it's time to start to believe that ALL ANIMALS have personalities and compassion...
ever seen an adult osprey feeding an adult gull? It happens... as long as there's plenty, as long as there's an adherence to some 'tacit ruleset' (well, as long as the gull adopts a submissive position to the osprey) we have to admit that ANIMALS are just like us.
They have PERSONALITY.
They have COMPASSION.
Even the generally lonesome and aggressive male polar bear will cavort with his brothers, his other-time enemies, when there's enough food to avoid conflict. And that's what EVERY SINGLE LIFEFORM on the planet wants to do; avoid conflict.
If there's NOTHING TO DIE FOR, i.e. no great corporate maneouvre, no great 'country', no great religious drive, we all want to survive. Simple as that.
We have to 'get off our high horse' and admit we've been killing living beings (like us) for meat for the last few thousand years -- don't punish us (nor pity us) but we've done it, we might as well have been killing our grandparents and eating their flesh.
Do you believe YOU exist; if so that's enough, you don't need some BOOK to tell you what's what. You don't need some Messiah, some Christ, some Buddha, some Allah, some Joe Schmoe or Satan to tell you these truths. We can all work it out. We can all reach that understanding to solve our global problem, our 'greed' issue. We can all understand what it means to REALLY be alive and be Custodians for a beautiful homeworld.
We all ARE, that should be more than enough.