Human rights v animal rights: seamless expressions of empathy?

For activists, the constraints of time, energy and resources mean that choices must be made as to the particular field in which one seeks to correct the injustices that we see in too much abundance around us.

Those constraints should not lead us to accept that other injustices, on which others spend their time, are less important or more acceptable because they are not the ones to which we devote our energy.

Even if multi-focussed activity is not possible for us as individuals, we should appreciate the work of others who fight injustice in a different sphere to that in which we fight ourselves.

The enemy of most people who campaign against injustice is a lack of empathy on the part of those whom we seek to persuade and enlist to our cause. The ability to feel empathy, as the famous quote from George Steiner at the beginning of the article illustrates, can fall away even as the injustice involves cruelty to many.

In our opinion, it is important to encourage the ability to feel empathy both for humans and the animals with whom we share this small planet. It is a precious commodity. We should not let it be wasted.