Imagine that you are going to be reincarnated as a domesticated animal, and you can choose whether to be reincarnated in the U.S., or in Spain. Which country would you pick?

My guess is that many of you will think that if you choose to be reincarnated in Spain, there’s a chance you might be a bull raised to die in a bullfight, and so it is better to pick the U.S and avoid such a fate.

The cruel and bloody ritual of bullfighting does mean that each year an estimated 35,000 bulls die a horrendous death. But it would be a mistake to conclude that animals in Spain have worse lives than in the U.S.

Take, for instance, the matter of egg-laying hens. Around 230 million of them in the U.S.—almost 60% of the hen population there—are crammed into bare wire cages that do not allow them enough space to fully stretch their wings. Whereas in Spain keeping hens in such conditions is illegal, and Spain’s 46 million hens have almost twice the space given. They also have access to […]