--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man's highest duty is to protect animals…" description: "\"Man's highest duty is to protect animals from cruelty.\" — Emile Zola" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/mile-zola-1188_animal_man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals_686431.png" --- # Man's highest duty is to protect animals from cruelty. ![“Man's highest duty is to protect animals from cruelty.” quote by Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/mile-zola-1188_animal_man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals_686431.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/mile-zola-1188_animal_man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals_686431.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/mile-zola-1188_animal_man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals_686431.png) > “Man's highest duty is to protect animals from cruelty.” [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral responsibility demands defending vulnerable beings from suffering. **In simple terms:** Protect animals from cruelty. Key Takeaway Advocate for animal welfare. Themes ethics compassion rights Mood empathetic determined Type advocacy ethical When to use this quote - activism - legislation - personal choices - education - community outreach Key Concepts animal rights moral duty Questions to Reflect On - How can you reduce animal suffering in daily life? - What policies would most effectively protect animals? A Different Perspective Balancing human needs with animal protection can be complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 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/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Protect animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect-animals/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/) ## Related quotes > [They too, are created by the same loving hand of God which Created us...It is our duty to Protect Them and to promote their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/they-too-are-created-by-the-same-loving-hand-of-god-which-created-us/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“God gave man the authority to rule and protect all the animals in the aquatic ecosystems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/god-gave-man-the-authority-to-rule-and-protect-all-the-animals-in-the/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In the killing of animals there is cruelty, rage, and the accustoming of oneself to the bad habit of shedding innocent blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-albo/in-the-killing-of-animals-there-is-cruelty-rage-and-the-accustoming/) Joseph Albo > [“Those who believe it is immoral to kill animals for any reason, including eating and humane medical experimentation, should reflect on this: While there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/those-who-believe-it-is-immoral-to-kill-animals-for-any-reason/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [As long as man eats animals how can cruelty to animals be removed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morarji-desai/as-long-as-man-eats-animals-how-can-cruelty-to-animals-be-removed/) [Morarji Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morarji-desai/) > [“I mean consider how very horrible it is to read the accounts which sometimes meet us of cruelty inflicted on brute animals. For what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/i-mean-consider-how-very-horrible-it-is-to-read-the-accounts-which/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [An author describing the methods of intensive farming, or the excesses of sport hunting, or even the harsher uses of animals in science writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/an-author-describing-the-methods-of-intensive-farming-or-the-excesses/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Respect for one's parents is the highest duty of civil life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/respect-for-one-s-parents-is-the-highest-duty-of-civil-life/) Proverb > [The highest duty of the man is not to his father, but to his wife; and for the sake of that woman he abandons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafcadio-hearn/the-highest-duty-of-the-man-is-not-to-his-father-but-to-his-wife-and/) [Lafcadio Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafcadio-hearn/) > [The highest duty is to respect authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-highest-duty-is-to-respect-authority/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ahimsa is the highest duty. Even if we cannot practice it in full, we must try to understand its spirit and refrain as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-is-the-highest-duty-even-if-we-cannot-practice-it-in-full-we/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The highest duty and the highest proof of wisdom - that deed and word should be in accord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-highest-duty-and-the-highest-proof-of-wisdom-that-deed-and-word/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“This, I say, is the highest duty and the highest proof of wisdom, – that deed and word should be in accord, that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/this-i-say-is-the-highest-duty-and-the-highest-proof-of-wisdom-that/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nature-teaches-beasts-to-know-their-friends/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Emile Zola > [“Hélène, her eyes once more raised and remote, was deep in a dream. She was Lady Rowena, she was in love, with the deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/h-l-ne-her-eyes-once-more-raised-and-remote-was-deep-in-a-dream-she/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The vague torment of ... ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-vague-torment-of-ambition/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [How evil life must be if it were indeed necessary that such imploring cries, such cries of physical and moral wretchedness, should ever and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/how-evil-life-must-be-if-it-were-indeed-necessary-that-such-imploring/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“he was carried aloft, for the moment, on one of those great waves of hope from which he was usually plunged deep into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/he-was-carried-aloft-for-the-moment-on-one-of-those-great-waves-of/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Death had to take her little by little, bit by bit, dragging her along to the bitter end of the miserable existence she'd made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/death-had-to-take-her-little-by-little-bit-by-bit-dragging-her-along/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [If something's just, I'll let myself be hacked to bits for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/if-something-s-just-i-ll-let-myself-be-hacked-to-bits-for-it/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Lastly, I accuse the first court-martial of having violated the law by condemning an accused person on one document kept secret, and I accuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/lastly-i-accuse-the-first-court-martial-of-having-violated-the-law-by/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“vexation, yet filled with unconscious regret for the terrible unknown things that might have, but had not, happened (23)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/vexation-yet-filled-with-unconscious-regret-for-the-terrible-unknown/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“Good gracious!" she exclaimed, "she's been more than an hour in there! When the priests set about cleansing her of her sins, the choir-boys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/good-gracious-she-exclaimed-she-s-been-more-than-an-hour-in-there/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The only basis for living is believing in life, loving it, and applying the whole force of one's intellect to know it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-only-basis-for-living-is-believing-in-life-loving-it-and-applying/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“A new dynasty is never founded without a struggle. Blood makes good manure. It will be a good thing for the Rougon family to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/a-new-dynasty-is-never-founded-without-a-struggle-blood-makes-good/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [I believe that all is illusion and vanity outside the treasure of truths slowly accumulated, and which will never again be lost. I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/i-believe-that-all-is-illusion-and-vanity-outside-the-treasure-of/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“After a time, she believed in the reality of this comedy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/after-a-time-she-believed-in-the-reality-of-this-comedy/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“She wanted to live, and live fully, and to give life, she who loved life! What was the good of existing, if you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/she-wanted-to-live-and-live-fully-and-to-give-life-she-who-loved-life/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [The fear of life, the fear of burdens and of duties, of annoyances and of catastrophes! The fear of life, which makes us, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-fear-of-life-the-fear-of-burdens-and-of-duties-of-annoyances-and/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) [Explore all 243 Emile Zola quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. 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. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. 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": "Man's highest duty is to protect animals from cruelty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emile Zola" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals-from-cruelty/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals-from-cruelty/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/mile-zola-1188_animal_man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals_686431.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/mile-zola-1188_animal_man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals_686431.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/mile-zola-1188_animal_man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals_686431.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man's highest duty is to protect animals from cruelty.” — Emile Zola", "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": "Emile Zola", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man's highest duty is to protect...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals-from-cruelty/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/man-s-highest-duty-is-to-protect-animals-from-cruelty/#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 } } ] } ```