Harold Herzog claims in his article that "animals are like us," the idea that has been supported, for a long enough time, by different scientists and environmentalists conscious of the profound integrity of the biological realm of our planet. Herzog cites some insightful examples demonstrating that "the way we think about other species" is frequently inconsistent, depends on biased concepts or emotional stimuli, and, "often defies logic" (242). Even the best situations of relations between people and animals, "can also be emotionally complicated" (Herzog 243). .
Humans' egocentric views and stances make their relations with animals inconsistent and demonstrate the lack of understanding of emotions and habits different species may possess. People can act in the wrong way even out of their best intentions. For example, there is no consistency in the behavior of vegetarians who discriminate animals and creatures that are not animals on the basis of the arbitrary selected features, which enables them to eat fish while staying away from chicken meat. Vegetarians ignore the obvious facts that, "both birds and fish are vertebrates, have brains, and lead social lives," (Herzog 242). A decision to be a vegetarian should be not spontaneous; it is a serious moral responsibility that is underpinned not only by one's personal views and convictions but also by certain worldview, historical and cultural traditions. The number of "ex-vegetarians," which Herzog identifies as, "a club that outnumbers current vegetarians in the United States by a ratio of three to one," is a stunning example of the lack of responsibility on the part of people who believed themselves to be committed to saving animals' lives by not eating them (242).
"Question[ing] the morality of keeping pets," may also result in releasing pets from what their loving owners see as captivity (Herzog 243).
