... consistent with our understanding of what it is to be in pain - they scream and avoid the source of that pain. Research also shows that the pain sensing structures of animals' nervous systems are similar to our own. A distinction cannot be made between animals and humans on grounds of intelligence since we don't consider the new-born, senile or mentally impaired to be non-human. Therefore, both humans and animals should enjoy equal moral consideration. Any attempt to distinguish between animals and people is 'speciesism'. To say that animals deserve less consideration simply because they are animals is analogous to claiming that women deserve inferior treatment by virtue of their sex. "The question is not, Can animals reason? Nor, Can they talk? But can they suffer" (Vicki Hearn, What's Wrong with Animal Rights?) Common sense tells us that there is a difference between animals and humans. In the presence of ...

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