Why do we find it okay to make animals suffer?

    I found this picture after typing "Animals vs. Humans cartoon" on Google. This cartoon shows humans in closed-off cages with only one opening for their heads. I am thinking that the humans are supposed represent "animal role," getting tested upon by the animals, shown in lab coats and holding tools. I really like the dry humor of this cartoon, as one of the dogs says to the other, "Don't worry, they don't feel pain the way we do!" The thing is, we know we feel pain like "they" do, but the humans in the cartoon are unable to communicate this. In real life, the roles are switched. Humans test on animals, assuming the animals can deal with the pain, even though they feel pain just as equally as we do. However, animals are powerless against humans--they have no way of telling them just how much they are suffering. The goal of this cartoon is to highlight, and essentially mock the irrationality of human thoughts on animal testing. Animals can feel pain just as we do! We just like to ignore this fact because they cannot tell us otherwise. In class, we've been learning about the hierarchy in the human-animal vs. nonhuman-animal relationship. This cartoon definitely ties in with that hierarchy, revealing that humans are on top, and will always be in control of the nonhuman-animals.