Geraldine Brooks Quotes

The question is not, 'Can they reason?' nor, 'Can they talk?' but rather, 'Can they suffer?'

In justifying cruelty to animals we put ourselves also on the animal level. We choose the jungle and must abide by our choice.

Human cruelty knows no limits and that one needs immense courage and a will of iron to help others understand that animals are made of flesh and blood like us, that they suffer the same pains as us, that they deserve the same respect as us and that their continuous slaughter should not be part of human entertainment.

Every animal has his or her story, his or her thoughts, daydreams, and interests. All feel joy and love, pain and fear, as we now know beyond any shadow of a doubt. All deserve that the human animal afford them the respect of being cared for with great consideration for those interests or left in peace.

It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked.

Any abuse of animals is the same as abuse of men, women, or children.

I wouldn't want to see any animal in pain, no matter what.

I grew up with lots of animals and I related more to them than I did to people. I feel a lot of empathy for them.

The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men.

If you love animals and you care for them... don't wear them, because they have feelings and personalities just like humans do.

For me, animals are not that much different from human beings.

The deeper minds of all ages have had pity for animals.

Lissa knelt down, compassion on her face. I wasn't surprised, since she'd always had a thing for animals. She'd lectured me for days after I'd instigated the infamous hamster-and-hermit-crab fight. I'd viewed the fight as a testing of worthy opponents. She'd seen it as animal cruelty.

We cannot have two hearts, one for the animals and one for men. In cruelty towards the former and cruelty to the latter there is no difference but in the victim.

Ich glaube sogar, durch Leidensk a« mpfe k o« nnten dieTiere zu Menschen werden. I believe that by suffering even animals could be made human.

What is it that should trace the insuperable line? ...The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?

We do not think clearly about our moral obligations to animals.

Brutality to an animal is cruelty to mankind - it is only the difference in the victim.

I'm very touched on a deep level by cruelty to animals.

We're all animals.

All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering the animals are our equals.

Sometimes I read about someone saying with great authority that animals have no intentions and no feelings, and I wonder, 'Doesn't this guy have a dog?'

Certainly it is wrong to be cruel to animals and the destruction of a whole species can be a great evil. The capacity for feelings of pleasure and pain and for the form of life of which animals are capable clearly impose duties of compassion and humanity in their case.

At school, I'd refuse to take part in biology lessons when animals were being dissected. One time, the teacher announced that we would be gassing worms. So I ran around the room, gathered up all the worms and set them free in the fields. I just loved animals and couldn't bear the thought of them suffering.

Animals are thinking, feeling creatures. They're sensitive.