--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We call them dumb animals, and so they…" description: "\"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.\" — Anna Sewell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/anna-sewell-13394_animal_we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-ar_1560063.jpg" --- # We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they… ![“We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.” quote by Anna Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/anna-sewell-13394_animal_we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-ar_1560063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/anna-sewell-13394_animal_we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-ar_1560063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/anna-sewell-13394_animal_we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-ar_1560063.jpg) > “We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.” [Anna Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-sewell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Animals may lack language, but they still experience suffering. **In simple terms:** Animals feel pain without words. Key Takeaway Recognize and alleviate animal suffering. Themes animal welfare empathy communication ethics Mood compassionate thoughtful Type ethical educational When to use this quote - farm animal care - pet ownership - zoo management - animal testing Key Concepts philosophy biology rights Questions to Reflect On - How can we better understand animal needs? - What responsibilities arise from this awareness? A Different Perspective Human interpretation of animal pain can be inaccurate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-welfare/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-tell-1404601/) [Dumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb/) [Dumb Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb-animals-682073/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet/) [Suffer Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer-words-5851045/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“...we have no right to distress any of God's creatures without a very good reason; we call them dumb animals, and so they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sewell/we-have-no-right-to-distress-any-of-god-s-creatures-without-a-very-2/) [Anna Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-sewell/) > [Dumb animals we call them, while they bark and neigh and moo. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Sewell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sewell/we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-are-for-they-cannot-tell-us-how/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sewell/we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-are-for-they-cannot-tell-us-how/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/anna-sewell-13394_animal_we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-ar_1560063.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/anna-sewell-13394_animal_we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-ar_1560063.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/anna-sewell-13394_animal_we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-ar_1560063.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer…” — Anna Sewell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anna Sewell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-sewell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We call them dumb animals, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sewell/we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-are-for-they-cannot-tell-us-how/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sewell/we-call-them-dumb-animals-and-so-they-are-for-they-cannot-tell-us-how/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```