“Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.” - Proverbs 12:10

Throughout the bible there is a battle between humans having dominion over the earth, and humans being stewards of the earth. The biblical belief is that humans differ over animals due to the “soul” we have. “He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose...” Genesis 2:7. This seems unique to the creation of humans. And within the bible it also states that “All flesh is not the same...” 1 Cor 15:39.

However since Christians believe everything created by God is perfect, and an extension of his splendour. 1 Timothy 4:4 “For everything God made was good...”. A Christian belief would be to at least have regard/respect for animal existence, and therefore treat them justly/kindly.