Acharya Prashant explains that the law of Karma does not apply to animals because they do not really have a choice in their actions. When there is no choice, there is no question of reward or punishment. Animals are fully dictated by their biological conditioning, which is their Prakriti (nature). Their consciousness is completely dominated by their physical conditioning, and they do not have the option to be a liberated consciousness. An animal is born, lives, and dies as an animal, and its internal state of consciousness does not vary significantly from another of its kind. Therefore, an animal gets neither reward nor punishment and lives in a secure zone. Human beings, however, are in a peculiar situation. They can choose to side with their animalistic conditioning, or they can choose something higher, such as freedom, joy, love, liberation, and compassion. Because humans have this choice, they also have a responsibility that animals do not. A human being is a decision-maker, someone who has a choice. How one exercises these choices decides their life. The one who makes the right choice and is compassionate is rewarded, while the one who is vicious and makes the wrong choice is punished. Therefore, there is a great difference between animals and human beings. Humans must never justify their actions by taking examples from animals, such as eating animal flesh because a lion does. A lion has no option but to kill to eat, whereas a human has that option. If a man needlessly kills an animal, he will be punished, if not by law, then by existence.