Mange mennesker har i århundreder betragtet dyr som en brugsgenstand, som man må pine eller misbruge. En genstand til fornøjelse, arbejde, føde eller forsøg.
For centuries, many people considered animals to be objects that existed for their benefit, which they were allowed to hurt or abuse, there to provide for our comfort, to pull our carriages and ploughs, to supply our food and for us to experiment on.