Animals have enabled humankind to steadily rise from primitive conditions to a higher quality of life. Animals have indeed enabled civilization to develop. We can say that our state of living is owed to that of animals. They gave us the boost and carried us upon their shoulders through the centuries past. We owe our very existence to them but yet little gratitude is shown. They have been the propeller that has propelled us through history. Large domestic animals lead our ancestors away from hunting and gathering to more settled life styles. Shifting cultivation has become a thing of the past.
This revolution that has taken place has been brought about by the substitution of animals in our Western society. We use fossil fuels, hydro-electricity and nuclear fuels instead of animal power for cooking, lighting, heating, farm work and transport. Clothing material is being supplied by tropical plant or synthetic origin instead of local animal products. Farms instead of using animal manure use inorganic fertilizers. International trade and refrigeration of food have as a result had no need for animals to live nearby. …
