The History and Purpose of The Animal Rights Movement Essay

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”.

But, as PETA unmasked the cruel treatment of the monkeys and got involved in the case, it resulted as being the first arrest and the conviction of an animal experimenter in the United States with charges of cruelty to animals. It also was the first confiscation of abused laboratory animals, the monkeys, and the first United States Supreme Court victory for animals in laboratories (PETA: Official Page). PETA made a huge difference.

Throughout history, humans have utilized nonhuman animals for the benefit of mankind. This tendency increased as civilization developed, and presently, necessitated by staggering population growth and technological progress, human use of animals has skyrocketed. We eat them, we breed them, we use them as test subjects. Some people have begun to question the ethics of it all, sparking a debate on animal treatment and whether or not they have rights. In a paper on the subject, Carl Cohen lays out his definition of rights, explains their relationship with obligations, and uses these ideas to present the argument that manifests clearly in his piece’s title, “Why Animals Have No Rights”. THESIS

Today, the discussions about the protection of the animal’s rights have received the attention of many people, many countries in the world. A lot of actions have been made by animal right activists to influence the world. Alex Epstein and Yaron Book, both authors of the “The Evil of Animal ‘Right’,” argue animal right activists use too much violence on their action, which is considered going against the law. Then, the authors give a lot of evidence to prove testing animals are extinct, but using animals for testing gives us new vaccines which make our lives better. Without animals for testing, how can scientists find out the vaccine for diseases? Animal right groups are making many effects to Huntingdon Life Sciences.

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.

Imagine having no rights, being treated crudely everyday, and constantly being in pain. That is how animals that live their lives in labs feel every single day. Many animals die from being tested on, “Animals killed each year worldwide for experiments and drug research range from 50 to 100 million.” (Source A). There are organizations like PETA (People or the Ethical Treatment of Animals) that are trying to stop speciesism and get natural rights for animals. Speciesism is “the habit of attributing greater moral significance to the well-being of animals.” (Source C). Animals have the ability to think and feel just as humans do. This only makes it right for animals to possess rights like humans. Humans should not hold themselves higher than any other species, “humans are inherently no better than or different from other animals, and should have no right to hold our own interests above the interests of other species.”

I accept that humans are more aware of their surroundings and therefore may feel pain to a greater extent than nonhuman animals. I also accept that when looking at racism, there is no reason for which it can be deemed acceptable to unjustifiably favour White rights over Black rights, for example. But I believe that it is ignorant to say that animals don’t have rights, or interests, as of course staying alive and remaining unharmed is a right, and in the interest, of any living creature, and it is just as difficult to justify accepting human interests over nonhuman animal interests without considering both equally. Nonhuman animals can also suffer, and I believe that it should be a moral obligation to treat them the way we do our own species.

Throughout history morality has been a topic of intense debate. Innumerable thinkers have devoted immense amounts of time and energy to the formulation of various ethical theories intended to assist humans in their daily lives. These theories set out guidelines which help to determine the rightness or wrongness of any given action and can therefore illuminate which choice would be morally beneficial. And while many of these theories differ substantially, most have at least one common underlying principle, namely that humans deserve to be treated with a certain level of respect. This idea comes from the belief that all humans have interests which are significant enough to be considered, hence no one should impede another

For as long as people and animals have been around there has been question to what their rights are; the main ones being how they should be treated, and if they can feel pain like humans. People all around the world eat meat on the daily like it is no big deal but what they do not know is how a lot of the animals are treated while being raised. Chickens, cows, and pigs are a major part of this; people raise them on farms with only one purpose; to make money off their meat, milk, and young. Organizations around the world try to help reduce the neglect and abuse they receive. Some of these organizations are PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), CARE (Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth), along with many local shelters and veterinary clinics. Although many people think that animal abuse isn’t very common, it happens every day all around the world. Cats, dogs, mice, horses, cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, and even fish along with many others are punished unequally. Animals do feel pain and it is proven that they feel it just as a human would. So the thing to ask is; what are animal rights when it comes to abuse, testing and neglect? It happens every day but still continues to be in the world, if they cannot defend themselves is it fair? Animals are continuously tested for the comfort of humanity: examples of some tests

The animal right movement aims to change the way that society treats and views animals. This movement targets society and is a reformative social movement because it wants to reform a part of society. I personally support the animal rights movement and agree that more should be done to promote proper treatment of all animals. In my opinion the media plays a big role in this movement. I often seen commercials of animals that have been abused, bleeding, injured, or a close up of an animal looking very sad. Nobody wants to see animals that are hurt or accept that something needs to be done about how we treat animals as a society. While I personally don’t like seeing commercials with sad animals, it is effective propaganda. After watching each

Animal rights is not just a philosophy, but a kind of social movement that challenges this society’s view that all nonhuman animals only exist for the sole purpose of human’s benefit. It’s the idea that all non-human animals are entitled to possession of their own lives and that their basic interests should be afforded the same consideration at basic interests of humans. It’s not about putting an animal above a human, or giving an animal the same rights a human is entitled to. Every creature has a will to live free from suffering and pain. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on a reason or an actual experience. Only prejudice allows humans to deny others all the rights we expect to have. Whether that is based on race, gender, species, or sexual orientation, prejudice is morally unacceptable. Knowing what animal rights are is important because awareness needs to be raised on the subject. That way, more legislature may be put in place to stop all forms of animal cruelty.

The animal rights movement is a really important movement. It helps protect animals from different things and people. Animals have rights just as much as we do. The animal rights movement is very important to animals and people.

backs and they were dragging their hind legs (Reed 38). While in the lab, the

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.

Non-human animals are given rights only because of their interactions with human beings. Without involvement with humans, animals do not deserve rights. It is through this interaction with humans that animals are even given moral consideration. We do not give rights to a rock simply because it is a creation of Mother Nature, similarly non-human animals do not have rights unless it is in regards to humans. As pointed out by Jan Narveson "morality is a sort of agreement among rational, independent, self-interested persons who have something to gain from entering into such an agreement" (192). In order to have the ability to obtain rights one must be consciously able to enter into an agreement, non-human animals are