World Day for the End of Speciesism

Like sexism, racism, and other forms of discrimination, speciesism is an oppressive belief system in which those with power draw boundaries to justify exploiting their fellow beings who are less powerful.

Psychologist Richard Ryder coined the term speciesism in 1971, referring to a prejudice in favor of the interests of humans and against other species. He called the assumption that humans are in a totally different moral category to other species “sheer superstition” and concluded that “it may come to pass that enlightened minds may one day abhor ‘speciesism’ as much as they now detest ‘racism’. The illogicality in both forms of prejudice is of an identical sort.” Peter Singer made the concept the heart of his seminal work on Animal Liberation.