Letter: Free all animals

SOME say we are a nation of animal lovers - but I beg to disagree.

And to those that say animals are protected by legislation, I'd say "sometimes".

To explain my point, children's advocates, or those who lobby for children's protection, would be considered strange, if their aims lay in reducing the number of youngsters abused while accepting that some have to suffer.

A percentage of people who campaign for animal welfare feel that bigger cages or more humane killing methods sum up such a half- hearted attitude: Let's treat animals better before we decide to eat them.

This is the 'welfarist' rather than a 'rights' philosophy.

Legislation which protects non-human species is geared towards the welfarists view.

Does The Wildlife Act protect all wild animals? On close inspection, I believe it does not.

It protects those animals that do not cause annoyance to humans and makes clear provisions for others to be hunted, terrorised and shot because some humans feel the need to kill and wound.

Similarly, animals on farms are not protected from life imprisonment - as on fur farms, for example.

Do these animals not deserve their freedom to just exist?

Animal Rights activists seek liberation for all species , we care about all sentient beings.

We do not want bigger cages, we want empty cages.

B Wright

Dublin

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