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I wonder if PETA gets the irony? Its workers, who were accused of animal cruelty for euthanizing dogs and cats—some of whom were adoptable—and then dumping them into a trash bin, were found not guilty of that charge. Instead, the jury found them guilty of littering.

Okay. But what does that mean about the moral worth of the animals that were killed? If one dumped human remains in a trash container, the charge would be far more serious than mere littering. So, while the jury decided not to hit the PETA killers too hard, it also—in its own way—issued an implied message about human exceptionalism and the vast difference between the moral worth of animals and that of people. As I said: I wonder if PETA gets the irony?


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