Richard Collins: We belong to a community of domestic and wild creatures — we are not superior

To what extent do wild animals respond to encounters with others not of their own kind? Are there relationships between them which transcend the species barrier?

Richard Collins: "There are ‘neighbourhood watch’ arrangements among our Irish songbirds. You sometimes hear a quiet ‘seep’ call in a garden or park." Picture: iStock

In her book Animals and why they matter, the philosopher Mary Midgley argues that we humans “are not just like animals, we are animals”.

We belong to a community of domestic and wild creatures, sharing social bonds with them. Arrogance has placed intellect on a pedestal, creating a ‘species barrier’. We are not superior to the creatures we dismiss as ‘lesser folk’.