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Of course animal rights have not gone too far. Have women's rights gone too far? Have civil rights gone to far? Historically, western civilizations have dominated those they feel to be mentally inferior. Once the intelligence of another being is finally established, however, we suddenly believe it crucial to give that being equal rights. One hundred and fifty years ago, it was a scientific fact that women had smaller brains, were more prone to mental illness, and were all around dumber than men. Such a viewpoint now would seem ludicrous, and as a result, women are treated better in the workplace as well as outside of it. Even Harvard's president came under scrutiny after hinting that women may be biologically worse than men at math.

Fifty years ago, racial minorities were widely thought to be essentially non-human and mentally incapable. If a politician today espoused such ideas, there would be a mighty public uproar. While there may be debate about immigration policies and affirmative action, the fact remains that non-whites are (in theory) given the same legal rights as whites.

Why, then, is it so difficult to believe that animals (or, for you skeptics, some animals) may also have powerful minds and emotions, and as such should be treated with respect and dignity, not mindlessly dominated? After all, we've been wrong about the mental capacity of other so many times in the past.

Indeed, recent research suggests that animals may be more intelligent than anyone had ever guessed. Whale song has syntax, dolphins name each other, lions can organize a hunt to take down an elephant, and chimps can use tools to crack nuts and fish for termites. Considering that research on animal behavior began in earnest only about 50 years ago (yes, there were naturalists before, but they rarely took notes detailed enough to stand up to today's scientific rigors), it's amazing that we've even found this much. Anyone who's read Koko's Kitten knows that primates can learn to communicate and relate to other living beings, but why is this not enough to warrant more humane treatment of these sentient beings? Instead, primates are still placed in cramped cages in zoos and labs, injected with HIV, bought and sold on the black market, made to dance and act at circuses, and given lethal doses of experimental drugs. They are starved and overstuffed, taken away from their parents, raised in unnnatural conditions, and put on display. All just to see how they, our closest relatives, will react.

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