Similar Minds Theory
“The idea that the animals that matter are the ones that have minds similar to ours, I think is dangerous…what it does is it reinforces that hierarchy.“ – Gary Francione
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Anti-Cruelty Laws
“We allow animals to be treated in ways which if we treated humans that way would be considered as torture…But those things are customary within the industry.“ – Gary Francione
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What Does “Necessary” Suffering Mean?
“It’s very difficult to find anyone who would disagree with the proposition that it’s wrong to inflict unnecessary suffering on animals. Now, what do we mean when we say ‘necessary’?” Gary Francione
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Historical Influences
“René Descartes, Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham really provide…a lot of the background noise about how we think about animals now.” – Gary Francione
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Treatment, Use and Animal Protection Laws
“You want to value the dog high? Fine. You want to value the dog low? Fine. As far as the law’s concerned, the only interests that you have to protect are the interests that are absolutely necessary in order to exploit the dog.” – Gary Francione
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Moral Persons
“We can divide the universe up into Persons and Things. Those entities that have moral interests that we protect because of the perceived moral value of those beings, and everything else.” – Gary Francione
