Respones to Crowned Laurel’s blog on “The Pain of Animals” by David Suzuki

http://crownedlaurel.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/suzuki-the-pain-of-animals/

Stephanie brought up some very good points in her critical analysis of “The Pain of Animals.” I agree with her that Suzuki is writing this peice to all humans. The author is challenging readers to reevaluate their ideas on animal testing, and the treatment of animals in general. Stephanie acknowledges this by writing that  “his message is to create awareness of the immense pain and suffering animals are put through for our own expense.” I agree with this point. Many people are not aware or do not consider they pain of animals. Suzuki is really challenging his readers to think beyond themselves, as well as humankind.

I agree with Stephanie that Suzuki explores humans’ right to exploitate animals. She writes about how humans have exploiated animals but does not consider the animals suffering, which I believe is a big part of Suzuki’s peice and message. I think that the most stories he tells in this peice is how he shot animals for pleasure in the past. He describes the time that he was hunting a squirrel and “the squirrel began to cry – a piercing shriek of terror and anguish. The animal’s wail shook [him] to the core and [he] was overwhelmed with horror and shame at what [he] was doing. I think that this was one of Suzuki’s main points. Most animals feel fear, terror, and pain. If a human were to inflect these emotions onto another human they would likely be called a psychopath. However when a human inflicts these emotions onto an animal no further thought is given. 

Overall I thought that Stephanie made some really good points, and agreed with most of her thoughts.