Compassion in the East and the West

Earthlings brought out a lot of emotion. I felt rage, depression, guilt, and sympathy. I asked myself a great many questions: How can people allow this to happen? How can anyone do these terrible things? What does this say about me and the country I live in? What are people doing to make these things stop? However, there was one question I didn't think of. What is the history behind this abhorrent treatment?
The greatest empire the world has ever seen, the Royal British Empire, has an extensive history mistreating animals. They were exploited for transportation, agriculture, and entertainment. Few people had pets and, things such as cock fighting, dog fighting, rat killing, and bull baiting. Even the wealthy that could afford pets kept them, "mainly as toys or badges of rank". (339) The populace as a whole was plagued by indifference that could, "also be criticized as complicity." (347)
One of the reasons man seems to have such contempt for animals is religion, especially the people of the book (Muslims, Christians, and Jewish people). The world views of these religions is, "largely anthropocentric."(369) This means that we humans believe the world revolves around us, despite all evidence to the contrary. We cannot overcome this tidal wave of abuse until we can use our sympathetic imagination to empathize with the animals we share the planet with.