
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 16, 1990                   TAG: 9003162731
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ANIMAL SUFFERING UNSURPASSED TODAY

BARBARA Roessner (Commentary Feb. 18) asks: "What kind of society is this in which so much energy . . . is dedicated to promoting the humane treatment of animals when the inhumane treatment of people continues unabated?"

Perhaps Roessner does not realize that the suffering of animals today unquestionably exceeds, both in terms of the number of animals and the intensity of their suffering, anything the world has ever known. Most of this suffering is not seen by the general public, as it occurs in laboratories and factory farms where hundreds of millions of animals are killed each year. The situation is equally grim for wildlife.

There is a desperate need for both human and animal philanthropy. Our goal should be to attempt to eliminate all suffering of all living beings.

The humane treatment of animals must also be high on our list of priorities, because how the animals in our world are treated is important, too, if we are to think of ourselves as truly civilized. As Gandhi said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."\ COLLEEN M. COLEMAN\ ROANOKE

by CNB