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Ecclesiastes 3:21
Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

Many members of Christendom, and other religions, believe that animals do not have souls and are, therefore, unable to experience emotions. How can this be? How is it so impossible for someone to believe that another living, breathing, feeling being does not have the mental capacity to experience life as we do? In Buddhism we believe that it is morally incorrect to mistreat any living being, which is a belief that I have carried with me throughout my life, and so I find it rather difficult to accept the inferior rankings of animals on the ladder of life. Fauna have been place on the lowest rung, just above flora, merely due to their inability to express themselves and prove to us that they feel.  

If anyone has ever had a pet dog, cat, fish, hamster, etc., they would understand exactly what it is I am ranting on and on about. If you have ever lovingly cradled your pet in your arms, and have seen their eyes filled to the brim with gratitude and love, or scolded them for doing something bad and seen how hurt they were afterwards, you would agree that animals have souls. 

One of the most vivid memories of mine, which has influenced my beliefs on the matter, was when I was around 12 years old. I was at my cousins' home in New York and we were watching videos on YouTube, and suddenly we came across a clip of raccoons and dogs being beaten and skinned alive in China. My cousins and I love animals, and so, being foolish children, we dared each other to watch the video. When the video began, the animals were dragged out of cramped, wire cages and then beaten with metal poles. Then, their legs, fiercely fighting to free themselves from the fists that controlled their fate, hanged them. Once tied up, their bellies were sliced open with a single, swift flick of a knife. I couldn't close my eyes, nor could I look away. My cousins had already left the room. After that, the skin from their tiny legs was cut away and peeled from their broken bodies. I felt as if all of my innards were bubbling up my throat, begging to find a way out, but I persevered. Once their pelts were stolen from them, they were thrown into a mass of pink flesh, where their shivering bodies slowly succumbed to the pain. The last frame from the video was a close up of one of the animals. Its body was pink, slimy, and raw, and the only hair left on its body was the eyelashes that framed its large brown eyes. Although I was viewing the image from a computer screen, the misery in its eyes was clearly visible to me. 

After seeing that video, and having those images engrained in my memory, it angers me to know that certain individuals don't believe that animals have souls. I completely disagree with their beliefs and views on the matter, and always will. I will always hate human beings for inflicting such pain on innocent animals, and I will always hate humans for believing that they cannot feel.

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