Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to them whenever they require it.
— Francis of Assisi
Mouth-watering Animal Welfare quotations
The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.
Most people have forgotten how to live with living creatures, with living systems and that, in turn, is the reason why man, whenever he comes into contact with nature, threatens to kill the natural system in which and from which he live.
We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.
Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
The more I see of men, the better I like my dog.
Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul.
We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature.
If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals.
Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.
Cruelty to animals is one of the most significant vices of a low and ignoble people. Wherever one notices them, they constitute a sign of ignorance and brutality which cannot be painted over even by all the evidence of wealth and luxury.
As custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love, and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help to stop this madness.
A robin redbreast in a cage Puts all heaven in a rage.
Man's highest duty is to protect animals from cruelty.
If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth - beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals - would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals?
I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.
One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them.
Animals give me more pleasure through the viewfinder of a camera than they ever did in the crosshairs of a gunsight.
Atrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research.
It is vitally important that we can continue to say, with absolute conviction, that organic farming delivers the highest quality, best-tasting food, produced without artificial chemicals or genetic modification, and with respect for animal welfare and the environment, while helping to maintain the landscape and rural communities.
Love of animals is a universal impulse, a common ground on which all of us may meet. By loving and understanding animals, perhaps we humans shall come to understand each other.
The animal liberation movement is saying that where animals and humans have similar interests - we might take the interest in avoiding physical pain as an example, for it is an interest that humans clearly share with other animals - those interests are to be counted equally, with no automatic discount just because one of the beings is not human.
I believe animals should be respected as citizens of this earth.
They should have the right to their own freedom, their own families, and their own life.
While anyone who practices a religion has the right to their own religious truths, it doesn't give them the right to violate the welfare of another human or an animal. So, where necessary, it is the task of the government to intervene and curb the freedom of religion.
No one in the world needs a mink coat but a mink.
The awful wrongs and sufferings forced upon the innocent, helpless, faithful animal race form the blackest chapter in the whole world's history.
Humanity's true moral test, its fundamental test…consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.
Killing an animal to make a coat is sin. It wasn't meant to be, and we have no right to do it.
Cruelty to animals is one of the most significant vices of a low and ignoble people.
The cow is an exceptionally loving and gentle creature.
She cries for days when her calf is taken from her. It is a pitiful sound, a pitiful sound.
A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is a bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.
Living with animals can be a wonderful experience, especially if we choose to learn the valuable lessons animals teach through their natural enthusiasm, grace, resourcefulness, affection and forgiveness.
It seems to me of great importance to teach children respect for life.
Towards this end, experiments on living animals in classrooms should be stopped. To encourage cruelty in the name of science can only destroy the finer emotions of affection and sympathy, and breed an unfeeling callousness in the young towards suffering in all living creatures.
May all that have life be delivered from suffering.
Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!