I don’t think animals suffer the way we do. Everything in the biosphere struggles and dies and responds to stimuluses. But what we call “suffering” (sensing pain and reflecting upon it) requires a higher level of experience. Do bacteria suffer when we brush our teeth? Do trees suffer when burned? Does a fly suffer when the spider bites it? They might respond to stimuli, but there’s no evidence that they can reflect upon it. As you go higher on the evolutionary ladder you get to creatures much closer to us in intelligence but still not at our level experientially. Humans crossed a threshold of consciousness where we now have reflection and free will. As cruel as it sounds, the creatures behind us are just biological machines in various states of development. The higher ones are approaching our level though and who’s to say that they won’t one day be where we are today?
I had to put down a beloved cat a few years ago. She was the most loving animal I ever knew and displayed a high level of emotion. I loved her almost like a person…and valued her over some people if I’m being honest. But the truth is she was a cat. She wasn’t on our level. We need to be kind to the higher creatures and not inflict unnecessary pain, but they aren’t like us.
I think evolution shows God’s creative process beautifully. An atheist might say the universe is a cruel, random place with needless suffering. A YEC might say God poofed it out of nothing 6k years ago. But evolution is creation on display. It shows us God building the universe from dust to where we are today.
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