To the editor:

This is in response to Richard Smith’s July 24 letter. He asks the question whether human and animal lives have the same value. All life should be valued, human or nonhuman, period. It’s silly to suggest that people have to choose between the two. When compassion is in our hearts (which everyone talks about after Sept. 11), we all should be outraged at any murder, not just that of humans. Compassion should know no boundaries.

Let me also remind everyone that whether or not you care or are outraged when an animal has been tortured and killed, we all had better take it very seriously. It has been proven time and time again that violent acts toward animals is a precursor to violence against humans. Here are a few examples:

Jeffrey Dahmer loved to dissect and kill animals. He went on to murder 17 men. Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler,” would starve dogs and cats, then let them loose and watch them kill one another. He went on to rape and kill 13 women. And lastly, in 1998, 15-year old Kip Kinkel of Oregon set a live cat on fire and later opened fired on his high school classmates killing two and injuring 22 others. These are just a few on a long list of killers who started out hurting animals.

I hope one day, we will see a world that realizes all life on this planet is interconnected and that every living creature is deserving of protection and respect. I would like to think that we humans are capable of compassion beyond just our own species. As Charles Darwin quoted: “The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.”

Ann Wilson,
Lawrence