Nicholas Johnson
The Gazette, October 24, 2025, p. A6
[Because The Gazette has switched from a daily hard copy paper to a Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday hard copy paper plus a daily online version, this column on a Friday is only available in the online paper at https://digitaledition.thegazette.com/?token=101a022986f858f9d0335ad246799c19_68fb8858_4937_0 ]
A remarkably small percentage of Gazette readers look forward to sleeping while cuddling a chimpanzee. Not humans behaving like chimpanzees. That’s another column. I mean an actual chimpanzee.
If you are above a certain age this thought may have occurred to you as your eyes grew wet at the news of Jane Goodall’s death Oct. 1.
Think Homo sapiens are superior? Race a 70-mph cheetah. Navigate by Earth’s magnetic field — while flying nonstop over the Pacific Ocean with no food. Regenerate a lost limb. Change your color. Match your geometry and material knowledge with an eagle’s treetop nest in high winds.
Few Gazette readers search Africa for a pet chimpanzee. But two-thirds of American households have welcomed some animal into their family. Of those, 50 percent chose dogs, 35 percent cats. (If you recall Jane Goodall, you may also recall when Metro High School fielded the Metro Ferrets.)
It’s not cheap. America’s pet owners put their money where their pets’ mouths are: annually averaging $1,200-$1,700 per household, totaling around $150 billion a year. Plus, if “time is money,” the value of owners’ time walking dogs and cleaning cats’ litter boxes.
Our pets may just lie around much of the day, but when they enter the courtroom they have “standing” (an entity that can sue or be sued). Standing is not limited to adult humans. Lawyers create imaginary things like “corporations” and “trusts” and give them standing.
New Zealand has granted standing to the Te Uruwera forest, Whanganui River, and Mount Taranaki.
Moreover, the 2024 Iowa Code provides legislative protection of animals’ legal rights to the benefits of food, potable water, sanitation, shelter (from weather; bedding), grooming, and medical care. Animal abuse is news.
This gave me an idea (to which my critics respond, “Treat it kindly, it’s in a strange place”): How do these standards, and numbers, compare for the world’s animals called “Homo sapiens” (otherwise called “us”)?
About 30 percent of the world’s “us” are moderately or severely food insecure, two billion lack potable water, one third don’t have adequate housing, and over half lack medical care.
The U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, like the Iowa Code for animals, includes “food, clothing, housing and medical care.” The Bible’s Matthew 25:35 speaks of providing food, drink, shelter, clothes, medical care — even visits to those in prison. At least 16 global religions contain a version of the Bible’s “Golden Rule.”
These standards are the norms we lovingly apply to our pets and other animal species. Is it asking too much to suggest it’s long past time we insist the rights we accord our pets should protect our fellow Homo sapiens as well?
Thank you, Jane Goodall.
Nicholas Johnson is the author of Columns of Democracy; mailbox@nicholasjohnson.org.
Jane Goodall.
Vanessa Miller, “Jane Goodall: We are not the only beings with personalities,” The Gazette, March 10, 2014, https://www.thegazette.com/news/jane-goodall-we-are-not-the-only-beings-with-personalities/
Hallie Golden, “Jane Goodall, conservationist renowned for chimpanzee research and environmental advocacy, has died,” October 1, 2025, https://www.thegazette.com/news/jane-goodall-conservationist-renowned-for-chimpanzee-research-and-environmental-advocacy-has-died/
“Jane Goodall,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall "it isn't only human beings who have personality, who are capable of rational thought [and] emotions like joy and sorrow."[30] She also observed behaviors considered human, such as hugs, kisses, pats on the back, and even tickling.”
Think Homo Sapiens are superior? Race a 70-mph cheetah. Navigate by Earth’s magnetic field – while flying nonstop over the Pacific Ocean with no food. Regenerate a lost limb. Change your color. Match your geometry and material knowledge with an eagle’s tree-top nest in high winds.
Cheetah. “12 Most Unusual Animal Friendships That Defy Nature,” Animals Around the Globe, October 21, 2025, https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/
“How Cheetahs Achieve Record-Breaking Speeds,” September 13, 2025, https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/how-cheetahs-achieve-record-breaking-speeds-3-333618/
“Migratory Birds Use Earth’s Magnetic Field as an Aid to Navigation,” August 22, 2025, https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/migratory-birds-use-earths-magnetic-field-as-an-aid-to-7-137243/
“18 Animals That Can Regenerate Lost Body Parts,” October 11, 2025, https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/18-animals-that-can-regenerate-lost-body-parts-3-340197/
“15 Animals That Can Change Color to Blend In,” September 15, 2025, https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/15-animals-that-can-change-colour-to-blend-in-5-280918/
“Brain Power in the Wild: Problem Solving in Nature,” October 21, 2025, Tree-top nests. “While humans have long considered themselves the pinnacle of intellectual evolution, research increasingly reveals that many species possess sophisticated mental capacities that blur the lines between human and animal cognition.” https://www.animalsaroundtheglobe.com/brain-power-in-the-wild-problem-solving-in-nature-2-360040/
Americans’ Pets.
Americans are projected to spend $150.6 billion on their pets in 2024, or an estimated $1,733 per pet household. Nearly 2 in 3 (66.0%) U.S. households have at least one pet. About half (49.4%) have a dog and more than a third (35.3%) have a cat.” Maggie Davis, “Average Spending per Pet Household Estimated to Be $1,733 in 2024, Led by Vet Costs,” Value Penguin, June 24, 2024, https://www.valuepenguin.com/pet-spending-study
66% of U.S. households (86.9 million homes) own a pet.[1] Dogs are the most popular pet in the U.S. (65.1 million U.S. households own a dog), followed by cats (46.5 million households) and freshwater fish (11.1 million households).[1]
Millennials make up the largest percentage of current pet owners (33%), followed by Gen X (25%) and baby boomers (24%).[1] In 2022, Americans spent $136.8 billion on their pets, up nearly 11% from 2021 ($123.6 billion).[1]
Essential dog expenses cost an average of $1,533 annually.[10] 42% of dog owners and 43% of cat owners got their pets from a store, while 38% of dog owners and 40% of cat owners got their pets from an animal shelter or rescue.[2]
More than half of pet owners (51%) consider their pets to be as much a part of their family as a human family member. [12]
The most popular pets in the U.S. are:
Dogs (65.1 million households)
Cats (46.5 million households)
Freshwater fish (11.1 million households)
Small animals such as hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, mice and ferrets (6.7 million households)
Birds (6.1 million households)
Americans spent $136.8 billion on their pets in 2022, up 10.68% from 2021 ($123.6 billion).[1]
Nearly all pet owners (97%) consider their pets to be a part of their family.[12] And a Forbes Advisor survey of 10,000 dog owners found that dog owners make professional, financial and lifestyle sacrifices for their canine companions. [7]
The top lifestyle sacrifices made by dog owners include:
39.29% lived on a tighter budget to afford their dogs’ expenses.
13.96% moved from an apartment to a house so their dog would have a yard.
7.47% stayed at a job they disliked because it allowed them to work remotely or had a dog-friendly office.
6.78% broke up with a significant other who didn’t like their dog.
5.25% took a pay cut or accepted a position with fewer benefits to work remotely or have access to a dog-friendly office.
4.57% left a job they liked because another company let them work from home or had a dog-friendly office.
36% of dog owners reported that they would spend $4,000 or more out-of-pocket on life-saving medical care for their dogs.
Pet Ownership Statistics 2025, Forbes, Jan. 2, 2025, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-ownership-statistics/
Standing.
“In law, standing or locus standi is a condition that a party seeking a legal remedy must show they have, by demonstrating to the court, sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case.” “Standing (law),” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_(law)
“New Zealand granted legal personhood to the Te Uruwera forest in 2014, and to the Whanganui river and Mount Taranaki in 2017. An Indian court granted legal personhood to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in 2017, citing the Whanganui Act, and soon after Colombia awarded rights to the Atrato river.”
Jane Gleeson-White, “It's only natural: the push to give rivers, mountains and forests legal rights; It seems logical to grant protection to nature by treating it as a living entity. And the law might be catching up,” The Guardian, March 31, 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/01/its-only-natural-the-push-to-give-rivers-mountains-and-forests-legal-rights
The Iowa Code.
2024 Iowa Code Title XVI - CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE Chapter 717B - MISTREATMENT OF ANIMALS https://law.justia.com/codes/iowa/title-xvi/chapter-717b/
Section 717B.1 - Definitions.
Section 717B.2 - Animal abuse — penalties.
Section 717B.3 - Animal neglect — penalties.
Section 717B.3A - Animal torture — penalties.
Section 717B.3B - Animal mistreatment — court order — evaluation and treatment.
Section 717B.4 - Dispositional proceedings.
Section 717B.5 - Rescue of threatened animals.
Section 717B.6 - Destruction and disposition of wild animals.
Section 717B.7 Section 717B.8 - Abandonment of cats and dogs — penalties. Section 717B.9 - Injury or interference with a police service dog.
717B.3 Animal neglect — penalties. 1. A person commits animal neglect when the person owns or has custody of an animal, confines that animal, and fails to provide the animal with any of the following conditions for the animal’s welfare: a. Access to food in an amount and quality reasonably sufficient to satisfy the animal’s basic nutrition level to the extent that the animal’s health or life is endangered. b. Access to a supply of potable water in an amount reasonably sufficient to satisfy the animal’s basic hydration level to the extent that the animal’s health or life is endangered. Access to snow or ice does not satisfy this requirement. c. Sanitary conditions free from excessive animal waste or the overcrowding of animals to the extent that the animal’s health or life is endangered. d. Ventilated shelter reasonably sufficient to provide adequate protection from the elements and weather conditions suitable for the age, species, and physical condition of the animal so as to maintain the animal in a state of good health to the extent that the animal’s health or life is endangered. The shelter must protect the animal from wind, rain, snow, or sun and have adequate bedding to provide reasonable protection against cold and dampness. A shelter may include a residence, garage, barn, shed, or doghouse. e. Grooming, to the extent it is reasonably necessary to prevent adverse health effects or suffering. f. Veterinary care deemed necessary by a reasonably prudent person to relieve an animal’s distress from any of the following: (1) A condition caused by failing to provide for the animal’s welfare as described in this subsection. (2) An injury or illness suffered by the animal causing the animal to suffer prolonged pain and suffering.
Food, water, housing, medical care.
“Around 2.3 billion people in the world (29.3%) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021,” “UN Report: Global hunger numbers rose to as many as 828 million in 2021; The latest State of Food Security and Nutrition report shows the world is moving backwards in efforts to eliminate hunger and malnutrition,” World Health Organization, July 6, 2022, https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2022-un-report--global-hunger-numbers-rose-to-as-many-as-828-million-in-2021
Haruna Kashiwase & Tony Fujs, “World Water Day: Two billion people still lack access to safely managed water,” World Bank Blogs, March 22, 2023 https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/world-water-day-two-billion-people-still-lack-access-safely-managed-water
“The world is facing an unprecedented housing crisis. According to the latest UN-Habitat estimates, 318 million people are homeless, while 2.8 billion people—over a third of the global population—lack access to adequate housing. Behind these stark figures lie deep inequalities that undermine social progress and human dignity.” “Around 300 Million People Are Homeless Worldwide, and Nearly 2.8 Billion Lack Adequate Housing,” World Social Summit under the title Second World Summit for Social Development, 4 - 6 November 2025, United Nations, https://social.desa.un.org/world-summit-2025/blog/300million-people-homeless-worldwide
“In 2021, about 4.5 billion people, more than half of the global population, were not fully covered by essential health services.” “Billions left behind on the path to universal health coverage,” World Health Organization,” September 18, 2023, https://www.who.int/news/item/18-09-2023-billions-left-behind-on-the-path-to-universal-health-coverage
Other supporting sources.
Religion.
“For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” Matthew 25:35, King James Bible Online, https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew-25-35/
The Bahai Universal House of Justice cites 16 major religions espousing the Golden Rule. “The Golden Rule,” Universal House of Justice, http://www.uhj.net/the-golden-rule.html
Founding documents.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25 (1), December 10, 1948, https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
