©Jim Robertson

“Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Albert Einstein

One doesn’t have to be a genius like Einstein to figure out that the ultimate moral goal of our species should be to move forward in regards to our kind treatment of others. Yet, when it comes to our behavior toward animals—especially wildlife—the human species seems to be backsliding a bit these days. Examples of it are many, while advancements are few and far between.

To counter this disparity, perhaps it’s time we stop using the term “human rights” in reference to things that should be considered basic rights for all species. Surely, the human race doesn’t need anything else singling it out to stroke its over-inflated, collective ego. Differentiating between human and non-human rights just encourages…