Animal Rights

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Animal Rights

Ever since The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in
England in 1824 was formed there has been long running debates on the topic of animal rights. The first societies were formed to protect and maintain human treatment of work animals, such as cattle, horses and house hold pets. Towards the end of the 19th century more organizations were formed, this time to protest the use of animals in scientific experimentation. In today’s society groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have continued these traditional fights as well as adding new agendas. These new agendas include hunting and fishing, and dissection of animals in science classes. This paper will discuss the pros and cons of animal experimentation and research, animals in the classroom, animal organizations and hunting. Along with these topics my personal opinion will be stated, before and after researching the topic.
The rights of animals have always been important to me during my life.
This is due to the fact that I have had a dog for a pet for as long as I remember. On this topic I feel as though having domesticated animals in the home is fine as long as proper care is taken of them. As for more controversial issue like animal research and experimentation my views vary. A few years ago I felt that any research or experimentation on animals was inhumane and unjust. However after maturing and becoming more aware of the world, I now feel as though there are definite ‘goods’ that come from animal research that can not come from doing tests on humans. This view is by no means one sided. I also feel that there are some things being done to animals that just should not happen, such as the testing of cosmetics. In other areas of animal rights like dissection in the classroom I think that as long as the animals died naturally it is fine to use them to further a students education along with human cadavers. Of course, I hope that animal dissection can become a thing of the past with the advent of new technologies. On the topic of hunting I have had a first hand experience. The deer population where I live grew out of control a few years ago and as a last resort the town decided to have a hunt. It was very controlled safe and had a limit as to how many deer were killed. This sort of animal control ...

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...s for computer programs that will enable them to simulate a real animal. This actually goes for all animal testing, if we could simulate an animal or human, on a computer we would not have to subject anyone to testing. Animals do have the right not to treated inhumanely whether it be in the home, laboratory, classroom or field, yet as long as animals are being used to help benefit the world, animals in my opinion can be used in some respects.

Works cited:

Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Compton’s New Media Inc. : 1994

Encyclopedia of Bioethics, Simon and Schuster. New York: 1995

Minkoff, Eli C., Biology Today: An Issues Approach. McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., New York: 1996. (pp25 - 32)

Miller, David Lee Winston. " The LD50 Test, A Failure of Extreme, but Measurable,
Proportions."1997. Online. Available: http://www.sunyit.edu/~millerd1/LD50.HTM "Without Animal Research." Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation.
1997. Online. Available: http://www.ampef.org/research.htm "Animal Experimentation." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 1997.
Online. Available:
http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/peta/facts/exp/fsexp01.htm

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