Can we judge our moral progress by the way we treat our animals?

I say yes, we have become a very self centered society and we lack personal responsibility. We allow others to carry out atrocities and we look the other way. This is across the board, the way our food is raised, the millions of animals killed by the SPCA, the drunk drivers, wife beaters, etc. It's not our fault, not our problem, I'm just trying to raise my family, I can't get involved. Then when tragedy comes to their door, they look for someone to blame, it wasn't their fault, so I need to sue someone.