Yesterday evening, I caught the end of this edition of Horizon – sadly it was laughably dumbed-down. I’m sure there’s an interesting and intelligent programme to be made on the subject of the similarities and differences between humans and apes, and how we should treat them, but this wasn’t it. A comedian spending some time pestering a few people with the question “Are apes people too?” and doing stuff like playing a few games with some chimp and then going “Ahhhh, it’s just like one of us!” does not make a good case nor an intelligent examination of the issues.
I think what’s lacking in discussions about animal rights is the concept of human responsibilities. I disagree with the concept of animal rights, because rights and responsibilities always go hand in hand, and I don’t think that animals are capable of bearing the human responsibilities that accompany human rights. But that doesn’t mean that we can treat animals however we like, because we humans have the responsibility to treat animals not as humans, but humanely. Recognising the unique nature and identity of humans does not mean lording it over our fellow creatures, but understanding our God-given responsibility as stewards of creation.