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Just a few weeks ago I saw Mary Tyler Moore on some news show testifying before Congress about the importance of continued federal funding for diabetes research, much of said research occurring in animal models. Now, though, I see Moore coming onboard as the Honorary Chair of Farm Sanctuary's Sentient Beings campaign, which has a web site at Sentient Beings.
At a Farm Sanctuary gala in May 2001, Moore told the audience,
To come face to face with a sheep, cow, pig, or goat and to look into their eyes is to see the depth of their souls...whether it's fear and terror in the eyes of an animal traveling to slaughter or the joy and trust in the eyes of an animal safe and comfortable at a place like Farm Sanctuary. Animals look to us for compassion and protection, and it is our duty to relieve their suffering.
The front page of the SentientBeings.Org site clearly endorses an animal rights view saying, "Cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals commonly exploited by agribusiness are sentient beings -- capable of awareness, feeling, and suffering -- and humans have an ethical obligation to refrain from behaviors which inflict suffering upon these animals."
Notice, it does not say people have an obligation to minimize these sufferings to the extent that can be done consistent with a given use of animals, but rather that people shouldn't engage in any behavior that would inflict suffering on animals.
In an op-ed posted at SentientBeings.Org, Moore actually stops considerably short of this view, arguing that, "Farm animals, like all animals, have feelings, and should be protected from cruelty."
Like many celebrity spokespersons, Moore does not seem to have thought through her position on animals, especially in relation to her activism on behalf of diabetes, and instead seems to simply allow her emotional reactions to different forms of animal use dictate what she finds acceptable and unacceptable.
Source:
Night in the Spotlight for Farm Animals. Farm Sanctuary, Press Release, May 2001.