Animal rights are defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “rights (as to fair and humane treatment) regarded as belonging fundamentally to all animals.” But what do they mean by “all animals”? Is there a different protocol for every specie? Is there an invisible line drawn to state what rights animals have? You have to decide. Animals have played a role in society since evolution began. First, animals were used for food, their skins were used for clothing and shelter, and their bones for tools. Even though animals became domesticated they were still used as such and eventually for many other purposes. Today most of us accept the idea that people may use animals but treat them correctly. The United States has even created anti-cruelty laws …show more content…
Such as the example: “If a lion gets to eat meat, then I should be able to eat meat too”. (Lin) That statement is completely arbitrary. First off, you are not a lion, second, lions need to eat meat in order to live, unlike humans who can live off of plants just as well. Doris Lin, an animal rights expert, took to the media to set people straight. The main question: Why should animals have rights? I concur with Lin that the animal rights movement bases their beliefs that animals have feelings and not just one type of animal, all animals have feelings. In fact an a world-wide group of neuroscientists stated in 2012 that animals are very aware of themselves and their surroundings, and that humans are not the only ones to recognizing themselves in mirrors. Nor are humans the only creatures to make decisions and understand the circumstance of making a correct or incorrect decision. Animals may feel things differently than humans, but only in the same sense that no two humans feel the same way. Two people can be happy, but how they are happy is two totally different things and it’s the same way in animals. There are studies upon studies that prove her points and because of that proof, I couldn’t agree with her …show more content…
Every year millions of animals are used in medical experiments for the benefits of human health. Animals are used from anything from vaccines and other pharmaceuticals to cosmetics. Luckily, in the latter years scientist have found other ways to test drugs and make-up rather than on animals in some cases. Medical testing, especially in the early stages, can be excruciatingly painful for animals and can even cause death. The same can be said about the cosmetics testing. There are many rallies against animal testing as to where the line is drawn when it comes to animal rights. I believe if you could ask an animal rights activist what rights animals should have, it’s doesn’t really have a difficult drawn out answer. Though there are many different ideas about animal rights, even among activists, the main goal is still the same. They plead that animals have the right to live free of human use and mistreatment, that they won’t be tested on or locked in small cages. Extreme Animal rights activists strive for a more vegan society where animals are no longer used for food, clothing or entertainment (such as pets, zoos, or
Animals deserve certain rights. As Dog˘an expresses, “Animals have a right to life, to liberty in the sense of freedom of movement and communication, to subsistence, to relief from suffering, and to security against
Animal rights can defined as the idea that some, or all non-human animals are entitled to the possession of their own lives and that their most basic interests should be afforded the same consideration as similar interests of human beings. Animal rights can help protect the animals who experience research and testing that could be fatal towards them. The idea of animal rights protects too the use of dogs for fighting and baiting. Finally, animal rights affects the farms across america, limiting what animals can be slaughtered. The bottom line is, there is too much being done to these animals that most do not know about.
the same rights as humans do. Like us, animals can feel pain and fear, but also
Lee, M. Cushmaan, C. Ames. “Counterpoint: Animals Do Not Have Rights.” Point Of View: Animal Rights
There are tremendous amount of debates that go on in this world on a daily basis. One of the most talked about debates of the century is that of animal rights and experimentations. This debate, also known in the animal rights community as vivisection, is one of the most difficult to understand. Individuals have numerous different outlooks on animals. Many individuals look upon animals as companions while others see animals as an object of advancing medical techniques. No matter what ones perception is of animals, the fact remains that animals are being exploited by research facilities and cosmetics companies all throughout the world. In spite of the fact that humans frequently benefit from successful animal experimentations, the pain, and occasionally death that often occurs is not worth the human benefit. Hence, animals should not be the use of research.
Throughout history, societies have been faced with many social issues affecting their citizens. Martin Luther King Jr, a civil rights leader for African Americans, was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement, a movement that fought to undo the injustices African Americans endure by American society in the 1960s. Martin expressed his disgust with the social inequality among citizens when saying “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (PETA). Taking the prominent leader’s words into consideration, we should progress as a society by participating in the animal rights movement that strives to extend the same compassion, felt by Martin Luther King Jr, to all living things (PETA). Popular criticisms report that animals are inferior to humans because they are a source of food, but I will argue that they are victims of social injustice. Validity for my animal rights argument will come from individual and organizational expert accounts and by Bioethicist Peter Singer, Author Francis Fukuyama, New York Time’s Mark Bittman and also Animal Rights organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and Animal Equality, to help prove my argument. Animals are silent victims who are loudly crying out for someone to stand up for their rights; rights that can no longer be disregarded by being overlooked. It is my belief that animals should be respected, and afforded ethical and human treatment by society instead of being looked at as a source of food. In a society where animals have no voice, it is everyone’s civic duty to participate in the animal rights movement and acknowledge animals as living beings, which...
4. What is Animal Rights? Animal Rights is the thought of letting animals get the basic rights. They don’t want animals to be caused pain, or be exploited/killed by humans. It does not mean equality between humans and animals.
Many countries around the world agree on two basic rights, the right to liberty and the right to ones own life. Outside of these most basic human and civil rights, what do we deserve, and do these rights apply to animals as well? Human rights worldwide need to be increased and an effort made to improve lives. We must also acknowledge that “just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures” (Dalai Lama). Animals are just as capable of suffering as we are, and an effort should be made to increase their rights. Governments around the world should establish special rights that ensure the advancement and end of suffering of all sentient creatures, both human and non-human. Everyone and everything should be given the same chance to flourish and live.
Animals have many attributes. They are a pleasure and wonderful companions. They provide beauty, comfort and love. However, some people argue as to whether or not there is a difference between humans and other animals. A number of people feel that animals have emotions like humans and have a secret way of life in which humans do not understand. Animal rights advocates believe that animals deserve rights because they are unable to communicate as humans do, possess emotions and play an important part in the environment.
Even if animals are like us, human rights for them sound a bit too unrealistic. I guess we should just let all animals roam free and make the whole universe go vegan (nothing against vegans though). In 3 articles, either written by Yong, Braithwaite, or Rifkin, there are solid topics that slowly reel their way into the ongoing and serious debate: Should animals have the same rights as humans? Where I stand is a difficult position. Animals should definitely have rights, but only to a certain extent. Animals feel pain, which is why they should not be abused. Animals are like humans, which is why they should be treated with respect. There is such a thing called “The Circle of Life,” which is why animals are where they stay.
Animals will have rights when they have the means to enforce them. They don't have the ability to reason as humans do. The human race has such a vast understanding of the necessities for all of the different species of animals to exist. Humans are far superior to any other animal because they are so advanced in technology. One advantage of advanced technology is, humans can store information as reference material. With all of this reference material humans can look back at previous mistakes so they don't do the same thing again. With this knowledge, humans can see and predict outcomes before a choice is made. Humans have the knowledge to enforce their rights, something no other animal has.
Over 2 million animals are killed every year, almost all of these animals had never felt the embrace of a loving person. Animal rights are very conservational because some people think animals are things, they do not see them as living beings, and just see them as if they are just something that can be replaced. Everything done to animals have emotional effects on them and they are not things that just do not feel pain. Animals should have similar rights as humans because animals feel pain just as much as humans do, have emotions just as humans, and they have things that humans have.
Animals do not have rights because animals do not have voices. If animals had voices they would be considered human beings, which of course, they are not. Animals are actually sub-creatures of the world. My stance on this is derived from the fact that animals are treated just as such of what they are; animals. Animals are designed to accommodate human beings for different purposes. Sometimes animals are there to supplement companionship. In the case of the widow or widower, single person living alone, or the lonely but only child without any siblings, are when animals help ease feelings of abandonment. Animals are also used to entertain us. When children attend a circus affair or a day's visit at the zoo the animals are there for entertainment purposes only.
I will argue that it is a better option for humans to not accept the doctrine of Animal Rights, and I will offer three reasons to support this claim. Firstly, Animal Rights can be limiting to the advancement of human health. Secondly, there are alternatives to accepting the Animal Rights. Finally, Animal Rights does not support animal control, which is important for sustaining the ecosystem. The second point will be discussed as an extension of the first point.
It can be said that animal rights is somewhat Aristotelian in inspiration, where an animal has a telos, an end or purpose that the animal must carry out. The animal may have a number of desires and needs that could lead to the realization of its telos requirements. It would not be in mankind’s best interest to derail another being’s telos, as this leads to an extreme moral dilemma. The fact that animals are alive, can feel pain, and have their own interests should give animals a protected right to life. If a human should choose to take such life, they should be able to prove that their right to live is morally superior to that of any animal whose life they decide to take.