Controversy Over Animal Rights

Did you know around 56 billion animals are killed each year for food alone? With these staggering numbers, could they suggest that the morality of humans should not be intact. Animals are defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “any such living thing other than a human being or plant” but should animals be treated equally? Animal rights establish that animals should be entitled to the same treatment as humans (such as freedom) to prevent abuse and exploitation. The reasoning and foundation behind animal rights was spoken by philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1789, “…the question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?” Since animals are capable of suffering, animal rights should protects animals from medical

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”.

Animal rights are considered as “the rights of animals, claimed on ethical grounds, to the same humane treatment and protection from exploitation and abuse that are accorded to humans”(CITE). This means that individuals that believe in animal rights conceive the idea that animals should have the same rights and protections as humans do. With this

The statement by Paul McCartney rings true, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls everyone would be a vegetarian.” Animal rights is a concept which people hardly ever consider in a serious light. Being born as a human being, having a superior mental capacity and sense of times makes people think that they can rule this world and use other living beings as they see fit. This mentality leads to people say things like “animals are born to eaten” or how Aristotle claimed “all of the nature exist specifically for the sake of men” and “that animal are merely instruments for humankind.” (Pg. 495). This way of thinking often leads to overconsumption of animals, cruelty to animals and loss of species.

According to the article A Change of Heart about Animals says “What these researchers are finding is that many of our fellow creatures are more like us then what we had ever imagined. They feel pain, suffer and experience stress,affection, excitement and even love…” But if the amendment were to be passed how would we be allowed to hunt and kill to get meat. Animals such as pigs, cows, deer, and chickens provide us with meat to feed our families and consume. We would not be able to continue doing this because in a lot of places they believe and feel this is cruel. How would we be able to survive without being able to consume meat? Not everyone in the world is a fan of having to becoming vegetarians and have to cut meat out

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.

For the fifth time that day, Mrs. Jacobs walks past the Miller's window where she stares at their family pug. All of her effort to not open the door is confined in hatred, this animal that doesn't deserve to be cooped up all day, being taken advantage of. All animals should be loved, animal critics argue, but it is not necessary for animals to be given rights because of their lack of communication with humans. The argument of animal rights has exploded in the last decade, creating organizations like P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and A.L.F. (Animal Liberation Front) both of which are trying to enforce the government to create laws for animal rights. Animal rights have been a topic of discussion as early as Ancient Rome,

Issues concerning animal rights are often controversial. Various attempts at making human life more convenient interfere with the lives of animals, endangering them. Overtime these practices, such as deforestation, lab testing on animals, and poaching, can increase the risk of the animals involved becoming extinct. Several different organizations attempt to combat the risk posed to endangered animals by creating ad campaigns to raise awareness of the harsh effects losing such animals could cause. The World Wildlife Fund, for example, made the image above with the hope that people might either change their harmful ways or contribute to groups that attempt to save animals. By identifying the ways in which this image can be considered an argument

In the article, In Defense of the Animals, the author Meg Greenfield discusses why animal rights activists’ fight for the protection of animals. Society has become numb to the brutality, pain and suffering caused to animals in pointless acts. Brutality such as clubbing baby seals to death for their skins, raising animals for food in dismal conditions and conducting scientific studies on animals for the cosmetic industries profit are unnecessary. Even when scientific experiments on animals are to find medical cures for the human race, they are practiced in uncaring methods usually ending in animals being euthanized. Animal rights activists who speak for the protection of animals has gone to the extreme by trying to stop all cure related experiments

Whether we think about it or not, our views on animal rights affect the choices we make every day from the foods we eat, the clothes we wear, the products we use on our skin, the medicine we take, and even the pets we may or may not keep in our home. Each of these choices hinge on our views of animal rights. Although animal rights are not a new issue we are facing here in the U.S., recent events have brought them back into the foreground. News stories like the slaying of Cecil the lion, and Harambe the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo in this past year have brought renewed interest to those of all ages thanks to social media and national press time.

In “The Case for Animal Rights” written by Tom Regan, the author analyzes reasons for why all beings should have rights, but argues in particular why animals should have basic rights, like humans. “I regard myself as an advocate of animal rights- as a part of the animal rights movement”(Regan 337). The goals of the movement include the following: not allowing the use of animals in science, commercial agriculture, and the eradication of commercial and sport hunting or trapping. Regan blantly dismisses people who claim to believe in the rights of animals, but do not put forth these goals. He rejects the thought that using animals for cosmetic research is a violation of their rights and is unacceptable, but if it is cancer research then it is permissible. “You don’t change unjust institutions by tidying them up”(Regan 337) Regan goes on to break down his paper into views which he believes that people hold in regard to animal rights, he then counters these views with thought experiments that explain why suffering and pain are only feelings that add to the fundamentally wrong system that allows animals to be seen as resources. In this paper, I will discuss Regan’s arguments, possible objections to his arguments, and provide answers to those objections using the author's point of view.

There was once a young boy that would start his days beforehand by cleaning his rifle. His dad will tell him that the time he spent cleaning his rifle doesn’t usually take that long, but to him it was the preparation, the anticipation, that was the most exciting part. He will set up a practice range behind his house and tack up an old camouflage jacket to aim right at the top of the button. He wanted to be optimum for when the real hunt begun. To him hunting season was the best part of the year. As he will look at his target through his rifle sight, he felt communication with him, “here we are together, bound as one in this wonderful moment of life and death.” In a second, a life of an animal will be taken away for a spiritual feeling that

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.

For the past 20 years, there has a been an on going heated debate on whether experiments on animals for the benefit of medical and scientific research is ethical. Whether it is or isn't, most people believe that some form of cost-benefit test should be performed to determine if the action is right. The costs include: animal pain, distress and death where the benefits include the collection of new knowledge or the development of new medical therapies for humans. Looking into these different aspects of the experimentation, there is a large gap for argument between the different scientists' views. In the next few paragraphs, both sides of the argument will be expressed by the supporters.