Dear Editor:
On the same day you printed my letter (March 23) about the rat “problem” on Beach Road, there was an article about the pigeon “problem” at the beach. (I put the word problem in quotation marks because I just walked up and down Beach Road and did not see a single rat or pigeon.) While city officials called for the cruel extermination of the rats, it said they would try to remove the pigeons without killing any of them. Since pigeons have been called “rats with wings” why aren’t the rats shown the same moral consideration?
As an animal rights activist I see no moral difference between torturing a “popular” animal (pigeon) and an unpopular one (rat). By the same token, I see no moral difference between eating a “popular” animal (dog) and an “unpopular” one (pig).
If we all agree that humans who are not popular have the same rights as humans who are, then why can’t we also agree that “unpopular” animals should be given the same moral consideration as “popular” ones? Torture is wrong regardless to the popularity of the victim.
Eric Bahrt
