The following letter is a response to an article on the CFUU Forum. Titled The UFETA Website and Principles, it was written by Dean Fisher, the president and webmaster of CFUU (Conservative Forum for Unitarian Universalists). Commenting on the UFETA principles, he said:
Two phrases stand out for me:....and whose rights should parallel our own.
....and the peaceful coexistence of all creatures.The notion that animals should be equal to humans is of course absurd. But even more absurd is the idea that animals should coexist peacefully. Many animals are carnivores for crying out loud! Are these people that nutty that they think wolves will stop eating field mice? Coyotes and Lions stop eating deer and antelope? What's there (sic) plan, sensitivity training for carnivores?
Beam me up scotty....
Dean
Hi Dean!
As UFETA webmaster, I'd like to respond to your email. I cannot speak for UFETA, since I am not officially a member; I just maintain their website. However, here are my two cents:
No, of course animals are not equal to humans. Primates are not persons. Red knots are not horseshoe crabs. Dinoflagellates are not colubus monkeys. Zebus are not dragonflies. But all of them -- along with the rest of the tens of thousands of species in the Gaian menagerie -- have a right to exist.
Every creature on Earth -- every animal, plant, fungus, and single cell -- is put here by God for a purpose. Each one is sacred, and part of His creation. Each one has a role to play, and is entitled to fulfill that role. We, as mortals, can never know the totality of God's plan.
But humans, in our arrogance, think we know better than God. We believe we know what's best for the Earth and all its inhabitants. We presume that it is acceptable to plunder and pillage Earth's biodiversity for our own benefit. We have no understanding at all of how intimately dependent we are on other species. We also don't realize how important biodiversity is to maintaining the planet's homeostasis. In other words, the more species there are, the more likely we are to have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, healthy soil to grow food, and a stable climate to protect us from weather extremes.
Unfortunately, this will become increasingly clear in the years ahead. We are currently undergoing the sixth extinction in the history of the Earth. The previous five had natural causes, and occurred millions of years ago. But unlike them, the current one has no natural cause. It is entirely due to our own meddling.
The current extinction is also unique in that it is much faster and deeper than previous ones. Biodiversity is dwindling at an unprecedented rate; much faster than in previous extinctions. Most conservation biologists agree that we will lose at least half of all species during this century. We will probably "bottom out" with only a few percent left. By contrast, most previous extinctions left a large fraction of biota intact. (For more information, see Mass Extinction Underway.)
You make a good point: some animals are carnivores. (And some plants, for that matter: Venus flytraps, cobra lilies, pitcher plants, and so on.) They too have a role to play. In many cases, carnivores prefer to dine on carcasses. Others prey on the sick or the infirm. My guess is that carnivores are like Nature's EPA: cleaning up the detritus, and weeding out the unhealthy.
Of course it is cruel and repulsive. But who are we to judge? For 4.5 billion years, the Earth flourished and its biodiversity increased to a fantastic degree. Yet we humans, in only the last few hundred years, have managed to completely reverse course. Ironically, most of us aren't even aware of it.
I agree with you: not all animals peacefully coexist. (This is sometimes even true of non-carnivores.) You quoted part of a UFETA principle, which says in full: "Seeking ecological justice and the peaceful coexistence of all creatures." Please notice the word "seeking", which implies that it is a goal rather than a requirement. This principle is only a brief summary of one aspect of UFETA philosophy. The details would make it clear that there are, of necessity, exceptions.
You also quoted part of another UFETA principle, pertaining to the rights of animals. If you read the entire paragraph, it is clear that those rights should include "the inherent worth and dignity of every" animal, and "justice, equity and compassion in" animal relationships (which also includes the human animal, so that we should practice those virtues in regard to our fellow animals). It does *not* say that animals have the same legal or social rights as humans, only that theirs should parallel ours. In other words, the each species should have rights appropriate to itself.
You posted your message on the bulletin board of the Conservative Forum for Unitarian Universalists. If I may quote from its home page:
Objectives of the CFUU include:
By the way, the CFUU lists its webmaster as Dean Fisher, which also happens to be your name. Is this you? If so, hello to a fellow webmaster!
Your Humble UFETA Webmaster,
--greg