What do Franz Kafka, Leo Tolstoy, Isaac B. Singer, G.B. Shaw, William Shakespeare, and J.M. Coetzee have in common, besides being genius writers? They were all animal rights advocates who didn’t eat meat. It is especially surprising that Shakespeare wrote about animal...

“Who has not seen a child and an animal talking and understanding each other, sharing the same games and the same psychological needs (…) cannot understand that this mutual friendship is the cause of a child’s affinity for animal stories.” – F. Caradec.

People are always amazed when they find out that animals are intelligent. They are especially amazed when they hear that cows are even smarter than dogs, but sadly, these insights do not prevent them from eating these intelligent beings. They are stunned to hear that cows can talk, cry, and even travel, but that doesn’t seem to make these animals any less of a delicious lunch. Human intelligence is truly surprising! Can you imagine a conversation between two cows? Perhaps they are talking about the weather, food, annoying flies, a torturous life, or even planning an escape.

The most important thing you can do to help animals is not to eat meat or, better yet, any animal products. It is essential for parents to be honest with their children and to tell them how burgers and salami are made. It is often the case that teenagers resent their parents for not telling them the truth about the origin of their food but have had to find out, unpleasantly, themselves.

One of the tricky questions about zoos is whether they are good for animals, mainly because like prisons, not all zoos are alike. There are prisons where inmates have their own toilet, shower, TV, and even a yard.  Some giraffes have two or three rooms, a lounge, a garden, and a dining room. Giraffes in their zoo apartments might appear to have a lot of space, but they would rather replace it for a slice of freedom.