with a T of victims every year and TENS OF TRILLIONS over decades. Consider that the total human population is only 8 billion and that the Jewish Holocaust claimed 6 million lives. The latter is merely a bag of trash compared to the former, which is an entire landfill.