Louise Michel Quotes on Animal Welfare

“As far back as I can remember, the origin of my revolt against the powerful was my horror at the tortures inflicted on animals. I used to wish animals could get revenge, that the dog could bite the man who was mercilessly beating him, that the horse bleeding under the whip could throw off the man tormenting him. But mute animals always have to submit to their fate.”

“Animals kill to live; the hunter destroys only to destroy.”

“…a sadness takes over me when men must destroy a beast to whom mercy cannot be shown without endangering others. You hold in your hands a being that wishes to live.”

“Why should I be so sad over brutes, when reasoning beings are so unhappy? The answer is that everything fits together, from the bird whose brood is crushed, to the humans whose nests are destroyed by war. The beast dies of hunger in his hole; man dies of it far away from his home. A beast’s heart is like a human heart, its brain like a human brain. It feels and understands. The heat and spark will always rise up. It can’t be crushed out.”