To the editor:
I am writing in response to the Oct. 24 column by Bruce Hills ("Keep the role of animals in perspective").I must say that Mr. Hills is very wrong when he supposes that animated cartoons and anthropomorphism are responsible for the actions of animal rights activists.
The animal rights movement is not made up of children. It is composed of scientists, philosophers, theologians, and many other respected people who base their actions on logic and reason.
This movement is made up of people who very often have a high level of knowledge about, and experience with, animals. I am a state-registered animal health technician in Ohio, and I am very disturbed by Mr. Hills' characterization of animal rights activists. We do not act in response to characters such as Bambi.
Many things motivate animal activists. We are motivated by the fact that approximately 86,000,000 animals die in research facilities in the United States every year.
We are motivated by the fact that every year hundreds of thousands of animals are murdered by "sportsmen" simply to be decapitated and mounted over the mantel. We are motivated by the fact that billions of animals are tortured and slaughtered each year for food.
It is time for people to realize that humans are not so exalted as we would like to believe. We are only one species among many others. We have an obligation to treat other species humanely; an obligation that Mr. Hills apparently chooses to ignore.
Michael A. Budkie
Program coordinator
In Defense of Animals