Animal Rights Essays

by Pathless Pilgrim

Advocating for Animal Rights since 1986

These essays explore the moral status of nonhuman animals through the lenses of justice, personhood, and cultural blindspots. They challenge the language we use, the systems we accept, and the stories we tell ourselves to justify exploitation. Drawing on decades of lived vegan experience, activism and advocacy, each piece invites readers to confront uncomfortable truths with clarity, compassion, and the courage to rethink what we’ve been taught.

19th Century woodcut image showing slaves tied together by the neck, being forcibly marched by their armed captors. One individual is kneeling on the ground, one arm raised as if to ward off an blow from one of the slavers, who stands over her with axe raised, about to bring it down

The Brutal Truth About Slavery Nobody Wants to Hear

A stark look at how past justifications for human slavery mirror today’s excuses for exploiting nonhuman animals.

Black and white photo of railway tracks leading to Auschwitz-Birkenau’s entrance, converging toward the central guard tower under a grey sky — evoking the scale and machinery of genocide.

"They're Not People"

How the denial of personhood becomes the first step in every system of oppression — from human slavery to modern animal exploitation.

Photo of a concentration camp perimeter with barbed wire, guard tower, and barracks under a blue sky, evoking historical genocide and its parallels in modern animal exploitation.

The Forgotten Holocaust - Human Rights, Animal Rights and Oppression

A challenging exploration of why the term “holocaust” applies to the industrial slaughter of animals - and why naming it matters.

Sepia-toned close-up of a bonobo’s face, eyes reflecting light, framed by dark hair - evoking personhood, emotion, and the ethical urgency of speciesist language.

Other Animals Are People, Too

How everyday language quietly shapes our moral blindspots and reinforces the denial of animal personhood.

Black kitten behind metal bars, one paw resting on the cage, wide-eyed and vulnerable - evoking the moral failure of utilitarian logic when applied to sentient lives.

Animal Rights and Utilitarianism

Why Tom Regan’s rights‑based philosophy exposes the moral collapse at the heart of Singer’s utilitarianism.

Photo of Buddhist monks in orange robes walking barefoot through a forest path, each carrying an alms bowl - evoking spiritual discipline, nonviolence, and the ethical tension between ritual and consumption.

Why True Buddhism Is Vegan

How the Buddha’s own teachings on nonviolence, compassion, and right livelihood leave no room for consuming animal products.

About This Project

Animal Rights Essays is a growing body of work exploring the moral status of nonhuman animals through the lenses of justice, personhood, and cultural conditioning. These essays are not academic papers or activist slogans - they are reflections shaped by decades of lived vegan experience, philosophical inquiry, and a refusal to accept euphemism as truth.

This project exists to challenge the language of oppression, to expose the moral blindspots we inherit, and to offer ethical clarity in a world that commodifies sentient life. It is rooted in compassion, but it is driven by justice.

Support This Work

This site contains no advertising, sponsorships, or affiliate links. It is sustained entirely by readers who believe that independent writing - especially on justice, personhood, and the ethics of language - deserves space and support.

If these essays have helped you think differently, feel more deeply, or speak more clearly, your support helps keep this work alive. You can support me via Ko-Fi.

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