So because we’re able to dominant animals, we find ourselves at the top of the food chain and it is therefore morally justifiable for us to inflict suffering on animals for our pleasure, entertainment or convenience? This is despite the fact that we don't require animals to lead long and happy lives, making their death and suffering completely unnecessary.
Put simply, if you are able to dominant, you are morally justified in your actions. Now obviously this argument is not accepted for the treatment of fellow humans, even though it does occur. We don't condone domestic violence, homicide, rape etc. Why than do we treat animals differently?
For a moment let's pretend this argument is sound and let's propose that one day an alien race lands on Earth. The aliens are dominant in everyway, they're smarter and stronger, and what they like most is the taste of our flesh, despite the fact that they don't need it to survive. In order to farm our flesh, humans are put in cages, mutilated, subjected to cruelty, disease, made to live in excrement, deprived of basic needs and finally killed (sometimes cruelly and sometimes quickly). Now obviously we're not happy, so we try to fight back and we try to escape, but it is completely futile. Though despite the complete horror that our lives have become, we all take comfort in the knowledge that the alien’s actions are morally justified as they are now the dominant species. Right? Wrong. The vast majority of people would not think the alien’s actions are permissible, we would consider them immoral. We are sentient beings who feel pain and who have an interest in living. Why than is it not the case for animals, they too feel pain and have an interest in living. If we think it would be immoral for another species to treat us the way we treat animals, how than can we justify their needless slaughter.
