Pro-hunt campaigners usually argue (those who don't hide behind the masquerade of pest control) that they have a right to hunt and any restriction is an infringement of their personal liberty. Implicit in that claim of course is the idea that animals cannot have rights, that they have no independent moral standing. To those people I simply say read this:
After Babs the gorilla died at age 30, keepers at Brookfield Zoo decided to allow surviving gorillas to mourn the most influential female in their social family.
A wonderful story by Keith Laumer, puts a nice twist on this discussion - make sure you read right to the end.
[Gorillas via Rebecca's Pocket]
