Doesn't duty to our own kind come first?
It is unfortunate that it is a part of human nature to have less
compassion for those who are different from us than we do for our
own kind. The question people have often asked themselves is what
precisely is meant by the term "our own kind." Is it
those who are of the same nationality? Is it those who are of the
same race or religion? Is it those who are of the same tribe? Or
is it those who are of the same species?
In my opinion, the species boundary is no less arbitrary than are any of these others. In fact, I would like to tell the story of a holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States, and rented an apartment above a slaughter house. He said that what he saw in that slaughter house every day was precisely the reason he left Nazi Germany - indifference to the suffering of others simply because they are believed to be different from us.
Follow up questions:
How can some animal rights activists believe that other animals are our equals?
Isn't it insulting to compare human beings with animals?
Shouldn't we focus on solving human problems before worrying about animals?
What if you were in a burning building and could only save your child or your dog?