…it is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved
of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the
utmost loving-kindness to every living creature. For in all physical respects,
and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are shared by
animal and man. Man hath not grasped this truth, however, and he believeth that
physical sensations are confined to human beings, wherefore is he unjust to the
animals, and cruel.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, 'Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha';
The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Conservation of the Earth's Resources)
