600 - Old Testament Cautions Against Treating Animals As Things
The Old Testament was compiled/written by Jewish priests in the 6th century BCE. Unsurprisingly, the Old Testament puts humans at the top of the natural world. In the Book of Genesis 1:26, Adam is given “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” At the same time, however, the Old Testament cautions against treating animals as things; they are beings whose interests deserve respect.