Animal Rights Debate: Should Animals Have Rights As Humans?

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Should animals have the same rights as humans? The answer is simply an opinion, but before someone decides whether or not animals have rights they must first take into consideration a few things. First, one must decide what the term “rights” is referring to: moral rights or legal rights. Secondly, one must determine what the term animal is referring to: are humans considered animals? Thirdly, one must ask are animals’ sentient beings: Can animals feel pain and suffer? The next element is to take into consideration is all of the beneficial and atrocious aspects of animal testing, and then decide if the beneficial aspects outweigh the atrocious aspects or vice-versa. The final step is to decide if there is a middle ground to the argument: Can animals have rights …show more content…

Rights possession simply means that their holders have certain important, basic interests that impose on their duties on others” (Animal Rights Without Liberation, 2). This theory is the most neutral, middle ground argument in the animal rights debate. Cochrane supports this theory by stating, “Contrary to the skeptics, rights can indeed be sensibly ascribed to animals. After all, it does not matter that animals themselves cannot respect or claim rights; all that matters is that they possess basic interests that ground certain duties on our part. Furthermore, and contrary to the proponents, animal rights do not require all animals to be set free from being used, owned, and exploited by human begins” (Animal Rights Without Liberation, 2). Detracting the arguments of both supporters and those who oppose animal rights and combining the two arguments together create the middle ground of the animal rights

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