Why should we care for animals—and how far does our duty of care go? Megan Best compares Singer’s utilitarianism with the Christian view of human responsibility.

What is it which morally distinguishes humans from animals? Some writers, those with what I will call ‘animal equality’ views, feel that their arguments are so strong that they put the onus on those with opposing positions to prove why animals should not receive moral status equal to humans. In reply, other writers seek to explain the grounds on which humans can be considered morally superior to animals. Despite the amount of time and emotion spent on this topic, I would claim that standard arguments in the animal equality debate fail to engage with the fundamental reason for our special treatment of humans. This foundation must be understood to see why it is inevitable that we will treat animals differently from humans.

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