ABSTRACT
Animals occupy a unique place in the human environment. They are at the intersection of the cultural and biophysical environments. Animals are living, sentient, biological components of the natural environment. Yet they are a part of human culture: food, clothing, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, medical products, physical assistance to the disabled, vocabulary and symbolism, and friendship and companionship. Humans form deeply meaningful, personal
relationships with animals that do not occur with any other component of our environment. Cultures and individuals hold strong beliefs about where different animal species should be placed in space and in relation to humans, and these reflect perceptions about the human and natural environment relationship. Humans recreate their environment, including other living beings, in the image that they see fit. To aid in our discovery of our place in the world, it seems appropriate to consider the consequences of these aspects of our relationship with this particular component of our environment-the animals-for the animals themselves. Our sense of separateness and difference from the other animals, of being outside of nature, is a critical factor in the ways in which we construct animals and our relationships with them. This plays out in our ethical consideration of animals.
