Well - I was going to start a similar topic, but I guess I can paste my post here instead:
So - - animals and man were created by God. Man disobeyed, and got punished for it. Cursed, even. No record in the Bible of animals doing anything wrong, except for the snake, which was just used as a puppet anyway (if we are to believe that all scriptures are inspired and that what it says in the NT about this is true, and not just a way to explain the 'original snake' in a way that is easier to swallow).
Now - animals were not cursed, except - again - the snake, which from then on had to crawl on its belly and eat dust. But, if I'm not mistaken, that part of the story is not to be taken literally, as it's part of a prophecy (at least it is now).
OK. So, since animals did not sin, and were therefore not cursed, we must assume they were the same all along. They lived, were sometimes in pain, and died, throughout.
Thing is - - animals definitely feel physical pain. Animal owners or people who observe animals - heck, anyone - would say so, and that they sometimes at least look like they feel emotional pain as well. If you've ever seen a video of someone mistreating an animal (I can't watch those for more than a second or two, I'm enraged so much), you'll see and hear that they definitely feel physical pain and anguish.
Animals get similar diseases to us, and they have a few of their very own. Eve was cursed with painful childbirth (meaning it wouldn't have been painful until then), while animals have always birthed somewhat in pain (at least mammals); no pre-curse condition for them to explain why. I haven't talked to a horse or a great ape about it, but I assume that more or less the same physical limitations exist in other mammals as in humans; push a large object through a small orifice with many nerve endings and you will experience some pain. Animals are more quiet about it though; they have to be in order to survive out there by not drawing attention to themselves.
So - animals are born in pain, live, experience good times and bad, get sick, feel pain and stress at times throughout, and die. Sometimes 'prematurely', to serve as food for us, for other animals or due to painful diseases or "wear and tear" from our use.
What did animals do to deserve all this? For humans it was a curse. And apparently, there are plans in place for our 'restitution'. For animals, it was... intended? I'm not so much talking about death (although that too), but more about pain, diseases, and suffering while living.
Is the answer that they were simply created to be nothing more than food for us, vehicles to in various ways carry mankind on their shoulders (literally and figuratively)? To remind us of our mortality and of pain?
Is God a little "Meh..." when it comes to animal feelings and lives?
Will animals eventually get their 'restitution'?
