Why Does Hashem Allow Animals to Suffer in Nature?

Moti asks: "Hello, I saw a video clip about a group of hyenas hunting a poor zebra and devouring it while it was still alive. Now, I understand that suffering comes to humans because of sins, but I see that animals also suffer; they are cruelly eaten in nature, and there are animals that are born blind, sick, or that wander hungry. But they have no choice, so why do they suffer?"

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Hello and blessings, Moti, and thank you for your question,

Animals were given for humans, so nature reflects human actions. The reason there are natural disasters and what appears as evil and cruelty in nature is because of the sins of humanity. Before the flood, it is told that animals sinned in unnatural ways because humans sinned in such ways (according to some interpretations, even angels fell from their level in the generation of the flood due to human sins). With Hashem's help, when the full redemption and resurrection of the dead come, we will return to the days of the first man, the world will rise in level, and then the cruelty you see in nature will be nullified. Because this cruelty reflects humanity's actions as a mirror.

Of course, even after this answer, you may ask, why do animals need to reflect our actions and suffer because of us?

The true answer to this question is that things are not as terrible as you imagine. Because it is human nature to anthropomorphize animals.

Many have forgotten or do not know that animals operate on instincts (innate traits) and do not think or understand the world around them themselves. For example, birds do not learn to fly. This knowledge is embedded in the brain of all birds. Chicks hatched from eggs, who have never met their mother, will be able to fly on their own when they grow up and will even know how to navigate and reach distant lands. Ants do not learn how to build a nest, or how to obtain food in a caravan, all this knowledge is already programmed in their heads; from the moment they hatch from the egg, every ant knows its role. Animals behave automatically according to their inherent traits, which is why it is possible to find easy ways to tame them.

This also means that animals have no concept of "mercy" or "morality": the same cat that selflessly cared for her kittens will be capable of attacking them a few months later over a piece of food when they are older; bears in prolonged hunger will eat their cubs because that is the only way they can survive and bring more cubs into the world in the future. This knowledge is embedded in their minds, so they have no concept of good and evil, justice or mercy.

An experiment showed that dogs that were scolded for "bad" deeds they did did not feel ashamed and hurt if they were not caught and scolded by their owners for it. On the other hand, dogs scolded by their owners even for "not bad" actions felt ashamed and hurt. Hence, it seems for dogs, the owner's scolding is punishment for them, not that dogs can learn the values of good and evil and develop a conscience. No dog will feel guilt or remorse if it hurt a stranger or another animal, knowing it will not be punished for it.

Since Hashem created animals without a moral perception of good and evil, they will have no moral complaint about what we define as evil or suffering or cruelty in nature. A cat that has lost its eye will continue to live its life as normal, with no expression of sadness or anger for the defect it will have to live with until the end of its days.

Animals lack the capacity for thought and the feeling of self-pity; they do not contemplate their situation. They lack moral considerations or thoughts about the future. They live the present and the moment, without free thought of their own. Therefore, their pain for their physical state is not like the pain of a human, who both feels and thinks about himself.

Even the poor zebra you saw does not feel the moral-sorrow that we humans feel towards it; it does not ask "why?", nor does it feel a sense of injustice, sadness or anger towards creation. It innately accepts things as they are, and does not feel there is any cruelty towards it, because cruelty or injustice do not exist in its conceptual world. No animal is bothered by the "justice" of the lion that attacks it, and no animal regrets it dies "without fault." The zebra does not complain that hyenas are devouring it; it simply lives the situation just as it previously ate grass and drank water automatically without any thought.

It should be noted that this does not mean that animals do not feel pain and sorrow. It is absolutely certain that animals have emotions (a dog undoubtedly feels emotion towards its owner) and they feel pain. Animals have emotions, but they have no control or thought about these emotions. Since animals lack thought and free choice, we must avoid anthropomorphizing them with human traits of understanding and moral emotion.

The emotions of animals are naturally undeveloped and cannot include such high concepts as a moral system, justice, values, and the choice between good and evil. The behaviors we observe in the animal world are the result of instincts, not conscious choice and thinking.

There are many commandments that seemingly show consideration for animals, and even the Gemara notes many examples of very strict adherence that Hashem requires from those who belittle the sorrow of animals. But this does not mean that these commandments are intended for the benefit of animals, because in nature, animals kill and are killed whether or not humans are involved.

Commandments such as covering the blood and not cooking a kid in its mother's milk reveal that these commandments were not intended for the welfare of animals (who in any case do not know what is done with their body and blood after their death), but are meant to educate humans to respect creation and everything placed under their dominion. This is the Torah's way of instilling within us a measure of gratitude, consideration, and mercy, through which we are privileged to resemble Hashem and draw closer to Him.

It is important not to afflict animals - for the sake of strengthening our sense of mercy. Hashem does not want us to lose our human image. But it is permissible to slaughter and eat animals, and to use them for needs. Thus, humans are connected to the creation Hashem made, by using nature and animals, in a way and limitation that develops in them a sense of mercy. And precisely the constant contact and need for animals, allows us to fulfill these commandments that educate us to love creation and thank Hashem for it.