Have you ever wondered how someone can be moved to tears by a news story about an abused dog yet feel no remorse over eating a bucket of chicken wings that caused multiple birds to suffer and die? We convince ourselves that we have the “right” to imprison certain animals in laboratories, experiment on them, and kill them because it might help humans. We tell ourselves that it’s OK to eat ice cream made from cow's milk because our desire for dessert outweighs a mother cow’s right to nurse and care for her calf. The answer is speciesism. Speciesism is a misguided belief that one species is more important than another. This toxic mindset is deeply ingrained in our society, and it results in all kinds of negative consequences. From the time we are young, most humans are conditioned to view certain species as worthy of care and compassion and others as unworthy—all based on arbitrary human preferences. Intentionally or not, parents, teachers, the media, and other influences send children the message that puppies and kittens are “friends,” cows and chickens are “food,” and rats and mice are “pests.” That it’s OK to steal a sheep's wool for sweaters and scarves and ducks’ feathers for pillows. Humans use speciesism to try to justify every kind of cruelty imaginable and now it has become so ingrained in our every day life that we don't see a problem in passing it on to other generations. Worried about the animals around you? Share your #Pawsome story with us only on Pluc.TV