I just want to add the spiritual aspect of animals in our lives. In Chinese spiritual beliefs ( I don’t agree that this is a Buddhist point of view), humans, animals and all forms of lives are a part of the reincarnation system. Each living matter gets its chance to do good. The reward is to be promoted to a higher form of life. The punishment is to be demoted to something less significant or live with more sufferings. A farm cow that has to work all day long and get slaughtered at the end of its useful life can be considered as someone who may have done bad things to the farmer in its previous life, therefore paying back in this life. A kid born with a silver spoon may become an ant in his next life if he becomes doesn’t keep up with his good karma. This is a very interesting perspective of life. When everything is interconnected with the good and bad deeds, when every thing will be held accountable, people’s behaviors change. This also puts the relationship between humans and animals in a very unique perspective. It’s therefore in the lives of people, but in the basis of ethics.