The most dangerous game

The story begins with a conversation about the ethics of hunting big game for sport. Whitney suggests that animals feel fear and pain just as humans do. Rainsford thinks animals just have instinct and cannot comprehend pain and fear like humans do,

The best sport in the world," agreed Rainsford. "For the hunter," amended Whitney. "Not for the jaguar." "Don't talk rot, Whitney," said Rainsford. "You're a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?" "Perhaps the jaguar does," observed Whitney. "Bah! They've no understanding."