Animal Rights And Human Rights

For many years there has been an ongoing debate on whether or not animals should be given rights, even there own bill of rights. Some who are against the animal bill of rights argue that testing products on animals is important to the safety of humans. Others who want the new bill of rights claim that animals have feelings and that science is treating them inhumanely. Animal activists also add that animals are intelligent beings and are aware of how they are treated. Based on science proving animal activists correct on many of their points, this calls for a new bill of rights, in the United States, especially written for the protection and care of wild and domestic animals.

Is it ethical for animals to have the same rights as humans? During this paper I will present the views of both sides. I will try my best to give the reader a chance to come to there own unbiased conclusion. I will talk about the key areas of animal ethics. I will present the facts and reasoning behind the arguments over Animal cruelty, testing, hunting, and improper housing. My conclusion will hopefully bring us closer to answering many of the question surrounding “Animal Rights and Ethics”.

The idea of animal rights has been around for centuries. Even decades ago, people were taking action for the welfare of animals. Marc Bekoff and Ned Hettinger share this idea all the way back in 1994 when they said that there is evidence that scientist are concerned with animal welfare by acknowledge that they use the guidelines in place to protect animals during research, in order to have their work published (Bekoff 219). Guidelines are the basis for the moral and ethical treatment of animals. Each person may have his or her own standard, but having a standard among the entire population ensures the welfare of the animals. Unfortunately, these standards are not at a level to where the animals are being protected. Many animals in captivity are treated in ways that would shock the average person. Orcas for example, are starved until they do the desired task (Cowperthwaite). This form of operant condition can lead to success, but often leads to resentment and hostility towards the trainers.

Since the very first time I could see, my fascination with animals has followed me throughout my life. My childhood goal was to become a Veterinarian and although plans have changed, my passion for animals remains. Pets that I have taken under my wing become my responsibility and my family no matter how small or big they are. This is now the concept that most modern day families have adopted. Some people even consider them their children. Life, however, is not eternal for these little creatures, and like all living beings, their time is numbered. Seeing how pets are considered a part of the family, experiencing a tragedy firsthand can be emotionally devastating, both at the incident and afterwards.

Seems rhetorical, but the fact is animals live through this everyday, without even given the choice. As humans, we establish our authority among all living beings, but for what reasons? Are humans better than all other species? Or is it true that we should hold a precedence over nonhuman animals? The ultimate question then remains, should animals have as much or equal to the same rights as humans? Their are endless arguments for and against this question, and many sub arguments that go hand in hand with each side. In this paper, I will discuss the definition of what animal rights entails and expand on the history that developed it’s meaning. Furthermore, I will thoroughly discuss, reason, and explain each opinion presented by our current society as well as the positions held by previous philosophers. Lastly, I will draw a conclusion to the opinions presented by discussing my personal position on the argument of animal rights.

The study of good and bad, right and wrong, moral principles or value held by a person or society, promoting human welfare, maximizing freedom minimizing pain and suffering is called ethics. The discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings and also the value and moral status of the environment and its non-human contents is called environmental ethics. It considers the ethical relationship between the humans and the environment. Animal and animal rights are the highlighted topic in the environmental ethics.

The debate of whether or not animals should be allowed to be used as subjects in research, entertainment, or clothing is one of the most controversial issues known in today’s society (Parks 21). Through time, animal rights have acquired several different definitions and opinions from people. Regarding their belief about the true meaning of animal rights, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a largely recognized animal rights activist organization, states:

There’s been a significant amount of legislation passed into law based on honoring crime victims in Tennessee. Some of these include the examples I listed above, which include Amelia’s Law, the Kelsey Smith Act, and Erin’s Law. There are many more to include the Channon Christian and Chris Newsom Acts, Victim’s Rights Photo Act, Mabry Kate Webb Act, and Dustin’s law, even though this particular legislation has been delayed being passed into law.

First I am going to start off by saying that there is a big problem in the world and it will make a lot of people think really hard about the next thing that they eat. Animal rights is a big thing to some people and nothing to some people but my writing is going to talk about both sides of this argument and tell my readers why animals should be treated just like humans. No one should have to go through being abused. Also going to talk about why I’m right about what I researched and how it really changed the way people view animal abuse. The topic of this is that people are not really doing anything about it. There are animals getting abused all around the world and people just seem like it doesn’t matter to them.

Do you know that animals are different from human? According to (Lin, 2014) “many animal activists point to the publication of “Animal Liberation” in 1975 as the catalyst for the modern American animal rights movement.” Also, “1980 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is founded.” In (Mother Nature Network, 2008) points out that “It wasn't until 1822 that animal-protectionists won their first public victory”, so after that people will think what is the definition of animal rights movements according to http://www.thefreedictionary.com “The right to humane treatment claimed on behalf of animals, especially the right to be treated as persons or more like persons under the law.” Also, in (Opposing Viewpoints, 2011) the animal rights

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” Many animal activists see a strong comparison between animals used for research or entertainment and slaves (Day, 1994). Every year millions of animals are killed while being used for testing and entertainment. Some may say that animals do not have emotions so using them for these types of activities is acceptable. In spite of that, a huge question that arises is whether or not animals should have rights. This appears to be a controversial topic, considering that some people believe activities such as circuses, rodeos, and testing on animals is completely fine. It is evident that these people are unaware of

The idea that animals have rights seems to be heavily agreed on by a large majority of scholars whom have studied this topic. However, what comes into question is understanding the severity and range of these rights. How do we determine the level of animal rights? How do we understand animal rights in relation to human rights? This paper aims to address these questions by showing that animals have the basic rights to live a life without harm, but cannot have equal rights to humans because of our dependence on them and their inability to reason and communicate with humans.

Once rights are granted to certain groups of people, more and different types of group also starts asking for rights. This is an example of a “slippery slope” argument. Similarly, there are groups of people who advocates for the rights of animals. They are speaking out against cruelty that animals have to go through like slaughtering them for food, conducting different kinds of experiments on them, etc. While pro-animal rights people argue about those types of “cruelty,” another group of people believe that animals are needed for those kinds of purposes.

Should animals be harmed to benefit mankind? This pressing question has been around for at least the past two centuries. During the early nineteenth century, animal experiments emerged as an important method of science and, in fact, marked the birth of experimental physiology and neuroscience as we currently know it. There were, however, guidelines that existed even back then which restricted the conditions of experimentation. These early rules protected the animals, in the sense that all procedures performed were done so with as little pain as possible and solely to investigate new truths. Adopting the animals' perspectives, they would probably not agree that these types of regulations were much

Every living being has some rights. Animals are living beings so they have certain rights on the people living in the world. There are various types of animals found in every part of the world. People eat some of the animals. For instance, they eat goats, cows, swine, chickens etc. These are the animals that are considered favorite foods people. It is also not only about eating them; it is also about trading them legally and illegally to get the financial benefit. In fact, there are many organizations around the world that are involved in it. In addition, there are other animals too that are becoming the victim of the torture of the human beings. They include cats, dogs, elephants, etc.