‘Civilisation’ is no such thing unless it includes all animals

In the West we consider ourselves as belonging to an advanced Christian civilisation, but unfortunately it does not extend beyond the human species. We humans are not alone on this planet. Our existence is one of interdependency with other sentient creatures. Only when we extend our “civilisation” to include all animal life may we consider ourselves to be truly civilised.
Having dominion over means having responsibility for.
The right to open protest is a right extended to people only within democracies. There are protests about almost every issue that affects the lives of humans even indirectly protesting idiotically against democracy itself, but protesting the rights of animals and rescuing them from cruelty is called “terrorism”. Having protested across the UK, using mobile speaker equipment and large “A” boards, against vivisection, cruelty to farm animals and fox hunting, I have been arrested on numerous occasions. The brute force of the police is employed to crush human rights when fighting for animal rights. It’s the same in the US where the FBI is hunting down two rescued sick piglets removed from a breeding factory. The government is in fear that the publicity resulting over the two little creatures will expose the heinous crimes committed in the interests of feeding an unaware “civilised” population.
All cruelty meted out by humans on other animals is complete unnecessary, be it in laboratories, breeding factories, so-called animal husbandry and in the name of sport. As I wrote on my large “A” boards, “it is sadistic”. Until we include other animals in our civilisation, it is not a genuine civilisation and certainly not a Christian one. The 6th Commandment is clear: Thou shalt not kill! Fundamental to Christian teaching is that we should do unto others as we would have done unto us. “Others” means all God’s sentient creatures. Buddhism teaches exactly the same.
JC Wilcox