People have been caring for animals, people with hearts, people who don’t treat animals the way they would a book, while using the word “it”, for as long as the English language had existed.
I doubt that when factory farms exist.
Humanity kills more than 80 billion land animals and trillions of aquatic animals ever year.
Well in that case that is different but usually when we say "it" that is used to refer to physical objects like book or treat. Animals being seen as property harms them.
