DEAR ANIMALS...

Is a photographic and written tribute to the (non-human) animals of the world, with a plea for their protection.

Time is running out. Every year, many species vanish, never to return. By the mid century, up to 60% of advanced life forms may be extinct.

There is one predator above all responsible for the current destruction and misery of its fellow animals -- homo sapiens, the human being.

The root cause of the problem lies with a human belief, an ideology.

Most human beings believe they are not of nature, and that they are not even animals. They have blinded themselves, repressed the knowledge and the experience that they are related to other species. For instance, the dominant cover story in the Western world since the time of Plato, is that animals --'brute beasts' -- unlike humans, lack a divine quality. Men drew up a pecking order of nobility, with themselves at the top, and the other animals underneath. To such people, other species are solely a form of property, to be used or destroyed at a whim. Granting oneself a divine element has always been a very useful excuse for maintaining power over the rest who allegedly lack it. Human beings, by and large, still believe that their fellow animals are there, like a great smorgasbord, awaiting their consumption -- or else there to be sacrificed, there to be used for research material, there to be enslaved for amusement, or there to be to be shot as 'game'.

However, many of us now see that non-humans are not material for exploitation. Nor are we the divinely appointed agents of a Boss who who has put us in charge of the lower orders. That anthropocentric myth, enshrined in religion, and still underpinning conventional science, must be exposed and seen for what it is: a human invention, a cheap justification that allows us to maintain a sense of moral superiority over other species. In the name of that Father we can torture and abuse other animals with a clear conscience.

Let's put that aside and join the pioneers for change. And enjoy being a fellow animal.

Ray Drew

A statement outlining an alternative philosophical attitude toward wild animals rather than that of fundamentalist science, can be viewed here. It focusses on the plight of kangaroos in Australia, but applies to all species. It forms part of a letter written to the Prime Minister of Australia in May, 2008.

Other sites by Ray Drew:

http://www.raydrew.net

http://www.kangaroolives.com

http://www.the-animal.net