Igualdad Animal / Animal Equality manifesto for International Animal Rights Day

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On December 10th 1948 the United Nations founding countries approved the Human Beings Rights Charter to prevent the World War II and concentration camps horrors from being repeated. Only by recognizing every human being’s fundamental rights without no kind of concession, could there be any chance of those tragedies not being lived again. Thus, the United Nations General Assembly declared that respect for human beings and human beings’ dignity are “the foundations for freedom, justice and peace in the world.”

Some years ago, individuals, organizations and associations from all parts of the world demanded that this claiming spirit had to be extended to the rest of the animals and that the Human Rights International Day should also be the Animal Rights International Day, simply because humans are also animals and because nowadays they are the victims of an immense and non-preceding suffering in other concentration camps, victims who can be counted by thousands of millions every month. We think that this day is a day to remind that freedom, justice and dignity aren’t terms meant to exclude anyone, since suffering and desire for living have nothing to do with race, sex, social position or species.

In 1970, 22 years after the Declaration of Human Rights by the UN, and more than three decades ago, the term speciesism was coined in order to talk about discrimination of beings due to the species of belonging. Just as racism or sexism, speciesism has no possible explanation or justification. In spite of this, we live in speciesist and slavery societies, in every country animals are considered human beings’ properties and their interests are hardly ever taken into account at all. The value of their lives depends on their price on the market. In this social context, legal reforms cannot put an end to the injustice they are living in. We cannot achieve rights for the rest of the animals as long as we continue feeding ourselves with their flesh, dressing ourselves with their skins, testing on them or considering them as entertaining objects. Animals are not food, not clothes, not laboratory tools nor entertainment objects. They are not resources, they are beings with interests who deserve respect and protection, the same respect and protection that we have among humans.

Unfortunately, non-human animals are seen as mere properties, properties who can be used by us under certain conditions. Modifying the conditions our animal slaves are in, is not going to end their consideration as properties nor lead to animal rights, modifications will only become, what, in fact, they already are: new ways of use. We must remember that our fight is not only for the animals we live with, nor is our fight against those who “mistreat” them. Our goal is to abolish every kind of animal use, to liberate every animal, and no way will we accept less than that.

In 1641 in Massachusetts the first animal welfare law was proclaimed, 365 years later, we can say that to reform an injustice is to perpetuate that injustice. Laws are not going to set animals free, laws are not the ones subjecting animals’ will; we are the ones who have to set them free. The end of animal exploitation requires our involvement, it requires us to take an active part against this injustice, not leaving this task in the hands of others. It requires us to clearly show our position against it. The end of animal slavery starts with us, only by opposing animal use by adopting a vegan lifestyle, and applying the abolition we demand in our lives, will we build a fairer world for all sentient beings.

We think that today, December 10th 2006, is a day in which we can do something for them. The change in their situation is all up to us, because, unfortunately, they cannot do it, they cannot be here today because they are confined in “farms”, “fishing farms”, labs, slaughterhouses or lorries leading them towards these places. They are being mutilated, separated from their families, murdered, massacred. They cannot claim what is fair for them with their own voices, but we can do it. We are not going to die if we speak up for them, but they are definitely going to die if we don’t do speak out loud against their slavery.