As the only animal rights organisation in Western Australia consistently campaigning for the right of other animals not to be treated as property, Animal Rights Advocates Inc. (ARA) condemns the decision to kill horses for human consumption in WA. However, horses possess no morally significant characteristic making their slaughter ‘worse’ than that of cows, chickens, whales or any sentient being.

Sentient beings have a desire to live. Their continuing existence is important to them and forms a basic right to life. We afford this right to all humans without obligation and regardless of intelligence or ability. The right exists solely because we recognise that humans have an interest in life. Yet we refuse to extend this right to other animals with the same interest.

In deciding who has a right to life and who doesn’t, species is as morally insignificant as gender, race or sexuality. All that is required for this most basic right is that a being has an interest in life. Using other animals as resources or property violates this right. By striving to consume only goods and services that do not use animals in any way we can allow our actions to reflect our existing belief on the value of life.

Whilst ARA understands the distress over the slaughter of innocents, we condemn abuse and violent threats as contrary to a movement seeking to abolish violence against all animals.