When I was in college I used to always say “I don’t understand why anybody would want to work with cows/horses/dogs/etc. when they could work with elephants or lions or gorillas!” And honestly, at this time I truly did not understand why people would work with “common” species when they could instead work in conserving the “uncommon”.

Although I now still have the desire to continue working with wildlife around the world, I can better understand both points of view. In fact, now I can even look back and realize that I was being speciesist!

What is Speciesism?

Speciesism is the belief that one species is better than another, that they deserve different treatment or have different rights than another. Much like any other “ism” many of us don’t like to admit our shortcomings and when we do talk about them they are often accompanied by judgment or, at the very least, gasps. 

But much like most of the other isms (racism, sexism, etc.), speciesism is all too common! So if you’re reading this and not wanting to admit that you too possess this ism, let’s talk about what speciesism can look like.

Of course, the following statements are generalizations, not everybody fits into these and they differ greatly by culture but I want to walk through a few just to get you thinking!

• Many people keep dogs as pets but eat cows.

• Many people admire butterflies but step on slugs.

• Many people are in awe of wild gorillas but cage chimps for animal testing.

• Many people are against having to quarantine in their homes but see no issue with an elephant living in captivity their entire life. 

These are just a few examples of the contradictions we humans have in our minds which can simply be defined as being speciesist. The belief that house cats are cuddly pets, but pigs deserve to be slaughtered for meat. That we humans should be able to freely travel and roam without any restrictions but any bears living near human settlement need to be relocated. 

Just Because We All Do it, Doesn’t Make it Ok

Some people when confronted with these statements have the thought that well, this is just the way it is. Others may even get defensive and think, you do it too so it’s ok! First, I’m not here to judge you or even question you. I admit that I too have had times of being speciesist and I know I still have room to grow and improve. 

But I also want to reiterate that, just because other people have these beliefs doesn’t mean you don’t need to challenge your own beliefs. When we lean into our potentially shallow beliefs we learn and grow. By challenging a belief that dogs are pets but pigs are food you’d learn that pigs are actually more self-aware and smarter than dogs; therefore, they are more conscious of what is happening to them when we raise them in tiny spaces and slaughter them. 

When we challenge the belief that elephants belong in captivity for us to view or ride, we learn that elephants are just as able to develop mental illness as humans and can spend a lifetime with depression and even suicidal thoughts due to the trauma we induce. 

When we think from a place of compassion rather than a place of superiority we see that this planet is not first and foremost our home, we share this planet with other species and they have just as much of a right to thrive here as we do. We are the only species that takes more than we give, who overkills and uses more resources than we can give back to the earth. 

My Personal Takeaway 

Since college, my outlook on conservation has shifted and changed so much that it would be fair to say it made a complete 180. Now, I pick snails off of the sidewalk to get them out of the danger zone and will sit and watch their amazing bodies move and eat. I’ll go to great lengths to find mountain goats just to catch a glimpse from hundreds of feet away. I no longer think that the only specie’s worth working with are those that are “uncommon”. Every single species has something incredible and unique about them. Just thinking about it I’m mind blown by the biodiversity on our planet!

So maybe you aren’t as intense as I am, but just reading this potentially new perspective is a great starting point. In becoming more aware of the roles each and every species has on our planet, I have become more empathetic to humans, more taken by creatures I never would have looked twice at, and have learned to act solely from a place of compassion. 

We are not superior to any species. And while we make more mistakes than most other species, we are also not inferior to any other species. We are all at home on earth and could use a little more practice with peaceful coexistence.