In this selection of animal phrases is embodied that sensitivity to other living beings so necessary in our days. Most of these aphorisms and reflections are a legacy of important people in history, such as Elvis Presley, Arthur Schopenhauer or George Orwell.

Best of Animal Phrases

Many times we forget that we share this world with other beings, beings who also have needs and accompany us in our daily lives. We consider them inferior but they have much to teach us, and perhaps through these phrases about animals we can understand them better.

1. The animals of the world exist for their own reason. They were not made for humans (Alice Walker)

Everyone has a particularity.

2. People who really appreciate animals always ask their names (Lilian Jackson Braun)

An observation on the affection for these beings.

3. Animals are born as they are, they accept it and that’s it. They live more peacefully than people (Gregory Maguire)

There is a certain sense of harmony in the lives of animals.

4. Our perfect companions never have less than four legs (Colette)

In allusion to dogs or cats.

5. Animals are not properties or things, but living organisms, subjects of a life, which deserve our compassion, respect, friendship and support (Marc Bekoff)

A philosophical reflection on the relationship that unites us to these living beings.

6. I am in favour of animal rights, as well as human rights. That is the path of a complete human being (Abraham Lincoln)

A way of recognizing the needs of animals.

7. An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language (Martin Buber)

One of the most intuitive languages.

8. I don’t believe in the concept of hell, but if I did, I would think of it as full of people who were cruel to animals (Gary Larson)

Mistreating an animal is typical of a person without humanity.

9. Animals are very good friends; they don’t ask questions, they don’t criticize (George Eliot)

…and they always show loyalty.

10. The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated (Mahatma Gandhi)

A good example to get to know a sensitized society.

11. Until one has loved an animal, a part of the soul remains unawakened (Anatole France)

Giving love to an animal makes us stronger.

12. If having a soul means being able to feel love, loyalty and gratitude, animals are better than many humans (James Herriot)

About the morality of these beings.

13. If you pick up a hungry dog and make it prosperous, it won’t bite you. That’s the main difference between a dog and a man (Mark Twain)

What a great lesson in loyalty dogs give us.

14. Animals are trustworthy, full of love, affectionate, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult rules for people to follow (Alfred A. Montapert)

We should learn from his spontaneity and naturalness.

15. You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals (Paul McCartney)

An observation on how to identify sensitivity and nobility.

16. Animals are like people because people are animals (Barbara T. Gates)

Let us not forget that we are the same as them in some respects.

17. Besides a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog is too black to read (Groucho Marx)

A phrase about animals that shows us the relationship between the dog and the human being.

18. Dogs never bite me, only humans (Marilyn Monroe)

Hostility is a constant in human relationships.

19. Animals are my friends and I don’t eat my friends (George Bernard Shaw)

A sentence about veganism .

20. Some people talk to animals. Not many listen to them. That’s the problem (A.A. Milne)

Knowing how to interpret their needs is essential.

21. Man is the most cruel animal (Friedrich Nietzsche)

This phrase of Nietzsche’s, goes straight to judging human nature.

22. Animals don’t hate and we are supposed to be better than them (Elvis Presley)

There are many noble aspects that we don’t often notice in animals.

23. To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being (Mahatma Gandhi)

Every life is important and special.

24. If a man aspires to lead a correct life, his first act of abstinence is from harming animals (Leo Tolstoy)

We know that they cannot defend themselves, and sometimes that creates situations of cruelty.

25. Four legs; good, two legs; bad (George Orwell)

A nice phrase in which the animal presence is valued.

26. We don’t need to eat animals, dress up, use them for entertainment purposes and our only defense for those uses is our pleasure, fun, and convenience (Gary L. Francione)

For Francione this is an unhealthy and selfish habit.

27. Horses make a landscape look beautiful (Alice Walker)

An aesthetic appreciation of these equines.

28. Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character and it can be stated that one who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man (Arthur Schopenhauer)

This phrase about animals exposes us to a very common reality.

29. Being able to laugh and be merciful are the only things that make man better than beasts (Ruskin Bond)

Capabilities that we must share with them.

30. When man takes pity on all living creatures, only then will he be noble (Buddha)

…since you can put yourself in each other’s shoes.

31. Only animals were not expelled from paradise (Milan Kundera)

Another one of those animal phrases that extol their good nature .

32. Animals are sensitive, intelligent, funny and entertaining. We should take care of them just like we do with children (Michael Morpurgo)

That’s why they are considered our little brothers.

33. A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food. Therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking the life of the animal simply for the sake of his appetite (Leo Tolstoy)

This phrase from Tolstoy also appeals to veganism to preserve animal life.

34. Everyone’s pet is the best. That breeds mutual blindness (Jean Cocteau)

It’s like when we fell in love.

35. Finally I know what distinguishes a man from an animal; financial concerns (Romain Roland)

A detail that has often made us feel a little envious.

36. We don’t really know anything about love if we don’t love animals (Fred Wander)

Interesting reflection on a type of love that we usually ignore.

37. Love for living creatures is the noblest attribute of man (Charles Darwin)

Love is also understanding, and speaks well of ourselves.

38. The best thing about animals is that they don’t talk too much (Thornton Wilder)

His quiet company is relaxing.

39. Man is really the king of the animals, for his brutality surpasses that of the animals (Leonardo Da Vinci)

With all the characteristics that a king can have.

40. Intelligence is denied to animals only by those who lack it (Arthur Schopenhauer)

An interesting reflection by this famous philosopher.

41. Animals belong to God. Bestiality is human (Victor Hugo)

A distribution of characteristics according to criteria based on theology

42. He who loves animals loves man (Author unknown)

Giving love to a being we cannot understand with words is a great show of empathy .

43. May all that has life be freed from suffering (Buddha)

Even from the suffering caused by ourselves.

44. The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. This is the essence of humanity (George Bernard Shaw)

Not realizing their difficulties, needs and presence can be fatal.

45. Man can measure the value of his own soul in the grateful gaze of an animal he has helped (Plato)

In that look he’s showing his heart.

46. Like us, animals have feelings and the same needs for food, water, shelter, and friendship

Phrase about anonymous animals that talks about the emotional side of these living beings .

47. When a man wants to kill a tiger, he calls it a sport. When the tiger wants to kill it, he calls it ferocity (George Bernard Shaw)

We need to look at how we normalize some inhuman activities.

48. The question is not can they talk? but can they suffer? (Jeremy Bentham)

A matter of basis for Bentham’s utilitarian philosophy.

49. The day will come when men will see the killing of an animal as they now see the killing of a man (Leonardo da Vinci)

And sadly that’s happening.

50. Animals don’t lie. Animals don’t criticize. If animals had bad mood days, they would handle them better than humans (Betty White)

About the ability to manage emotions.

51. It is incredible and shameful that neither preachers nor moralists raise their voice any more against the abuses towards animals (Voltaire)

A situation that Voltaire exhibits before our usual position, to protect the annals.

52. Monkeys are too good for man to descend from them (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Nietzsche is ironic about the character of the human being.

52. Having an animal in your life makes you a better human (Rachel Ray)

It is an experience that often connects us with our best emotions.

53. It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never bad (Haile Selassie)

There is no petty intention against us in his behavior.

54 As long as the circle of his compassion does not embrace all living beings, man will not find peace on his own (Albert Schweitzer)

We must be in balance with all beings on this planet.

55. A kind man feeds his animals before he sits down to eat (Hebrew proverb)

It is an act of respect towards the animal .

56. First it was necessary to civilize man in his relationship with man. Now it is necessary to civilize man in his relation to nature and animals (Victor Hugo)

It is very necessary to make it viable.

57. The zoo is the place for animals to study human behavior

A different way of looking at things.

58. Each species is a masterpiece, a creation made with extreme care and genius (Edward O. Wilson)

Each being surprises us both for their physical qualities and for the behaviors they develop to adapt.

59. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others (George Orwell)

Some manage to mimic humans.

60. Man is the only animal that eats without being hungry, drinks without being thirsty, and speaks without having anything to say.

A curious reflection in which animals seem to be the perfect companions.

61. If all the animals were gone, man would die of great spiritual loneliness, for whatever happens to the animals also happens to man. Everything is connected

Beautiful anonymous phrase that shows us the importance of animals in human life.