Exactly. I love animals too and I certainly would not want to see an animal being tormented for the amusement of the person tormenting it. However, if an animal suffers in drug experiments or because we are killing it for food or some other legitimate purpose to help humans, then let it suffer. An animal is not a person. If we take our religion seriously, it does not have a soul. We need to keep our priorities straight.
“Let it suffer”? That turns my stomach. We do not need to do animal testing that causes suffering.
An intelligent dog can recognize about as many words as a human child 2 yrs. old. Do you think children, because they are inferior in intelligence and responsibility, are less worthy of protection than adults? Dogs and some other animals display a loyalty to their human companions beyond that of most humans. There is a Christian argument for kindness toward beasts: we are their superiors, and have been entrusted with their welfare by our common creator. There is also a materialistic, evolutionary argument: our Neolithic ancestors rose out of a desperate existence because of their ability to nurture and raise domestic animals. They survived because the animals in their care survived. Therefore love of animals is hard-wired into normal human beings. I would never trust anyone who was not affectionate toward and grateful toward animals.