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How to Deal with Animal Right Essays: Quick & Simple Prompts

Table of Contents

Whether you’re a student at the Ethics, Biology, or Medicine department, you can receive an assignment to write animal right essays from time to time.

On the one hand, the task may seem simple and manageable at first glance. On the other hand, such essays (as any other type of academic work) require careful research, outlining, structuring, and writing in line with top academic standards. Thus, if you’re stuck on this task with no ideas in mind, read on to find valuable tips for this kind of essay.

Here we compiled valuable recommendations from our writing experts about:

• Finding an interesting, relevant topic.
• Composing an animal rights outline.
• Developing an effective animal rights thesis statement.
• Researching credible sources for animal right essays.
• Structuring your arguments.
• Effective editing and proofreading of the assignment.

Why It Is Important to Discuss Animal Rights

Whenever you approach writing about animal rights, this topic’s relevance always surfaces as a critical vantage point of your animal rights essays. It’s a commonly recognized fact that throughout history, humans have been too cruel toward animals, and they have ruined much of the authentic wildlife ecosystems in the process of industrialization and urbanization. As a result, numerous species lost their habitats and were urged to seek shelter elsewhere, thus altering other natural habitats by residing in places where they shouldn’t be.

Even in cities, where people and animals seem to have different lives, cruel treatment and abuse of human authority are evident.

First, pets are not always treated ethically and respectfully, mainly because of their legal status as human property.

Second, many pets are abandoned and flood the streets, where they are either killed by other street animals or are doomed to wandering the streets and surviving by eating trash and food remnants.

Third, corporate breeding animals for food (e.g., children farms and daily factories) is highly inhumane, involving cruel treatment of animals and their stay in awful conditions.

The situation with wildlife is not much better, with hunters and poachers killing wild animals for fun and entertainment. Fires and floods caused by human-made climate change also urge wild animals to seek shelter and food in human residences, which often ends in their killing or captivation.

Thus, as one can see, the problem of animal rights and human oppression of the planet’s fauna is pressing, with so many manifestations of unethical, inconsiderate, and cruel attitudes to all creatures, great and small.

Main Points to Elaborate on

Given the problems surrounding animal protection and rights today, you can approach the subject from numerous perspectives in your academic assignment:

• Legal rights of animals in your country or abroad. Comparison of legal policies towards wildlife and pet protection.
• Pet protection and a new legal status for pets.
• Legal and ethical standards for corporate farming.
• Legal and ethical standards for animal use with medical/experimental purposes.
• Wildlife protection and conservation.
• Protection of marine life from exploitative industrial practices.

How to Write Animal Rights Essay Introduction

All animal right essays should start with an impactful introduction so that your audience understands what you’re talking about, what you’re driving at, and what your key arguments are.

To achieve this goal, we recommend structuring an introduction as follows:

• First, discuss the broad context of the paper – animal rights in general, what kinds of rights they possess, and what abuses of those rights are observed globally.
• You may also boost the interest of your readers by citing some shocking stats or providing some anecdotal evidence. Anyway, this information should be relevant, pointing to the serious, pressing problem in the field of animal rights you have identified.
• Next, it’s vital to formulate the problem clearly and indicate how you will resolve/discuss it. It will be your thesis statement.

Following this structure, you’re sure to make a captivating intro that will urge your audience to read the paper until its end.

Animal Rights Essay Outline

To complete animal right essays quickly and effectively, you need to perform some pre-writing work. Composing an outline is always a helpful approach to organizing the basis for your writing process as you receive a roadmap for the further composition of your essay’s vital parts.

Here is a sample outline for a paper about pet rights and legal status. Still, you can successfully appropriate this outline for any other topic by following the instructions about each part’s content.

INTRODUCTION

Introduce your subject and give some background information. Underline the problem’s significance. State your key idea of the paper.

Pets are typically a part of the family in which they live, causing warm feelings and enjoying commitment from the people who invited them to their homes. Still, sadly, pets are considered property by law in 90% of countries, limiting the protection of cruelly treated and abandoned animals. Thus, a legal change is required to improve pet coverage by law and enable animal rights advocates to take measures against pet maltreatment.

BODY OF THE PAPER

Paragraph #1-3 – Indicate a topic sentence with each paragraph’s key idea. Support that key idea with some supporting data from credible sources. Offer your interpretation of the information in those external sources. Make a transition to the next paragraph and then to the conclusion.

Paragraph #1 – statistics on pet maltreatment. Animal abandonment and abuse.

Paragraph #2 – protective legislation. E.g., the UK Animal Welfare Act (2007), felony animal cruelty laws in the USA.

Paragraph #3 – animal rights advocacy organizations (e.g., ALDF). Actions they take to prevent and minimize pet maltreatment.

Summarize your arguments concisely and refer them back to the general argument. Clarify the arguments’ significance for the broader subject of your research. Again, stress the importance of dwelling on this subject theoretically and with practical steps.

Pet abuse is still commonplace because of the legal status of home animals as human property. Still, numerous laws and activist organizations work to change the situation. A broader legal change is required to change pets’ status and enhance their protection.

How to Write Animal Rights Thesis Statement

The thesis statement for animal right essays should be clear and concise, communicating your central message and purpose of the paper. The thesis should not be too long or too short. It should also incorporate the central arguments you’ll expand in the following sections of your text.

In this way, this statement will function as your readers’ roadmap leading them from one argument to another one and helping them follow your logic.

20 Animal Topics for Research Papers – Choose the Best Idea

Looking for some bulletproof animal topics for research papers? Here is a list you can use on all occasions to compose various academic works with ease.

• Is it realistic to protect all animal rights today?
• Is the animals’ right to no selective breeding compatible with the human needs?
• What is the best way to protect animals from the harmful impact of humans?
• Is hunting ethical on any grounds?
• Hunting and animal species extinction – a need for a more effective protective policy.
• Is experimentation on animals generally avoidable?
• How does the human-made climate change affect the well-being of fauna?
• Is pet euthanasia a reality?
• The impact of massive fishing on biodiversity and fish species survival.
• Increasing peopling of suburbs and the loss of animal habitat – a reverse side of people’s flight from the vices of urbanization.
• What is the impact of invasive species on the local wildlife? Discuss with examples.
• Cruel handling of corporately farmed animals.
• Is overbreeding of pets a pressing problem? What are the far-reaching consequences of overbreeding?
• Destroying predators – a step towards human safety or an ecological crime? Discuss the fundamental role of predators in local wildlife and the adverse effects of these species’ minimization.
• Are police and military dogs given similar rights upon retirement as people who served their motherland? Discuss more extensive coverage of police/military dog health and care services.
• What kinds of experiments on animals are unavoidable to save people’s lives? And what are senseless and cruel?
• Animal abuse in zoos – the reverse side of human entertainment and endangered species conservation.
• Is it ethical to use animals in hard manual/agricultural labor?
• What can people do to enhance animal rights protection?
• Is it ethical to consider animals human property? The need for a legal change of pet status as a vital contribution to the more humane treatment of home pets.

With these topics, you’re sure to beat all professors’ expectations and develop an attention-grabbing, exciting argument.

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Animal Rights: Definition, Issues, and Examples

Animal rights advocates believe that non-human animals should be free to live as they wish, without being used, exploited, or otherwise interfered with by humans.

T he idea of giving rights to animals has long been contentious, but a deeper look into the reasoning behind the philosophy reveals ideas that aren’t all that radical. Animal rights advocates want to distinguish animals from inanimate objects, as they are so often considered by exploitative industries and the law.

The animal rights movement strives to make the public aware of the fact that animals are sensitive, emotional , and intelligent beings who deserve dignity and respect. But first, it’s important to understand what the term "animal rights" really means.

What are animal rights?

Animal rights are moral principles grounded in the belief that non-human animals deserve the ability to live as they wish, without being subjected to the desires of human beings. At the core of animal rights is autonomy, which is another way of saying choice . In many countries, human rights are enshrined to protect certain freedoms, such as the right to expression, freedom from torture, and access to democracy. Of course, these choices are constrained depending on social locations like race, class, and gender, but generally speaking, human rights safeguard the basic tenets of what makes human lives worth living. Animal rights aim to do something similar, only for non-human animals.

Animal rights come into direct opposition with animal exploitation, which includes animals used by humans for a variety of reasons, be it for food , as experimental objects, or even pets. Animal rights can also be violated when it comes to human destruction of animal habitats . This negatively impacts the ability of animals to lead full lives of their choosing.

Do animals have rights?

Very few countries have enshrined animal rights into law. However, the US and the UK do have some basic protections and guidelines for how animals can be treated.

The UK Sentience Bill

In 2021, the United Kingdom's House of Commons introduced the Animal Sentience Bill . If passed, this bill would enshrine into law that animals are, in fact, sentient beings, and they deserve humane treatment at the hands of humans. While this law would not afford animals full autonomy, it would be a watershed in the movement to protect animals—officially recognizing their capacity to feel and to suffer, and distinguishing them from inanimate objects.

The US Animal Welfare Act

In 1966, the United States passed the Animal Welfare Act . While it is the biggest federal legislation addressing the treatment of animals to date, its scope is fairly narrow—the law excludes many species, including farmed animals , from its protections. The law does establish some basic guidelines for the sale, transport, and handling of dogs, cats, rabbits, nonhuman primates, guinea pigs, and hamsters. It also protects the psychological welfare of animals who are used in lab experiments, and prohibits the violent practices of dogfighting and cockfighting. Again, this law does not recognize the rights and autonomy of animals—or even their ability to feel pain and suffer—but it does afford non-human animals some basic welfare protections .

What are some examples of animal rights?

While few laws currently exist in the UK or US that recognize or protect animals' rights to enjoy lives free from human interference, the following is a list of examples of animal rights that could one day be enacted:

• Animals may not be used for food.
• Animals may not be hunted.
• The habitats of animals must be protected to allow them to live according to their choosing.
• Animals may not be bred.

What's the difference between animal welfare and animal rights?

Animal rights philosophy is based on the idea that animals should not be used by people for any reason, and that animal rights should protect their interests the way human rights protect people. Animal welfare , on the other hand, is a set of practices designed to govern the treatment of animals who are being dominated by humans, whether for food, research, or entertainment.

Do animals need rights? Pros and cons

The idea of giving animals rights tends to be contentious, given how embedded animal products are within societies such as the United States. Some people, including animal activists, believe in an all-or-nothing approach, where animal rights must be legally enshrined and animals totally liberated from all exploitation. On the other end of the spectrum are people whose livelihoods depend upon animal-based industries. Below are some arguments both in favor of and opposing animal rights.

Arguments in favor of animal rights

Should the rights of animals be recognized, animal exploitative industries would disappear, as would the host of environmental problems they cause, including water pollution, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and deforestation.

Halting the widespread use of animals would also eliminate the systematic cruelty and denial of choice that animal industries perpetuate. The physical and psychological pain endured by animals in places like factory farms has reached a point many consider to be unacceptable , to say the least. Animals are mutilated by humans in several different ways, including castrations, dehorning, and cutting off various body parts, usually without the use of anesthetic.

“ Many species never see the outdoors except on their way to the slaughterhouse.

As their name suggests, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) pack vast numbers of animals in cramped conditions, often forcing animals to perpetually stand in their own waste. Many species—including chickens, cows, and pigs—never see the outdoors except on their way to the slaughterhouse. Recognizing animal rights would necessitate stopping this mistreatment for good.

Arguments against animal rights

Most arguments against animal rights can be traced back to money, because animal exploitation is big business. Factory farming for animal products is a multi-billion-dollar industry. JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, posted $9 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2020 alone.

A lesser-known, yet also massive, industry is that which supplies animals for laboratories. The US market for lab rats (who are far less popular than mice for experiments) was valued at over $412 million in 2016. Big industrial producers of animals and animal products have enough political clout to influence legislation—including passing laws making it illegal to document farm conditions—and to benefit from government subsidies.

Many people depend upon animal exploitation for work. On factory farms, relatively small numbers of people can manage vast herds or flocks of animals, thanks to mechanization and other industrial farming techniques. Unfortunately, jobs in industrial meatpacking facilities are also known to be some of the most dangerous in the US. Smaller farmers coming from multi-generational farming families more directly depend upon using animals to make a living and tend to follow welfare standards more judiciously. However, smaller farms have been decreasing in number, due to the proliferation of factory farms against which they often cannot compete.

Although people may lose money or jobs in the transition to animal alternatives, new jobs can be created in the alternative protein sector and other plant-based industries.

When did the animal rights movement begin in the US?

The modern day animal rights movement in the United States includes thousands of individuals and a multitude of groups who advocate for animals in a variety of ways—from lobbying legislators to support animal rights laws, to rescuing animals from situations of abuse and neglect. While individuals throughout history have believed in and fought for animal rights, we can trace back the modern, US-based animal rights movement to the founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in 1866. The group's founder, Henry Burgh , believed that animals are "entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected under the law." The organization worked with the New York City government to pass and enforce anti-cruelty laws that prevented the abuse of carthorses and provided care for injured horses. Since then, the ASPCA has expanded its advocacy across different non-human animal species—including farmed animals—and many more animal protection groups have sprung up, both locally and nationwide. Currently, there are over 40,000 non-profit organizations identified as animal groups in the US.

Why are animal rights important?

Animal rights are important because they represent a set of beliefs that counteract inaccurate yet long-held assumptions that animals are nothing more than mindless machines—beliefs popularized by western philosopher Rene Descartes in the 17th century. The perception of animals as being unthinking, unfeeling beings justified using them for human desires, resulting in today’s world where farmed mammals outnumber those in the wild, and the majority of these farmed animals are forced to endure harsh conditions on factory farms.

“ Farmed mammals outnumber those in the wild.

But the science is increasingly clear: The animals we eat ( pigs, chickens, cows ), the animals we use in laboratories ( mice and rats ), the animals who provide us with clothing , and those whose backs we ride upon have all been found to possess more cognitive complexity, emotions, and overall sophistication than has long been believed. This sophistication renders animals more susceptible not only to physical pain but also to the psychological impacts caused by the habitual denial of choice. Awareness of their own subjugation forms sufficient reasoning to rethink the ways animals are treated in western societies.

The consequences of animal rights

Currently, laws in the US and UK are geared toward shielding animals from cruelty, not giving them the same freedom of choice that humans have. (Even these laws are sorely lacking, as they fail to protect livestock and laboratory animals.) However, the animal rights movement can still have real-world consequences. Calls for animal liberation from places like factory farms can raise public awareness of the poor living conditions and welfare violations these facilities perpetuate, sometimes resulting in stronger protections, higher welfare standards , and decreasing consumer demand. Each of these outcomes carries economic consequences for producers, as typically it is more expensive for factory farms to provide better living conditions such as more space, or using fewer growth hormones which can result in lower production yields.

Of course, should the animal rights movement achieve its goals , society would look much different than it does today. If people consume more alternative sources of protein, such as plant-based or lab-grown meat, the global environment would be far less impacted. Clothing would be made without leather or other animal products; alternative sources, such as pineapple leather created from waste products from the pineapple industry, could replace toxic tanneries. The fur industry is being increasingly shunned, with fashion labels rejecting fur in favor of faux materials. Ocean ecosystems would be able to recover, replenishing fish populations and seafloor habitats. Today these are razed by bottom trawling fishing, resulting in the clear-cutting of corals that can be thousands of years old .

How you can advocate for animals

A world in which animals are free from human exploitation still seems far off, but we can make choices that create a kinder world for animals, every day. We can start by leaving animals off our plate in favor of plant-based alternatives—a choice that recognizes animals as the sentient beings that they are, and not products for consumption.

When we come together, we can also fight for better protections for animals in the US and around the world. There's a robust movement to hold corporations accountability and end the cruelty of factory farming—an industry which causes immense amount of suffering for billions of animals. If you want to help end this suffering and spread compassion for animals, join our community of online animal activists and take action .

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Animal Rights: The Simple Idea That Sparked a Movement

Animal rights is a revolutionary idea and social movement that requires humans to reexamine their relationship with animals, especially animals used for food.

Explainer • Policy • Reflections

Words by Hemi Kim

There are many awkward conversations you might have at family or work meetings as the singular vegan . It’s possible to find yourself carefully describing your food choices, aware that you are on the edge of disassembling a joyous bulgogi dish into the painful experiences that were required to produce it. Talking about issues related to animal rights can be emotionally difficult especially when eating with and cooking for others is a love language; rejecting family and friends’ cooking can be hurtful. 

Yet animal advocates have managed to tap into common, shared values, successfully encouraging more and more people to reexamine what living their values really looks like, especially values of respect, empathy, imagination, cooperation, adaptability, and compassion for all living beings. 

Do Animals Have Rights?

In the United States, many animals are defined as property and do not have rights in the same sense that humans have rights. At least 13 nations have symbolically acknowledged the dignity and personhood of nonhuman animals or the need to show compassion towards them as something other than objects in their constitutions . (These are Brazil, Germany, India, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, the Iroquois Nations, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the People’s Republic of China, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia.) Yet such acknowledgments remain largely lip service—the animals in these thirteen nations are still treated similarly, both culturally and legally, to the animals in any other country. 

Nevertheless, animal studies researchers such as Maneesha Deckha often see potential in the “shift in legal standing of nonhumans that constitutional recognition can precipitate.”

One advocacy approach seeks to translate the moral rights of animals into practical change by expanding how the law views animals: from property to personhood . Legal status as a person is something that U.S. courts have given to corporations, ships, and “entities of nature,” according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund , and it has been conferred on individual great apes outside the United States. Read more about the nuances of how advocates are trying to improve the status and legal protections of animals here .

What Are Animal Rights?   

Animal rights form part of a way of thinking about nonhuman animals as off-limits for human exploitation. People that espouse this way of thinking try to direct their own and others’ behaviors away from eating, dressing, conducting scientific experiments, and being entertained in ways that involve harm to nonhuman animals. 

Animal rights is also a broad term describing animal advocacy , and the social movement focused on improving the lives of nonhuman animals. Yet the term “animal rights activist” can be alienating , which may be why groups prefer to use the terms “animal protection” or “animal advocates.” 

When Did the Animal Rights Movement Begin in the U.S.?   

The modern animal rights movement in the United States saw a major milestone in the 1970s with the publication of Peter Singer’s “Animal Liberation,” in which he argued that it was ethically important that nonhuman animals feel pain, and that this fact demanded far more equal treatment of nonhuman animals and humans. He also popularized the term “ speciesism ” to describe what happens when nonhuman animals are not given the same consideration as humans. Other thinkers, writers, and activist groups have also notably furthered and developed the fabric of the animal rights movement, both before and since Singer’s book, including Tom Regan and PETA.

Singer’s text itself reportedly sits on the shoulders of at least one British author who lived about a century prior. And for many centuries European travelers to India have learned about, and been attracted to, the concept of ahimsa and care for animals. Ahimsa , documented as early as the eighth century B.C. in Indian religious texts—Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist—affirms nonviolence and the alleviation of the suffering of all beings.

From the perspectives of scholars such as Cree writer Billy Ray Belcourt, and vegan theorists such as Aph and Syl Ko, the modern divide between animals and humans works in tandem with the imposition of white supremacy: on Indigenous people whose land was stolen by settler-colonists and who were targets of genocide, and on Black and Brown people who were and often continue to be treated as less than human.

Thus the animal protection movement in the United States is limited by the legacies and habits of thought of settler colonialism and other oppressions, and the history of the movement is whitewashed—something that people are now trying to undo. Belcourt, for example, argued in a 2020 article that people concerned with living ethically must challenge the white supremacy underpinning many efforts to expand the rights of nonhuman animals, and instead look to Indigenous traditions that see “animals as kin who co-produce a way of life that engenders care rather than and contra to suffering.”

What’s the Difference Between Animal Welfare and Animal Rights?   

The terms “animal welfare” and “animal rights” are similar, but animal rights is a broader idea than animal welfare. Animal welfare refers to the responsibility of humans to treat nonhuman animals well and directly care for their health, but without challenging the overall circumstances that animals find themselves in or the ways they are used in society. 

For example, an animal welfare advocate may be vigilant about how animals such as bears and apes are treated in the movie industry when they are working on a set. An animal rights proponent may instead call for an end to the use of animals in films altogether. 

Another example of animal welfare is when people campaign for better treatment of young chickens before they are slaughtered. Though groups that campaign for animal welfare may also support goals that are compatible with animal rights, for example when promoting the consumption of plant-based foods.

What Are Some Examples of Animal Rights?

Animal rights supporters tend to be concerned that people use animals as a means to an end, typically without the animals’ assent to participate in an activity. In addition to the examples below, common areas of concern for animal rights include clothing, makeup, scientific experimentation, sports, and wildlife.

Animal Agriculture

Hogs are not just the source material for a good slow roast, crispy bacon, and pork belly. The pork industry also disassembles pigs for their parts to be used as ingredients in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and other scientific endeavors. People who support animal rights tend to oppose all farming of livestock and fish. The fictional film “Okja” is often cited as an animal rights story dealing with these issues—one that is sympathetic to animals sent to slaughter. 

Entertainment

Circuses, zoos, and aquariums have been the subject of animal rights campaigns and popular documentaries, such as “Blackfish” , that have resulted in changes to how the entertainment industry markets animal-based entertainment.

Companionship and Working Animals

People concerned with animal rights might be more concerned with the potential for conscripting an animal into an unhealthy situation that exploits their labor than they would be about the benefits to humans of emotional support animals or land-mine-sniffing rats. 

Animal Rights Arguments: Pros and Cons   

The arguments of critics and supporters of animal protection can seem as diverse as the number of people who express an opinion. Below are some common reasons why people may feel pulled toward or away from animal rights causes.

Arguments in Favor of Animal Rights

In “Aphro-ism” , Syl and Aph Ko promote a view of animal rights within Black Veganism that sees animal rights as essential to ending racism. They write sensitively about the topic in a way that acknowledges how white supremacy has animalized Black people. They also draw a line from the oppression of nonhuman animals to white supremacy and convincingly argue that being antiracist is essential to animal liberation.

People allied with animal rights might also include Coast Salish activists in the Block Corporate Salmon campaign, who identify themselves as Salmon People and oppose the introduction of genetically modified fish to the local wildlife environment.

Arguments Against Animal Rights

People who oppose animal rights might see animals as property, and inferior to humans. They might argue that eating meat is a natural feature of the food chain, or that nonhuman animals exist for the benefit of humans . 

Sometimes, deciding to disregard animal rights is a matter of practicality. For example, using life-saving products that were created with scientific research that relied on experimentation on nonhuman animals, as is the case with vaccines and pharmaceutical medicines. 

As animal advocate, Christopher Soul Eubanks wrote in March 2021, “To Black people and non-vegans of all races, the animal rights movement can appear as an affluent far-left group who ignore the systemic oppression they have benefited from while using that affluence to advocate for nonhumans.” Indeed, roughly 9 out of 10 people working for farmed animal protection organizations are white. In a more racially equitable world, that number would be closer to 6 in the United States. 

Colonialist harms brought about by animal rights and vegan activism can be investigated: it’s something people of the global majority and others have begun.

Why Are Animal Rights Important?   

“Being labeled less-than-human” is a condition that most people experience, one that Black and other oppressed peoples live daily, according to Aph Ko in a chapter of “Aphro-Ism.” Ko also writes in a later chapter that “‘[a]nimal’ is a category that we shove certain bodies into when we want to justify violence against them, which is why animal liberation should concern all who are minoritized, because at any moment you can become an ‘animal’ and be considered disposable.” 

For Ko, being a critical thinker is more important than believing popular, yet false, narratives about oneself and nonhuman animals. This desire to re-evaluate what one thinks is a launching point for Afrofuturist possibilities, or Black-centered creativity , a philosophical wellspring for Black veganism. You can read more about Black veganism here , here , and here .

Animal rights, then, is an opportunity to constantly ask tough questions. And asking questions creates spaces within which vulnerable communities can flourish. For antiracist humane educator Dana McPhall , the following questions guide her work:

“So what would it look like to imagine a world where I’m not defined by the racial and gender constructs imposed upon me? Where people racialized as white are no longer invested in whiteness? Where the lives of nonhuman animals are no longer circumscribed within the social construct “animal?” Where huge swaths of our planet are not considered disposable, along with the people and wildlife who inhabit them?”

What Are the Consequences of Animal Rights?

Results of animal rights activism include the increasing popularity of vegan food products, a ban on selling fur in California, and state bans on using most animals in circuses. Keeping up with Sentient Media is one way to see these types of stories as they proliferate.

Ending Suffering Wherever It Persists

Nonhuman animals’ rights are not so much a question of legality or illegality, especially as laws tend to treat them as property. They are rather a way of thinking about what is morally right in a given cultural context. Avoiding the suffering of animals and respecting their right to exist are basic tenets of animal protection. As a way of thinking and being in community with others, animal rights can be an invitation for learning and imagining. Animal advocates of all races can dismantle white supremacy and undo “isms” by re-centering the experiences of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, and other previously “less-than-human” people.

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Animal Rights Essay: Topics, Outline, & Writing Tips

• 🐇 Animal Rights Essay: the Basics
• 💡 Animal Rights Essay Topics
• 📑 Outlining Your Essay
• ✍️ Sample Essay (200 Words)

🔗 References

🐇 animal rights essay: what is it about.

Animal rights supporters advocate for the idea that animals should have the same freedom to live as they wish, just as humans do. They should not be exploited or used in meat , fur, and other production. At long last, we should distinguish animals from inanimate objects and resources like coal, timber, or oil.

Interdisciplinary research has shown that animals are emotional and sensitive, just like we are.

Their array of emotions includes joy, happiness, embarrassment, resentment, jealousy, anger, love, compassion, respect, disgust, despair, and even grief.

However, animal rights legislation does not extend human rights to animals. It establishes their right to have their fundamental needs and interests respected while people decide how to treat them. This right changes the status of animals from being property to being legal entities.

The statement may sound strange until we recall that churches , banks, and universities are also legal entities. Their interests are legally protected by law. Then why do we disregard the feelings of animals , which are not inanimate institutions? Several federal laws protect them from human interference.

But the following statements are only some of the rules that could one day protect animal rights in full:

• Animals should not be killed by hunting.
• Animals’ habitats should allow them to live in freedom.
• Animals should not be bred for sale or any other purpose.
• Animals should not be used for food by industries or households.

Most arguments against the adoption of similar laws are linked to money concerns. Animal exploitation has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry. The lives of many private farmers depend on meat production, and most people prefer not to change the comfortable status quo.

Animal Rights Argumentative Essay

An animal rights argumentative essay should tackle a problematic issue that people have widely discussed. While choosing ideas for the assignment, opt for the most debatable topics.

Here is a brief list of argumentative essay prompts on animal rights:

• The pros and cons of animal rights.
• Can humanity exist without meat production?
• Do animals have souls?
• Should society become vegan to protect animal rights?

As you see, these questions could raise controversy between interlocutors. Your purpose is to take a side and give several arguments in its support. Then you’ll have to state a counterargument to your opinion and explain why it is incorrect.

Animal Rights Persuasive Essay

An animal rights persuasive essay should clearly state your opinion on the topic without analyzing different points of view. Still, the purpose of your article is to persuade the reader that your position is not only reasonable but the only correct one. For this purpose, select topics relating to your opinion or formulated in questionary form.

For example:

• What is your idea about wearing fur?
• Do you think people would ever ban animal exploitation?
• Is having pets a harmful practice?
• Animal factories hinder the development of civilization .

💡 53 Animal Rights Essay Topics

• Animal rights have been suppressed for ages because people disregard their mental abilities .
• Cosmetic and medical animal testing .
• Laws preventing unnecessary suffering of animals mean that there is some necessary suffering.
• Red fluorescent protein transgenic dogs experiment.
• Do you believe animals should have legal rights?
• Genetically modified animals and implications.
• Why is animal welfare important?
• Neutering animals to prevent overpopulation: Pros and cons.
• Animal testing: Arguments for and against.
• What is our impact on marine life?
• Some animals cannot stay wild.
• Animal testing for medical purposes .
• We are not the ones to choose which species to preserve.
• Pavlov’s dog experiment .
• Keeping dogs chained outdoors is animal neglect.
• The use of animals for research .
• Animal dissection as a learning tool: Alternatives?
• More people beat their pets than we think.
• Duties to non-human animals.
• If we do not control the population of some animals, they will control ours.
• Animals in entertainment: Not entertaining at all.
• Animals in research, education, and teaching.
• Which non-animal production endangers the species?
• Is animal testing really needed?
• Why do some people think that buying a new pet is cheaper than paying for medical treatment of the old one?
• Animal experiments: benefits, ethics, and defenders.
• Can people still be carnivorous if they stop eating animals?
• Animal testing role.
• Marine aquariums and zoos are animal prisons.
• Animal experimentation: justification arguments .
• What would happen if we replace animals in circuses with people, keeping the same living conditions?
• The ethics of animal use in scientific research .
• Animal sports: Relics of the past.
• Animal testing ban: counterargument and rebuttal .
• Denial to purchase animal-tested cosmetics will not change anything.
• Animal research, its ineffectiveness and amorality.
• Animal rights protection based on their intellect level: It tells a lot about humanity.
• Debates of using animals in scientific analysis .
• How can we ban tests on rats and kill them in our homes at the same time?
• Animal testing in experiments .
• What is the level of tissue engineering development in leather and meat production?
• Equal consideration of interests to non-human animals .
• Animals should not have to be our servants.
• Zoos as an example of humans’ immorality.
• We should feed wild animals to help them survive.
• Animal testing in biomedical research.
• Abolitionism: The right not to be owned.
• Do you support the Prima facie rights theory?
• Psychologist perspective on research involving animal and human subjects.
• Ecofeminism: What is the link between animals’ and women’s rights?
• No philosophy could rationalize cruelty against animals.
• Qualities that humans and animals share .
• Ancient Buddhist societies and vegetarianism: A research paper.

Need more ideas? You are welcome to use our free research topic generator !

📑 Animal Rights Essay Outline

An animal rights essay should be constructed as a standard 5-paragraph essay (if not required otherwise in the assignment). The three following sections provide a comprehensive outline.

Animal Rights Essay: Introduction

An introduction consists of:

• Background information,
• A thesis statement .

In other words, here you need to explain why you decided to write about the given topic and which position you will take. The background part should comprise a couple of sentences highlighting the topicality of the issue. The thesis statement expresses your plans in the essay.

For example: In this essay, I will explain why animal-based production harms the ecology.

Animal Rights Essay: Main Body

The main body is a place for you to argue your position . One paragraph equals one argument. In informative essays, replace argumentation with facts.

Start each section with a topical sentence consisting of a general truth. Then give some explanation and more specific points. By the way, at the end of this article, you’ll find a bonus! It is a priceless selection of statistics and facts about animal rights.

Animal Rights Essay: Conclusion

A conclusion restates your central ideas and thesis statement. Approach it as a summary of your essay, avoid providing new facts or arguments.

✍️ Animal Rights Essay Example (200 Words)

Why is animal welfare important? The term “animal welfare” evokes the pictures of happy cows from a milk advertisement. But the reality has nothing to do with these bright videos. Humane treatment of animals is a relative concept. This essay explains why animal welfare is important, despite that it does not prevent farms from killing or confining animals.

The best way to approach animal welfare is by thinking of it as a temporary measure. We all agree that the current state of the economy does not allow humanity to abandon animal-based production. Moreover, such quick decisions could make farm animals suffer even more. But ensuring the minimum possible pain is the best solution as of the moment.

The current legislation on animal welfare is far from perfect. The Animal Welfare Act of 1966 prevents cruelty against animals in labs and zoos. Meanwhile, the majority of suffering animals do not fall under its purview. For example, it says nothing about the vivisection of rats and mice for educational and research purposes, although the procedure is extremely painful for the creature. Neither does it protect farm animals.

Unfortunately, the principles of animal welfare leave too much room for interpretation. Animals should be free from fear and stress, but how can we measure that? They should be allowed to engage in natural behaviors, but no confined space would let them do so. Thus, the legislation is imprecise.

The problem of animal welfare is almost unresolvable because it is a temporary measure to prevent any suffering of domesticated animals. It has its drawbacks but allows us to ensure at least some comfort for those we unjustifiably use for food. They have the same right to live on this planet as we do, and animal farming will be stopped one day.

📊 Bonus: Statistics & Facts for Your Animal Rights Essay Introduction

Improve the quality of your essay on animal rights by working in the following statistics and facts about animals.

• According to USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service , about 4.6 billion animals — including hogs, sheep, cattle, chickens, ducks, lambs, and turkey — were killed and used for food in the United States last year (2015).
• People in the U.S. kill over 100 million animals for laboratory experiments every year, according to PETA .
• More than 40 million animals are killed for fur worldwide every year. About 30 million animals are raised and killed on fur farms, and nearly 10 million wild animals are hunted and killed for the same reasons — for their valuable fur.
• According to a report by In Defense of Animals , hunters kill more than 200 million animals in the United States yearly.
• The Humane Society of the United States notes that a huge number of cats and dogs — between 3 and 4 million each year — are killed in the country’s animal shelters. Sadly, this number does not include dogs or cats killed in animal cruelty cases.
• According to the ASPCA , about 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters in the United States yearly. Of this number, 3.9 Mil of dogs, and 3.4 Mil of cats.
• About 2.7 million animals are euthanized in shelters every year (1.4 million cats and 1.2 million dogs).
• About 2.7 million shelter animals are adopted every year (1.3 million cats and 1.4 million dogs).
• In total, there are approximately 70-80 million dogs and 74-96 million cats living as pets in the United States.
• It’s impossible to determine the exact number of stray cats and dogs living in the United States, but the number of cats is estimated to be up to 70 million.
• Many stray cats and dogs were once family pets — but they were not kept securely indoors or provided with proper identification.

Each essay on animals rights makes humanity closer to a better and more civilized world. Please share any thoughts and experience in creating such texts in the comments below. And if you would like to hear how your essay would sound in someone’s mind, use our Text-To-Speech tool .

• Why Animal Rights? | PETA
• Animal Rights – Encyclopedia Britannica
• Animal ethics: Animal rights – BBC
• Animal Health and Welfare – National Agricultural Library
• The Top 10 Animal Rights Issues – Treehugger
• Animal welfare – European Commission

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Animal Rights Essay

This IELTS  animal rights essay  discusses the exploitation of animals by humans.

People who believe in animal rights think that they should not be treated cruelly, for example in experiments or for sport.

'To exploit' means to benefit from something in an unfair way. Take a look at the question:

A growing number of people feel that animals should not be exploited by people and that they should have the same rights as humans, while others argue that humans must employ animals to satisfy their various needs, including uses for food and research.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Discussing 'Two Opinions'

Animals should not be exploited by people and they should have the same rights as humans. Humans must employ animals to satisfy their various needs, including uses for food and research.

In this essay you are being given two opposing opinions to discuss.

This is the first opinion:

• Animals should not be exploited by people and they should have the same rights as humans.

This is the second opinion:

• Humans must employ animals to satisfy their various needs, including uses for food and research.

In this type of essay, you must look at both sides. In other words you need to discuss the arguments FOR animal rights and AGAINST .

You must also ensure you give YOUR opinion.

Organising the Essay

One way to organize an essay like this is to consider both opinions, then give your opinion in a final paragraph ( see this example ) or dedicate a whole final paragraph to your opinion ( see this example ).

Another way to write an essay like this is to also make one of the 'for' or 'against' opinions your opinion as well.

Look at the model animal rights essay below. The second body paragraph discusses the first opinion, but the topic sentence makes it clear that this paragraph is also representing the writers opinion as well:

However, I do not believe these arguments stand up to scrutiny.

This now means that in two body paragraphs you have covered all three parts of the question from the animal rights essay:

1. First opinion 2. Second opinion 3. Your opinion

The advantage of doing it this way rather than having a separate paragraph is that you do not need to come up with new ideas for a new paragraph.

If you have a separate paragraph with your opinion you may find you cannot think of any new ideas or you may end up repeating the same things as in your previous paragraphs.

IELTS Writing Example

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Animal Rights Essay - Model Answer

Animals have always been used by humans in some form to satisfy their needs. However, while some people believe that animals should be treated in the same way humans are and have similar rights, others think that it is more important to use them as we desire for food and medical research. 

With regard to the exploitation of animals, people believe it is acceptable for several reasons. Firstly, they think that humans are the most important beings on the planet, and everything must be done to ensure human survival. If this means experimenting on animals so that we can fight and find cures for diseases, then this takes priority over animal suffering. Furthermore, it is believed by some that animals do not feel pain or loss as humans do, so if we have to kill animals for food or other uses, then this is morally acceptable.

However, I do not believe these arguments stand up to scrutiny. To begin, it has been shown on numerous occasions by secret filming in laboratories via animal rights groups that animals feel as much pain as humans do, and they suffer when they are kept in cages for long periods. In addition, a substantial amount of animal research is done for cosmetics, not to find cures for diseases, so this is unnecessary. Finally, it has also been proven that humans can get all the nutrients and vitamins that they need from green vegetables and fruit. Therefore, again, having to kill animals for food is not an adequate argument.

To sum up, although some people argue killing animals for research and food is ethical, I would argue there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that this is not the case, and, therefore, steps must be taken to improve the rights of animals.

(Words 290) 

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Full Title Name:  Introduction to Animal Rights (2nd Ed)

This article explores the evolution of animal rights, specifically examining the influence of the property status of animals in the U.S.

I. Introduction

Whether at home, on the farm, or at the dinner table, animals play an important role in everyday human life.   They serve as companions, a source of livelihood, entertainment, inspiration, and of course food and clothing to people all across the world.   Yet animals can and do exist independent from people and, as living beings, they arguably have interests separate and apart from their utility to humanity.   As such, society is increasingly faced with legal, economic, and ethical dilemmas about the proper place for animals and the extent to which their interests should be respected, even when those interests conflict with what is best for humans.   Recognition of these issues has given rise to a new social movement, one that seeks to attain increased legal protections, and even the recognition of actual “rights”, for nonhuman animals.   Not surprisingly, this push has met with a considerable amount of criticism and ridicule from those who believe that the cost of animal rights specifically, and increased protections more generally, is a corresponding reduction in human freedom.    

This Article provides a sweeping overview of the issues at play in the debate over increased legal and social protections for animals.   It begins with a discussion of the historical and philosophical roots of animal rights before proceeding to an overview of the current state of the law as it relates to animals.   The Article then explores the various social forces both promoting and discouraging increased legal protections for animals and the justifications for each position.   It concludes with a discussion of the future of animal rights, specifically the types of reforms sought by animal advocates.

In reading the pages that follow, try to keep in mind the various “characters” that are involved.   For example, when considering the notion of pet ownership, keep in mind not only your own dog or cat, but also the unadoptable stray to be euthanized at the local animal shelter.   If contemplating the farming industry’s effects on cows, chickens, and pigs, also consider what effect reforms to the system would have on the average farmer or agricultural worker whose livelihood depends on the current system.   When considering the chimpanzee subjected to medical experimentation, keep in mind the diabetic whose length and quality of life has been extended thanks to that kind of research.   Finally, keep in mind the various interest groups involved in the “debate”— the animal activists, the industry opponents, farmers, consumers, and even the average family sitting around the dinner table.   Each provides an interesting and compelling perspective.     

II.Historical Roots of Animal Protection

Social movements are like novels – each comes with a beginning, followed by a succession of chapters that unfold the story until, ultimately, one reaches the conclusion.   The novel here is animal rights, a tale about the advancement of other species in a human-dominated world.   Stepping from the shadows of other, better known causes such as the civil rights movement and blossoming from the awareness occasioned by the environmental movement, animal rights is, for the first time, becoming a serious issue for debate.   Not long ago, animal rights activists were dismissed as fringe, covered in the press only for their more outlandish activities. [ i ]        More recently, however, animal issues have taken a more prominent place in the national media.   Suddenly, stories about animals – both good and bad, heroic and tragic [ ii ] – take a more prominent place in the evening broadcast.   Major newspapers discuss the newest animal rights books [ iii ] and profile those whose legal careers center on animal advocacy. [ iv ]   But in order to truly understand the contemporary situation, one must begin with the first chapter.    

A. In the Beginning

Unless one is reading the Bible, most stories do not begin at the beginning.   Rather, they begin just as things are about to get interesting.   So it is with animal rights.   While concern for animals and their well-being dates back hundreds of years [ v ]   and animal rights literature extends back to the heart of the Civil Rights Era, [ vi ] to American culture the animal rights movement was born in 1975 with the publication of Peter Singer’s still-controversial Animal Liberation . [ vii ]   In the book, Singer introduces the reader to issues that remain at the forefront of animal protectionism today – laboratory experimentation, factory farming, and vegetarianism.   In each chapter, the author details the horrors endured by animals at society’s cold and at times oblivious hand.    Singer accuses American society of speciesism – “a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of another species.” [ viii ]   In its place, Singer argues humans should give equal consideration to the interests of animals when making any decision that affects the well-being of other species.   Thus, in Singer’s world, the interests of all living beings are the same and no one, human or otherwise, should be given preferential treatment.  

The irony of associating the birth of animal rights with Peter Singer is that as a utilitarian, he does not believe that “rights” truly exist at all or form the basis for moral or legal entitlements.   As such, no one – be it man, beast, or shrub – possesses rights. [ ix ]   Thus, to theorists like Singer, animals are not entitled to any fundamental, inviolable privileges or protections.   But then, neither are humans.   Rather, all actions should be judged based on a cost-benefit analysis.   As applied by Singer, the benefits to humans that flow from the domination and perceived mistreatment of animals does not, as a practical matter, overcome the costs imposed on those other species.   Animal rights advocates, as it turns out, come to the same conclusion, but based instead on the notion that there are certain rights so fundamental that they extend to other species and must be respected by human civilization.

More important than Singer or his theories, however, is the recognition that he did not actually give birth to the animal rights debate.   Rather, questions about the status of animals in relation to humanity are not even a twentieth century development and instead dates all the way back to ancient Greece’s greatest thinkers.     Some, like the great mathematician Pythagorus, believed animals deserved some protections and as such chose to eat a vegetarian diet.   At the other end of the philosophical spectrum, Aristotle forcefully argued that humanity was superior to all other Earth life and that such responsibility carried with it no ethical obligations towards lesser creatures. [ x ]   Later philosophers, such as Rene Descartes and John Locke also considered animals’ place in human society. [ xi ]   Finally, although not speaking in the context of animal rights, Jeremy Benthan famously contended that the protection of any creature should depend not on its ability to reason, but its ability to suffer. [ xii ]    

Religion and science also influenced human perception of animals. [ xiii ]   While Christianity brought about many reforms in Roman society that improved the treatment of people towards one another, it did so in part by reinforcing the lesser status of other creatures and the lack of ethical obligations owed to them. [ xiv ]   With a few notable exceptions, [ xv ] Western religions have generally taught that humans stand in a morally superior position to other animals [ xvi ] and have on occasion challenged science’s best evidence of humanity’s close relationship to other forms of life. [ xvii ]   By contrast, several eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism contain tenets that recognize the need to account for all life when considering the proper bounds of ethical action. [ xviii ]   Indeed, some animals are considered sacred; take for example the cow to Hindus or the cat to ancient Egyptians.  

Science has played a more complicated role in society’s treatment of animals.   While vivisection – the experimentation on and dissection of animals for the advancement of scientific knowledge and human benefit – has subjected animals to untold pain and torment, the fruits of such procedures have also enabled medical breakthroughs that have lengthened and improved the quality of human life.   While the continued propriety of such procedures is highly contested [ xix ] , their historical significance on human attitudes cannot be questioned.   Yet science has also helped to break down the barriers between humans and other species, most notably through Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and subsequent research that demonstrates the genetic similarity between humans and other animals.

The historical role of animals can also be viewed chronologically.   As will be discussed later [ xx ] , through much of human history animals have served as a kind of commodity valuable to human enterprises, but devoid of any independent legal interests.   As such, many, if not all, of the earliest laws relating to animals revolved around their proprietary value to their owners.   Thus, for example, the owner of cattle might be able to sue another person for the damage that individual caused to one of his cows (his investment), but that same cattle owner could not be held liable for any harm he himself caused to that same creature.   In the late nineteenth century, this purely economic vision of animals began to change with the publication of a book entitled Animal Rights , the formation of both the British and American Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the enactment of the first anti-cruelty laws.   These laws for the first time recognized that animals themselves have an interest in being free from unnecessary and cruel suffering by giving the state the power to punish anyone who inflicts such pain on a non-human creature.   The instigation of World War I and the conflict and uncertainty that persisted until after World War II largely stifled further advances for animal interests during this period.   In post-World War II America, however, concern for animals was reborn as organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States educated the public about animal welfare and society continued its march towards increased urbanization.

Moreover, the move from the country to the city and the transition of animals from mere means of livelihood to household pets further modified the human perception of animals.   As more people developed emotional bonds to animals, they consequently began to view them, or at least certain species of animals, as deserving special protections.   This development and further refinement of animals’ place in a human-centered world continues today on an ethical and legal basis.  

With that historical foundation in place, the story now turns to the basic legal and social concepts fundamental to the discussion that follows.

B. Animals in Society Today

The prevalence of animals in society makes a detailed discussion of their importance unnecessary.   Nonetheless, it is worth briefly summarizing some of the figures to emphasize just how important animals are to American society and the economy.   According to the Census of Agriculture, in 1997 there were 98,989,244 cattle and calves used in United State agriculture, 61,206,236 hogs and pigs, 7,821,885 sheep and lambs, and over 7 billion chickens used for egg and meat production. [ xxi ]   In that same year the total value of all cattle and poultry was nearly $100 billion. [ xxii ]

Agriculture is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg, however.   Anyone who questions the bond between people and their pets need only look at statistics detailing the number of people who celebrate their pet’s birthdays, stay home from work when a pet is sick, or greet their pet first when coming home in the evening. [ xxiii ]   As detailed by the American Veterinary Medical Association:

Veterinarians in private clinical practice are responsible for the health of approximately 53 million dogs, 59 million cats. Bird ownership has risen over the past 5 years from 11 million in 1991 to approximately 13 million birds. The number of pleasure horses in the U.S. is about 4.0 million. Other pets such as rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, other rodents, turtles, snakes, lizards, other reptiles and many other animals primarily kept as companion animals. Rabbits and ferrets are owned by 2.3% of households in the U.S. with a total population of 5.7 million; 4.8 million rodents are owned by 2.3% of households and 1.5 % of households own 3.5 million reptiles. The fish population is estimated at 55.6 million owned by 6.3% of households. [ xxiv ]

Of course, animals can also be found in the laboratory.   A wide variety of species are used in research and experimentation. [ xxv ]   In fact, over 18 million animals are used in research and experimentation in the United States. [ xxvi ]   The controversy surrounding such experimentation is beyond the scope of this Article, however, even for a superficial discussion.   For such an overview of the animals in research controversy, one that is admittedly biased, see: http://www.hsus.org/ace/11366 ; http://www.hsus.org/ace/11366  

C. The Definition of Rights

Thus far, the term “rights” has been used fairly frequently and loosely in this Article without a definition of the word’s meaning.   Similarly, society, especially American society, often lacks an understanding of the exact meaning of the term when its members use “rights” to describe various legally protected interests.   While this is not the place for a comprehensive discussion of the meaning of “right,” a brief introduction is warranted so as to inform what is meant by “animal rights.”

Like so many other concepts there is no single, workable definition of “right”.   Put most succinctly, but consequently also most superficially, a right is “that to which one is morally or legally entitled.” [ xxvii ]   Then, a right can be an entitlement.   One might also look for the answer in natural law, which is the source of “right” as embodied in the Declaration of Independence. [ xxviii ]   From this perspective, a right is “the idea that human beings have by nature . . . certain rights that governments cannot legitimately violate, and that political law must respect.” [ xxix ]   A right, then, may also be something a person is born with.   One could also take a more functionalist perspective, viewing rights as those principles that protect individuals from the rest of society. [ xxx ]   To conceptualize, rights are thus like fences, keeping the world out of certain areas of the individual’s life. [ xxxi ]   Trying to mesh these different conceptions, rights might be less a concept than a tangible entitlement some creatures are born with.   They serve to protect individuals, in some cases at all costs, from the needs, wants, and prurient interests of the rest of society.   Such a definition, however, fails to make a critical distinction—that rights can be legal or philosophical.

Legal rights are those that the government, in some fashion, provides protection for.   Thus, when we talk of constitutional rights, we mean those interests that cannot be taken away by a court, government agent or action.   Philosophical rights are those recognized as inherent to human civilization; those that are based on notions of basic morality.   Thus, these rights do not depend on the enactment of any formal law before they will be deemed to exist.   Philosophical rights are those so fundamental that human society declares their existence even where it is unlikely that they will be enforced.   For example, people, we might say, have the right to be free from torture, even in countries where this right is not enforced or recognized by law.   Such rights, then, may not be universally applied and may even be violated regularly in some locations, but they exist nonetheless as the ethical and moral underpinnings of civilized society.

Legal rights, by contrast, are those that will be enforced by the law and provide substantive protections for the rights-holder.   They are those enforceable in a court and recognized under the law.   Some come from statutes, others from a constitution (state or federal), and still more from the common law made by judges.   Most are express and easy to identify, at least in principle, while others remain shrouded in the penumbras of other recognized rights waiting to be discovered. Their existence, however, is dependent upon the benevolence of the lawmaking authority to recognize and enact them.   Moreover, competing legal rights must be balanced against one another to determine which should win out in any given situation wherein the two conflict.   Legal rights also cannot be taken away by private individuals, though the scope of that protection is perhaps often misunderstood.   The simple existence of a legal right does not make it impossible for another to take that interest from another, rather the existence of that right will provide the aggrieved person with a remedy for that invasion.   To this point, however, society recognizes legal rights for only one species – humans.   Therefore, in seeking to expand society’s conception of rights, the nuances of one’s definition matter, at least to members of the animal advocacy community. [ xxxii ]   These, however, might be best thought of as characterizations of philosophical rights.    

Closely related to the concept of legal rights, and equally nebulous, a legal interest is “any interest that the legal proceeding has the authority to address.” [ xxxiii ]   Legal interests may better be understood in the negative – a deprivation of a legal interest equates to a cognizable injury capable of being remedied by the law. [ xxxiv ]   While closely related to and important to the issue, the Supreme Court has emphasized that the determination of legal interests is separate from a question of standing (or the ability to have a court hear your case). [ xxxv ]    

III. Present State of the Law

Under the law as it now stands, animals enjoy some legal protections from mistreatment, but they remain unable to enforce those entitlements themselves.   Instead, the state takes it upon itself to monitor, with varying degrees of success, human society to ensure that its members do not violate the safeguards meant to protect other species.   To understand the meaning of this state of affairs, a little legal background is warranted.

A. Legal Personhood

The law is full of classifications, one of the most important of which is the distinction between persons and nonpersons.   While there is no rule that prevents nonpersons from holding legal rights and protections, only legal persons have the capacity to enforce and safeguard those entitlements.   In reality, personhood is nothing more than a legal fiction, a term attached to certain entities that allow them to assert their rights and privileges.   To the nonlawyer, it is probably no surprise that today all people are persons.   It might be more surprising to learn that this was not always the case [ xxxvi ] or that entities like corporations and the government are legal persons. [ xxxvii ]   Animals, however, are not persons and thus, unlike in the wild, cannot fend for themselves in a court of law to protect their interests.   Moreover, this fact also limits the benefits animals can receive.

Personhood, then, for these purposes boils down to having the ability to sue.   To be able to sue, a potential litigant must have standing, as referenced earlier.   Standing might be thought of as the confluence of a legal person, a legal right, and a legal interest seeking to redress a legal wrong.   Because animals are not persons, they cannot sue.   Moreover, the standing requirements articulated by the Supreme Court make it difficult for activists to sue on behalf of animal interests because rarely can they assert a sufficient legal injury to their legal interests.   As articulated in Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife , to have standing a plaintiff must:                       

1. have suffered an injury of fact,

2. caused by the defendant,

3. and that can be remedied by the judicial forum. [ xxxviii ]

This injury “must invade a legally protected interest which is a) concrete and particularized and b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.” [ xxxix ]   Animal advocates often have trouble meeting this injury in fact test for many animals, especially those used in research because they have no personal relationship with the creature.   Indeed, while courts have been willing to recognize an aesthetic injury to support a lawsuit [ xl ] they have at the same time refused to read into statutes private causes of action. [ xli ]

While it is absurd to imagine a nonhuman actually litigating a case [ xlii ] , it is less difficult to imagine a human attorney representing an animal client.   That prospect, however, raises the potential for abuse by trial lawyers seeking out lawsuits.   As such, any change to the personhood status of animals would require consideration not only of what types of claims could be brought “by” the animal, but also what human(s) should be allowed to assert those rights on the animal’s behalf.   Moreover, as discussed later, there remains conflict within the animal protection community itself whether such a change should be a primary goal of the movement or simply the natural result of other substantive societal reforms. [ xliii ]

B. Property

To the law, animals are property: they are goods to be bought and sold, acquired and maintained.   This principle is deeply interwoven into the law.   Indeed, some of the first cases read by law students in Property class are Pierson v. Post [ xliv ] and Keeble v. Hickeringill [ xlv ] ; each of which is about the acquisition, ownership, and control of wild property – namely foxes and ducks.   Treating animals as property is not strictly a matter of law, however, as it is also deeply entrenched in Western religion.   The Old Testament, for instance, decrees that animals are goods over which humanity has dominion. [ xlvi ]   Philosophers, too, have considered the property status of animals. John Locke, for example, wrestled with the proprietary nature of humanity’s interactions with animals.   To him, animals were something common to the world, not unlike the air we breathe. [ xlvii ]   How could something of that nature be legally possessed by any one individual?   On the other hand, animals have the potential and perhaps purpose of serving humanity.   Towards that end, animals can best benefit individuals within society by giving people the ability to possess such creatures, to be able to control others’ access to certain animals. [ xlviii ]   Thus, to the law, religion, and philosophy, animals are chattels whose destiny is rightly directed by humans.   As property, they have no interests independent of those assigned by humanity.   And yet, animals are not just like any other household property. [ xlix ]

C. Animal Cruelty

Unlike the household toaster, the law regulates how people treat their animals.   Anti-cruelty laws prevent inhumane treatment to animals, subjecting violators to criminal sanction for causing unjustified harm to other creatures.   Penalties range from misdemeanor fines in some locations to a recent trend towards making such conduct a felony. [ l ]   Thus, much like criminal statutes designed to protect humans, the state has the power to penalize those who hurt animals.   This sets animals apart, giving them special status within the property regime.   They are entitled to certain minimum guarantees, namely that they will not be made to suffer unnecessarily.  

It is important to recognize at the same time, however, that such anti-cruelty regulations do not solely have animal interests at heart.   Quite apart from any benefit the animal might receive from being free from cruel treatment, such laws also help to protect human investment in property.   Moreover, many who support such laws are truly concerned not with the actual harm to the animal, but with what such treatment indicates about the abuser – namely a propensity to violence that might ultimately lead to violence against humans.   Given these concerns that exist independent of animal interests, it is not surprising that such laws are often vaguely written (what after all is cruel and what is unnecessary?) and are often under-enforced. [ li ]              

D. Federal Laws

While animal cruelty statutes serve as the most important state laws “on the books” to protect animals, two federal laws seek to regulate the way that that animals are used in agriculture and science.   The Federal Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act regulates how animals raised for consumption are killed. [ lii ]   Similarly, the Animal Welfare Act seeks to protect animals used for scientific and medical research by limiting the procedures that can be performed on such test subjects. [ liii ]     While others have written extensively on these two laws, for these purposes it is most important to recognize the driving force behind these laws.   For better or worse, neither law seeks to bestow absolute protections upon the subject animals, but instead seeks to strike a balance between the human interests in research and cost efficient delivery of agriculture products and the interests of animals not to suffer “needlessly.”

Of course, no discussion of federal law would be complete without a brief introduction to the most commonly known animal protection law—the Endangered Species Act . [ liv ]   At base, the law operates by providing criteria for listing species threatened by extinction as “endangered” and then regulating and limiting human activities in areas where those animals are known to exist.   The result, in addition to preserving species who might otherwise be lost to the world, is to increase the cost of development and in some cases prevent development altogether.   Indeed, as originally drafted, the law was absolute in its protections, providing no exceptions from conservation of listed species, and as a result worked to temporarily stop the construction of the Tellico Dam in Tennessee because the area was the last known habitat of the Snail Darter. [ lv ]   As a result, the law was amended to provide for exceptions to strict conservation.

E. Damages to Animals

Unlike harm caused to humans there is rarely a private cause of action to redress injuries inflicted upon animals.   Surely, an animal owner can recover for the lost value of the animal, but in the case of a dog or cat such sums are usually insufficient to justify filing suit.   No court under the current legal regime would award an animal damages for injury to its being.   Moreover, most courts deny animal owners the ability to sue for the damages they incur to their person, in the form of emotional damage, when their animals are injured or killed. [ lvi ]  

Several jurisdictions in recent years have considered changes to this rule.   In 2003, several Colorado state legislators sponsored a bill that would have allowed pet owners to receive up to $100,000 in emotional damages for injuries inflicted upon their pets. [ lvii ]   The sponsors withdrew the bill, however, before any votes were taken after popular skepticism led several other legislators to ridicule the bill.   Tennessee in 2000 went substantially further and actually enacted legislation allowing animal owners to recover emotional damages for injuries inflicted upon their pets. [ lviii ]  

For a more thorough discussion of this issue, please see http://animallaw.info/topics/spuspetdamages.htm .

IV. Animals in Human Society

Thus far, the “story” of animal rights has been confined to the background historical and legal concepts necessary to understand the material that follows.   No one would dispute that animals play an important, perhaps even vital, role in human society.   Nonhumans provide the backbone to economies, to the advancement of science, and even to some people’s emotional and physical well being.   In considering and evaluating the materials to follow, add the following to the more general list of characters already introduced.

Consider first animals that exhibit human characteristics, or how people attribute animal characteristics to some animals.   For example, Alex is a parrot in Massachusetts that can speak.   Unlike the pet store parrot, however, Alex does more than mimic sounds.   He recognizes and can identify colors.   He can count.   Researchers at MIT are debating whether he can communicate.   It is there that he lives in his cage, along with several other birds, subject to the close scrutiny and tests of scientists trying to ascertain the limits of his linguistic capabilities. [ lix ]  

Renowned scholar Martha Nussbaum begins her critique of Professor Wise’s previous book with Flo’s story:

Flo, a female chimpanzee, died of old age by the side of a stream. Flint, her son, stayed by her corpse, grabbing one of her arms and trying to pull her up by the hand. He slept near her body all night, and in the morning he showed signs of depression. In the days following, no matter where he wandered off, he always returned to his mother's body, trying to remove the maggots from it. Eventually, attacked by the maggots himself, he stopped coming back, but he stayed fifty yards away and would not move. In ten days he lost about a third of his body weight. Finally, after his mother's corpse had been removed for burial, Flint sat down on a rock near where she had lain down, and died. The post mortem failed to show the cause of death. Primatologist Jane Goodall concludes that the major cause of death had to be grief: "His whole world had revolved around Flo, and with her gone life was hollow and meaningless. [ lx ]

Next, consider the new ways in which society finds to utilize animals for their benefit.   In South Dakota there is a cow named Yoon.   She looks and probably acts line any other bovine, but she is not.   Unlike other livestock, her “purpose” is not to provide meat or milk to society.   Yoon, like an ever-increasing number of animals, was genetically engineered by human scientists.   Unlike some clones, designed for the novelty of science or for food production, Yoon and her siblings were created to save lives.   Each produce human antibodies, antibodies the cows’ creators hope will someday do everything from treat ear infections to guard against bio-terror weapons like anthrax and smallpox. [ lxi ]

Such miracles might become a reality by infecting the animals with various bacteria and viruses.   The antibodies’ response could be used to treat and prevent illness in the same way we now use gamma globulin to combat hepatitis.   Other animals are similarly being used.   Research is underway, for instance into producing pigs whose hearts could be used for human transplants and who might better produce human insulin for diabetics.

Finally, consider a dog.   Luke was a yellow Labrador Retriever and a family pet.   Over the course of his ten year life, he became a dear member of the family who was much loved.   As often happens with our human loved ones as they age, Luke’s health began failing as he got older.   His veterinarian prescribed special diet food for him to go along with his multiple, daily medications.   He also had to have several surgeries and costly diagnostic tests from time to time.   Unlike a human family member, Luke’s family always had an alternative to treating his ailments—euthanasia.   Thus, when Luke blew out his knee like a football player, his family was given three choices: surgery, leaving it be and controlling pain with medication, and putting him down.   Ultimately, when Luke came down with something he could not recover from, his family did not wait for the end to come on its own and instead “put him to sleep” to cut short his suffering.   All along the way, these life choices were not, and perhaps could not be, made by Luke.

A. Differing Perspectives on Animals

Not everyone will react to the above biographies above in the same way.   Thus, for instance, some might consider the use of Yoon a travesty, while others a necessary cost of promoting human health, and still others yet another creative way to make an otherwise dumb animal useful.   For purposes of simplicity, this article assumes only two general groups of people—those in favor of increasing legal protections afforded to all animals and those opposed to all such attempts.   The discussion, then, is one of pure theory that intentionally omits the considerations of the great many people who find themselves in the middle of this ideological spectrum.   This drastic approach is taken not with the illusion that it represents reality, but rather with the hope that by contrasting these radically divergent viewpoints the reader can begin to place him/herself along that spectrum.            

1. Rights versus Welfare

Even within the animal protection movement there is disagreement about the goals that should be sought on behalf of other species.   Roughly, there are three competing philosophies: traditional welfare theory, animal rights, and “new welfarism.”   While each seeks to advance the protections afforded animals under the law, they differ in approach and the ends sought to be attained.  

Briefly, one might understand welfare and rights to lie at opposite ends of the protectionist spectrum.   Animal welfare advocates support the types of reforms long sought on behalf of animals – increased penalties for unjustifiable harsh treatment, in other words.   Welfarists accept the legal status of other species as property, even condoning such a classification.   Moreover, they acknowledge that animals always will be, and perhaps to some extent should be, used as resources for humanity.   The limit, however, is that animals should not suffer unnecessarily at the hands of people. [lxii]   In short, then, welfare advocates seek a benevolent dominion over animals that expressly reaffirms humanity’s superiority to other species.

Many of the contemporary gains made on behalf of animals are welfare-based in nature.   For instance, at the federal level, statutes such as the Animal Welfare Act [ lxiii ] and the Humane Slaughter Method Act [ lxiv ] seek to ensure that animals used in industry are treated appropriately.   State anti-cruelty laws aim to proscribe the mistreatment of animals by private citizens, in other words setting the bounds for the treatment of dogs, cats, birds, and the like. [ lxv ]  

Take note that the goal is to regulate unnecessary pain and suffering, not all suffering.   This means that it is all right to eat animals, to use them for some experimentation, to domesticate them, and in some circumstances to kill them.   Moreover, the effectiveness of welfarism in protecting animals depends on how broadly or narrowly a society chooses to define “unnecessary” in various circumstances. [ lxvi ]   Thus, welfarists seek no fundamental change in the legal order, only increased protections within the current regime.  

On the other end of the protectionist spectrum lie animal rights advocates.   Rights advocates seek to first change the fundamental legal status of animals away from mere property towards something closer to personhood.   Such a change would open the door to more expansive reforms down the line.   At base, rights advocates believe that all animals, human and otherwise, possess some inalienable rights that deserve recognition and protection.   To the law, these might be characterized as fundamental rights that must never be abridged except in the most dire of circumstances.   The number and scope of such rights do not come in one size, but rather are unique based on the intellect and capabilities of each species. [ lxvii ]   Therefore, rights advocates do not seek to equate human rights with those of animals, but rather recognition that some animal rights do exist. [ lxviii ]  

Thus, rights advocates do not accept the property status of animals nor the wisdom of subjecting them to human domination.   Animal experimentation in laboratories, even if helpful to humans, is unjustified.   Factory farming, and perhaps the meat industry itself, is immoral.   Indeed, one must be careful not to eat produce sprayed with pesticides that cost insects their lives. [ lxix ]   Even the concept of pet ownership is suspect under the rights framework. [ lxx ]   Acceptance of this rights position requires a rejection of American law as it currently stands. [ lxxi ]  

Such seemingly radical reforms make rights advances hard to come by.   As such, those dissatisfied by both extremes may look for an alternative approach.   Lying between the rights and welfare points on the spectrum exists what Professor Francione calls “new welfarism.” [ lxxii ]   At its most fundamental level, new welfarism represents a sort of compromise between rights and welfare whereby animal advocates accept traditional welfare gains in the hope that they will eventually amount to a recognition of animal rights. The new welfarist is identified by several characteristics. First, she rejects the notion that animals are merely tools for humanity. [ lxxiii ]   Second, is a rejection of the traditional animal rights framework as too radical to effect real change. [ lxxiv ]   Third, the strategies they instead employ tend to mimic those of traditional welfare-based groups. [ lxxv ]   To rights activists, the effect of such an approach is to substantially reinforce the human dominance over animals they claim to reject. [ lxxvi ]   In so doing, they perceive no “moral or logical inconsistency in promoting measures that explicitly endorse or reinforce [a] … view of animals [as instrumentalities of humanity] and at the same time articulating a long-term philosophy of animal rights.” [ lxxvii ]   In a more sympathetic light, new welfarists might be thought of as realistic rights advocates – taking what they can get now and hoping for more expansive reforms in the future.

2. The Anti-Animal Rights Position

Animal rights opponents object to both the concept of rights for nonhumans and its practical implications.   On a philosophical level, animal rights would devalue humans by putting them on par with other, perhaps all other, life on the planet.   Even if one were to accept that the differences between people and animals are subtle, it is the accumulation of these differences that makes civilization possible. [ lxxviii ]   To equate humans to animals, to really believe we are the same, one must dismiss “innate human characteristics, the ability to express reason, to recognize moral principles, to make subtle distinctions, and to intellectualize.” [ lxxix ]   In other words, one must dismiss a lot about humans to equate them with other species.   Moreover, such objections do not encompass the many religious objections to animal rights.   Many religions teach that it is the existence of a soul that makes human life so sacred and only humans possess souls.   Finally, one should not overlook the biblical grant of dominion over animals given to man.

In a similar but distinct vein, rights are something intrinsically unique to humans.   Rights are simply a term we attach to the special significance given to human life.   The existence of rights, and the extension thereof, is a human debate; one in which, by definition, animals cannot have a voice. [ lxxx ]   This principle has broader implications.   Peter Singer is famous for his accusation that humanity is “speciesist,” or heavily favors its own kind.   Others mean the same thing when they call humans homocentric or narcissistic. [ lxxxi ]   They complain people always put people first.   But is that so wrong?   Why shouldn’t a species care most for its own, even if that means exploiting another?   Put another way, this is how the animal kingdom works.   A mother bear does not care what effect her actions have on the rest of the animals in the forest, only on her cubs.   The coyote, when he devours livestock, does not consider the impact such a taking will have on the rancher’s livelihood, must less the well-being of the cattle.

Moreover, the rights opponents contend, society always has and still does reject any notion of rights for animals.   As Steven Wise, one of the leading animal rights advocates in the country, notes, people have long treated animals as “things.” [ lxxxii ]   Animals are things, like trees and oil, which we use for our own benefit.   This is a reality recognized by the courts.   Take for example the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah .   In that case, a Florida city passed an ordinance aimed at prohibiting the animal sacrifices performed by members of the Santeria religion.   The law was challenged in court on First Amendment free exercise of religion grounds.   As part of its defense, the city claimed the law was intended to safeguard animals from unnecessary suffering.   The Court rejected this argument almost out of hand, making numerous references to the cruelty humanity inflicts on animals all the time, conduct not regulated by the statute. [ lxxxiii ]

In speaking about the anti-animal rights position, it is important to note that many such people do not draw the same distinction between rights and welfare as done by animal advocates.   More importantly, few would classify themselves as against true animal welfare—some sort of philosophical position that seeks to inflict truly unnecessary harm on animals.   Quite to the contrary, most such people believe instead that there are already adequate animal protection laws on the books and that any additional laws can only be intended by the animal protection movement as a prelude to future more controversial reforms.

B. Forces Inhibiting Change

Apart from competing philosophies, there are external forces at work that discourage greater gains for animal protection.

1. Economics (domestic and international)

Money as they say, talks.   Animals are, for lack of a better description, big business in America and elsewhere.   A look around the average house demonstrates the important role that animals play in the economy. Household use of animal products extends far beyond leather shoes and the food in the refrigerator, however.   As Professor Wise points out:

the blood of a slaughtered cow is used to manufacture plywood adhesives, fertilizer, fire extinguisher foam, and dyes.   Her fat helps make plastic, tires, crayons, cosmetics, lubricants, soaps, detergents, cough syrup, contraceptive jellies and creams, ink, shaving cream, fabric softeners, synthetic rubber, jet engine lubricants, textiles, corrosion inhibitors, and metal-machining lubricants.   Her collagen is found in pie crusts, yogurts, matches, bank notes, paper, and cardboard glue; her intestines are used in strings for musical instruments and racquets; her bones in charcoal ash for refining sugar, in ceramics, and cleaning and polishing compounds. [ lxxxiv ]

The family pet is likely a product of the dog breeding industry. Factory farming techniques helped put meat, cheese, and eggs on the table at a reasonable price.   Dog racing, horse racing, and hunting provide both entertainment and income to millions across the country.   The list is nearly infinite, but the point is that the current status and treatment of animals is deeply interwoven into the American capitalist system. It must therefore be considered what effect a change to the legal status of animals would have on the national labor market and cost of goods.   Any change to the law that significantly alters the relationship between humanity and this lucrative property line would have deep repercussions within the economy.  

International economics also discourage significant changes to the legal status of animals.   With increasing globalization and the emergence of a worldwide marketplace has also come the proverbial “race to the bottom” in regulatory practices.   Thus, as a result of the comprehensive American laws meant to provide protection to the average employee, companies have moved many jobs to other countries where there is less workplace regulation and the cost of labor is far less expensive. [ lxxxv ]   Similarly, it seems likely that if the United States were to create more substantive protections for animals, thereby increasing the cost of delivering animal products to consumers, corporate farms and ranches would simply move their facilities to another country where animals do not enjoy similar protections.   In so doing, they would be able to provide a comparable product at prices far less than could domestic producers who would in turn be forced out of business.   The result, though “feel good” for animal advocates, might net only negligible gains for animal welfare.   In a world, then, where anything that has to be there overnight can be, animal advocates must propose not only legislation in their home, but also seek international change as well.

2. Culture and Tradition

Perhaps more important than money, human culture encourages a continuance of society’s current treatment of animals.   The use, and some might say abuse, of animals is well established.   While one might feel sympathy for the needs of his or her own dog or perhaps even the stray on the corner, that same concern probably does not extend to the turkey at Thanksgiving. Indeed, the recognition of animal rights might well mean the end of many cherished items and traditions, such as leather seats, shoes, and baseballs.

Similarly, there are hobbies and sports dependent on the treatment of animals as something less than legal individuals.   Animal rights opponents quite rightly point out that both hunting and fishing might well come to an end if animal protections are allowed to advance too far, not to mention other sports such as dog and horse racing.   Moreover, people have become used to viewing animals as things, as exhibits at the zoo or entertainers in the circus ring.   Indeed, these human perceptions and customs are so self-evident they need no further elaboration.

Taken as a whole, then, one sees that animal advocates, whether noble activists or misguided fanatics, face an uphill battle in winning over society and the legal system.  

V. Looking to the Future

To this point, we have examined the historical and legal background of the “animal rights” debate, met the characters and players involved, and considered the various conflicting factors that affect the potential for and desirability of legal change.   What remains, then, is a discussion about the actual goals sough by animal rights advocates.

A. Rights goals

There are many initial, intermediate, and ultimate goals that the average animal rights advocate would like to achieve.   To some, the ultimate goal is simply more equitable treatment for animals, with no real more tangible meaning than that conceptual hope.   Others have real tangible goals that include an end to animal experimentation, the consumption of animals by people, and perhaps an end to the domestication of different species.   Still others who consider themselves animal advocates are really only concerned about the interests of some subset of animals—animals like their dog for instance.   Thus, there is no end to the types of gains one might seek.   For a survey of such possibilities, there are countless excellent books on the subject.   For purposes of introduction, however, it seems far wiser to stick with a single, fundamental and yet highly controversial goal of the animal protection movement—legal personhood.  

Rights advocates, as discussed above, recognize that to achieve any novel gains for animals requires a change in their legal classification – away from property and towards legal personhood.   Personhood would give animals standing in court to assert their rights, both those that may exist currently under the laws in the form of anti-cruelty statutes and those that may evolve under the common law. [ lxxxvi ]  

One way to abrogate the property status of animals, thereby conferring some aspect of personhood, without totally dismantling the current system of animal ownership would be to divide that ownership into its legal and equitable components.   Such a division is common in title to real property and the ownership interests of trusts.   At its most fundamental level, the legal interest holder is the person with legal title to the property – the record owner with the ability and responsibility to control the property.     Common examples of legal owners are the grantor of a life estate with a reversion or the trustee of a trust.   Conversely, the equitable title holder – the holder of the life estate or the beneficiary of the trust – is the person deriving benefit from the property without having control over the property’s disposition.

Such a division allows the ownership interest in property to be held by multiple people in different capacities.   In the context of animal rights, recognizing animals’ equitable interest in themselves – equitable self-ownership – could transform them from pure legal property into pseudo-persons capable of enjoying greater legal protections and more importantly holding legal interests that they could enforce in a court of law.   Humans, on the other hand, would then retain legal title to the animals, leaving that person both the ability to use that animal and the responsibility for its care.  

The creation of this new legal classification of animals could resolve the standing obstacles to the enforcement of current laws – giving Yoon, Alex, or even Luke the ability to sue for their mistreatment – as well as pave the way for more innovative and progressive protectionist laws.   At the same time, it is a far less radical step than completely dismantling the current legal status of other species and works as a balancing tool between the competing interests of man and beast. [ lxxxvii ]

Such a subtle approach is, in a very real way, a form of new welfarism.   More importantly, one could view recent changes to the law as a sign of such subtle change.   Several years ago, Boulder, Colorado—locally known as ten square miles surrounded by reality—enacted a local ordinance to change the legal title of pet “owner” to pet “guardian” to reflect the special status of animals as property. [ lxxxviii ]   Though Boulder faced significant ridicule and scrutiny, its lead has subsequently been followed by several other municipalities. [ lxxxix ]   While such changes have not resulted in a substantive change in the legal classification or treatment of animals, it would be overly simplistic to call such reforms nothing more than semantics.   Similarly, trust law increasingly recognizes the interests of pets whose owners wish for them to be cared for after death.   The uniform probate code as well as the probate codes of several states expressly recognize “pet trusts”, under which Spike or Fido or Luke can be the beneficiary of a trust.   More importantly, appointed third persons, humans naturally, can enforce the terms of the trust to ensure that the trustee actually administers the trust in the best interests of the animal. [ xc ]   The Uniform Trust Code, recently drafted and being considered in many states, goes a step further and grants pet beneficiaries the classification of legal person for the limited purpose of serving as a beneficiary under a trust. [ xci ]  

B. International perspectives

Because of the origin of the author of this article, the preceding pages have concentrated on American society and American law.   It would be a mistake, however, to consider animal protection a strictly American dilemma.   Indeed, other countries have been more willing to embrace some notion of animal rights.   New Zealand, for example, enacted the Great Ape Project several years ago.   That law worked a fundamental shift in the country’s legal system by extending basic rights to humanity’s closest evolutionary relatives.   Now, under New Zealand law, these animals now possess three basic guarantees:   the right not to be deprived of life, not to suffer cruel treatment, and not to be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation.   Notice that each right is a negative one, a right to be free from something, rather than any positive rights.   The world’s reaction to the law was decidedly mixed, but to date no other countries have enacted similar laws.   Moreover, New Zealand has not expanded these animal rights any further.  

Germany, by contrast, recently wrote a very broad promise of animal rights into its constitution, though the real significance of the amendment is unclear.   After years of debate, both chambers of the German parliament agreed to include mention of animal rights in the country’s governing instrument.   There is no specific language explaining what this means.   However, shortly after its passage in the lower house of the German parliament, a BBC article speculated that “The addendum is expected to lead to new legislation limiting the testing on animals of products like cosmetics and mild pain relievers.” [ xcii ]   Perhaps ironically, after years of debate, the measure passed after a court decision strikingly similar to the City of Hialeah case decided by the United States Supreme Court. [ xciii ] speculated that “Thus, what effect such language will have on the daily lives of German animals remains to be seen.   How will fundamental protections for animals mesh in a country known for its meat products?   Similarly, Switzerland several years ago declared animals were no longer property.   Despite this assertion, the practical status of animals within the country remains substantially the same.

The European Union, too, has gotten into the act.   Many European countries have signed onto the “pet protection treaty”, the basic tenets of which are that:

1) Nobody shall cause a pet animal unnecessary pain, suffering or distress; and

2) Nobody shall abandon a pet animal. [ xciv ]

While mostly aspirational in seeking to elevate the welfare of animals, it does provide some substantive regulations, such as prohibiting the sale of an animal to anyone under sixteen years of age. [ xcv ]   Similarly, the Convention for the Protection of Animals during International Transport and the more recent Directive on the Protection of Animals during Transport seek to establish minimum safeguards for animals transported in Europe. [ xcvi ]   Indeed, across Europe animal rights is a burgeoning topic for social debate.   In Slovakia, “ Sloboda Zvierat” was formed in 1992. [ xcvii ]   In Poland, animal advocates have “Fundacji Viva!”, a Polish version of the VivaUSA!. [ xcviii ]

Asia, too, has sought to increase protections for animals.   India provides an example of a country with a longstanding tension like that potentially building in Germany.   India is the birthplace of some of the most animal-friendly religions in the world.   Indeed, Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism all contain important threads teaching respect and protection for all animal life.   To these religions, humanity is just a link in a much greater chain of existence.   Ghandi, known for his work and compassion for humans, was also a quiet but dedicated animal advocate.   Indeed, these philosophies have, in part, carried through into Indian law with several important protectionist laws.   The Indian constitution itself specifically protects animal life.   Yet, even here, these protections fall short of conferring real rights upon animals.   More importantly, the Indian ideal falls well sort of its goal and may in fact be in retreat.   Home to significant animal exploitation and exportation, including the mistreatment of cows – sacred creatures to the Hindu religion – the country is also being inundated by Western culture and its attendant treatment of animals.   Even some Buddhists, known for their vegetarianism, have repudiated their tradition for a meatier diet.   Moreover, just recently the highest court in Israel banned the production of fois gras (goose liver) by forced feeding as being violative of the country’s laws against cruelty to animals. [ xcix ]

Of course not all foreign countries are so generous to animals.   In many countries both man and beast are treated far worse than in the United States.   The point to be made, however, is that the animal protection question is a global one not localized to any state, region, or country.   More importantly, as alluded to in the discussion of international economics, changes made by one country to its animal laws will likely affect the well-being of animals in other countries. [ c ]  

C. Public Awareness

One might consider an important objective of the animal rights movement already achieved—increased public awareness.   Animal rights organizations have helped prompt reforms at several fast food companies and recently a national grocery store announced plans for new minimum humane treatment standards for all of the meat it sells. [ ci ]   In addition, major corporations are taking positions on animal issues [ cii ] and major educational institutions are working towards developing alternatives to animal testing. [ ciii ]

VI. Conclusion

Just as introductions rarely represent true beginnings, neither do conclusions represent the end of the story.   Rather than providing closure, conclusions are often, looked at in another way, simply introductions to another story.   Such is the case here.   While animal rights as theory already has a significant history, animal rights as a vehicle for legal change is just taking root.   In countries around the world changes in the legal status of other animals is already underway and several localities in the United States are beginning the slow process of fundamental change.   The question is no longer whether it makes sense to debate the place of animals in our society.   Rather, the issue has already been raised.   The question now is how that debate should be conducted and how the questions raised should be resolved.     

[xxv] A list of such species can be found at the Humane Society of the United States’ website: http://www.hsus.org/ace/11428

[xxvi] Huntington Life Sciences, http://www.huntingdon.com/hls/EthicalIssues/AnimalNumbers.html .

[xxvii] The New Lexicon Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language (1989).

[xxxii] Gary L. Francione, Animal Rights and Animal Welfare 46 Rutgers L. Rev. 397, 405 (1996).

[xxxiii] Donald N. Duquette, Legal Representation for Children in Protection Proceedings: Two Distinct Lawyer Roles are Required , 34 Fam. L.Q. 441, 453 (2000).

[xxxix] Note, Standing Upright: The Moral and Legal Standing of Humans and Other Apes , 54 Stan. L. Rev. 163, 193 (2001);  see also Defenders of Wildlife , 504 U.S. at 560; Note, Standing on Shaky Ground: The Supreme Court Curbs Standing for Environmental Plaintiffs in Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 38 St. Louis U. L.J. 199 (1993).

[xl] See , e.g. , Animal Legal Defense Fund, Inc. v. Glickman, 154 F.3d 426 (D.C. Cir. 1998) .

[xli] International Primate Protection League v. Administrators of Tulane Ed. Fund, 500 U.S. 72 (1991) .

[xliii]  See discussion under “Rights Goals.”

[xliv] 2 Am. Dec. 264 (N.Y. 1805).

[xlv]  103 Eng. Rep. 1127 (Q.B. 1707).

[xlvi]   See King James Bible, Book of Genesis 1:20–25.

[xlvii]  Gary L. Francione, Animals, Property and Legal Welfarism: “Unnecessary” Suffering and the “Humane” Treatment of Animals , 46 Rutgers L. Rev. 721, 733 (1994).

[xlviii]   Id .

[xlix]  For a more detailed discussion of animals status as property, see Gary L. Francione, Animals, Property and the Law (1995); see also Steven M. Wise, The Legal Thinghood of Nonhuman Animals , 23 B.C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 471 (1996).

[l]   E.g. Colo.Rev.Stat. § 18-9-202 (providing both misdemeanor and felony penalties for cruelty to animals).

[ci] Bruce Horovitz, Whole Foods Pledges to be More Humane , USA Today, available at : http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2003-10-21-wholefood_x.htm .

[ciii] E.g. , the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, http://caat.jhsph.edu/ .

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Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction

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Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction explores the implications for how we should treat animals in connection with our diet, zoos, and research. Most people are opposed to cruelty and sense that animals have moral significance. At the same time, traditional views that sanction animal use with few constraints have heavily influenced beliefs and everyday practices. How should we understand the moral status of animals vis-à-vis human beings? Do animals have moral rights? If so, what does this mean? What kinds of beings are animals, what sorts of mental lives do they have, and how should we understand welfare?

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101 Animal Rights Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best animal rights topic ideas & essay examples, 📑 interesting topics to write about animal rights, 🎓 good research topics about animal rights, ❓research questions about animal rights.

• The Importance of Animal Rights Overall, animals should have rights as they contribute to the world economy and improve people’s lives by providing favorable socializing conditions, and there is no reason to believe that animals are different from humans.
• An Ethical Analysis of Animal Rights Animal rights advocates state that the interests of animals are of vital importance to them and they should not be limited by human beings. Animal activism requires the person to concede that animals have rights […]
• Animal Welfare vs. Rights: Compare and Contrast One can state that the term animal rights refers to the privileges that animals should enjoy. While comparing animal rights and welfare, one also has to consider the fact that animals cannot have the same […]
• Arguments for Animal Rights Instead of using shared pain and pleasure to show the similarities between people and animals, he strives to elevate animals to human status.
• Tom Reagan’s Speech: A Case for Animal Rights Tom Reagan gave this speech as a contribution to the answer to the question of whether there is a need for the animal kingdom to have a bill of rights.
• Animal Rights: Definition, Goals, the Future The objectives and goals of the animal rights advocators and what they believe in has gained popularity in the United States of America and people are now aggressively prohibiting the various cruelty that some people […]
• “Animal Rights, Human Wrongs” by Tom Regan Moreover, Regans decision to become a vegetarian to a great extant has been predetermined by his reading of Gandhi, from which he has known that a cow is a sacred animal in India.
• The Animal Rights and Welfare Debates The traditional attitude towards animals was based on the assertion that animals have no rights, and therefore it is not the subject of moral concerns.
• Communication Activities by Animal Rights Advocates Another reason animal rights supporters may fail to persuade others is because they often take an aggressive stance.”Animal rights is the view that the interests of animals should be given the same consideration as the […]
• Animal Rights and the Importance of Their Protection In conclusion, while animals may not have the same mental and intellectual capacities as humans, it is very important to persecute any possible animal rights violations.
• Circus as the Central Place of Animal Rights Violation There should be a thoroughgoing prohibition on the exploitation of animals in circuses, as this issue is contrary to humane treatment and is a direct violation of their rights.
• Fight for Animal Rights in Modern Realities In describing the basic theoretical attitudes of the movement, two main models should be distinguished according to which the ideology of the activists of this movement is built.
• Animal Rights and Ethics of Duty In the article “The Edge of Animal Rights” of Sun Yajun, the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics argues that the moral culture is made up of all things worthy of moral concern.
• Human and Animal Rights on Board In this essay, the goal is to compare the conditions when people have to use animals to improve their quality of life, and when people want to use animals for their benefit.
• Animal Rights in Whistler, British Columbia: A Case Study of 100 Slaughtered Sledge Dogs The slump of business after the Winter Olympics proved to be a challenge for the tour operator to maintain the pack of dogs.
• Environmental Ethics Concerning Animal Rights As far as the latter is a traditional worldview for the numerous generations of people, it is the task of the environmental philosophy and environmental ethics to overcome the stereotype that nature is the raw […]
• Animal Rights Movement: Global Impact on Businesses and Their Marketing Moreover, international animal rights organizations, such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, have largely […]
• Religion and Animal Rights by T. Regan Analysis So, the aim of this essay is to examine the essence of the rhetorical theory, its methods used by the author of the plenty of animal-defending works Tom Regan in one of his works concerning […]
• Equal Rights for All Animals The application of philosophical theories and principles to the issue of animals’ rights is becoming increasingly important in the modern world, where the interests of all species are being considered as ethically relevant.
• The Vancouver Principles of Animal Rights Protection Nevertheless, Mary’s case can be helped if the emphasis is put on the fact that the owner of the condor did not keep the bird in the conditions required by the law.
• Agricultural Products vs. Animal Rights Dilemma A while back I was looking for a summer job and I was able to get one in the farms that rear chicken for their eggs and meat.
• Environmental Ethics and Animal Rights The question that arises is whether humans are the only valuing agents in the world that are full of values. Although the environment is composed of humans and other millions of species, humans are the […]
• Animal Rights Protection in the United States The U.S.and the U.K.are among the pioneers of animal rights protection and currently have some of the most elaborate laws that guard against the mistreatment and abuse of animals.
• Bullfighting in Spain: Animal Rights vs. Tradition Despite heavy criticism concerning animal rights activists as well as other groups, corrida, the Spanish name for bullfighting, is still one of the symbols of Spain, but will we and our children watch mouth-opened the […]
• Animal Rights: Speciesism Therefore, the interests of animals should not be ignored simply because they belong to species that are considered inferior to human beings.
• “You Have the Right to Remain Silent”: Animal Rights vs. the Need for Natural Products Therefore, the key reasoning provided by the opponents of the animal rights crusaders is that a) the concept of morals is inapplicable to animal world and 2) there is little to no alternative for the […]
• Animal Rights: A Practical Approach If the principles of animal rights are followed to the letter, then, it is illegal and immoral to find cures using animals as research subjects.
• Human Wrongs Animal Rights: Introduction to Moral Philosophy He narrates the sad story of the whale,the rabbit and the higher, how workers on board the mother ship of a whaling fleet are disassembling the carcass of a whale, that although the species is […]
• An Exploration of the Application of Environmental Ethical Thought to Animal Rights A good example to illustrate the scope of hunting as an environmental problem that is associated with the polar bear is to look at its nature in Canada and the United States of America.
• ‘Animal Rights’ Activists and Racism Nevertheless, while being thoroughly comfortable with the idea that it is fully appropriate to exploit the ‘eatable’ representatives of the animal kingdom, the ‘animal rights’ activists deny the same right to those, who due to […]
• Do Non-Human Animals Have Rights? Animals cannot be said to have rights since the idea of rights is inherently human, and its foundations relate to the concept of a moral world.
• Do Animals Possess Moral Rights? These arguments can only be addressed to a satisfactory level by analyzing the aspects of humans that elevates humanity to a higher moral status that supersedes that of other animals.
• Definition of Animal Rights and Its Problems It is not that animals are thought to be of less importance than the progressive mankind or the other elements of the Earth, but the whole idea is that wildlife cannot fit the idea of […]
• The Debate About Animal Rights Some people oppose the use of animals in medical research because they say that violates the rights of the animals and amounts to animal cruelty.
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• Animal Abuse and Animal Rights Nowadays
• Non-western Views on the Animal Rights
• Animal Research and the Issue of Animal Rights Over the Globe
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Animal Rights Essay

Posted by David S. Wills | Jan 20, 2023 | Model Essays | 0

In the IELTS writing exam, you could be asked to write an essay about animals. Most likely, your question would relate to animal rights . This might seem challenging for some people, so I have written this article to help you understand it better.

Animal Rights and IELTS

For IELTS writing, you often have to discuss ethical issues. Thus, for the topic of animals, you would most likely have to write about animal rights. This could include:

• whether it is ethical to keep animals in a zoo
• discussing animal experimentation
• the ethics of eating meat
• whether humans should keep pets

Because IELTS requires no specialist knowledge, you would probably not have anything more specific than this to discuss. For example, you wouldn’t be asked about the ethics of purebred pet ownership because most people don’t know much about it. You would also not be given anything that is extremely controversial.

Therefore, the most common animal topics will be quite general and relate to animal rights.

Animal Rights Essay – Experimentation

Here is the question that we will examine today:

Some people argue that all experimentation on animals is bad and should be outlawed. However, others believe that important scientific discoveries can be made from animal experiments. Can experimentation on animals be justified? Are there any alternatives?

Note that there are many variants upon this topic. I have seen this same idea with “ Discuss both views ” and “ To what extent do you agree/disagree ” question types.

This one, of course, is a two-part question . Therefore, don’t waste too much time reading the long part above the questions. Regardless of what that says, your task is to:

• Say whether or not experiments on animals can be justified.
• Say whether there are alternatives to this practice.

Be aware that your answer to the first question cannot negate having to answer the second. Whether you say that animal testing can or can’t be justified, you still have to say whether there are alternatives.

Language for an Animal Rights Essay

If you need to write an essay on animal rights, you need to know some appropriate language. Again, you do not need to be an expert, but you should have enough of a grasp of English to say something intelligent about the topic.

You may have noticed that I’ve used these expressions in this article:

• Animal experimentation
• Experiments on animals
• Animal testing

These all mean the same thing but it can be useful to employ different ways to do that, so that you don’t just repeat yourself.

Of course, what you say will also depend hugely on your position and your ideas. If you think that animal experimentation is wrong, then you’ll probably incorporate some rather negative language, such as:

• Impossible to justify

On the other hand, if you support animal testing, you might say something more positive:

It is also good to know some specific language related to the topic:

• Medical testing
• Subjected to

You can learn more language by reading articles on this topic. Try searching Google for “animal rights” or “animal testing.” You’ll find lots of articles. Just make sure that it is written by a native speaker or a professional writer. Also, be aware that with a contentious topic there will probably be a lot of passionate language and maybe even some misinformation.

Planning your Answer

First of all, you need to figure out what your position is in regards the question(s). Then, you need to think about how to explain your position in a straightforward way.

Here, we had two questions. Both of them are yes/no questions but of course you need to develop those ideas with explanations. Think of your answer as “Yes because…” or “No because…” This will help you to think of reasons that you can then incorporate into your answers.

Also, be aware that two-part questions are really easy to structure! You can just devote one body paragraph to each question:

My position is that animal experimentation cannot be justified, so I will explain that in my first body paragraph. I will start with the main argument in defence of animal testing, then refute it comprehensively.

For the next question, I will state that I don’t really know whether or not there are any alternatives. Thus, my structure will be:

Sample Band 9 Answer

Over the past few decades, animal testing has been fiercely debated due to the ethical problems inherent in this area of science. This essay will explain why it cannot be justified and that alternatives need to be sought.

The people who believe that animal testing is necessary tend to say that there are serious benefits to humanity, such as testing medicines before using them on human beings. They believe that this will help to figure out the cures to many serious illnesses, which will make the world a better place for humans. However, this is wrong for several reasons. Chief among them is the fact that animal testing is not as helpful in developing medicines as people think. Medicines that work on animals do not always work on humans, and vice versa. As such, these trials are not just unnecessary but also profoundly unhelpful. For example, if scientists give a mouse diabetes and then try various drugs to cure the problem, they may find that there are twelve drugs that do not work on the mouse. However, maybe one of those drugs would have worked on a human. As such, animal testing would have caused more problems than it solved.

Part of the reason for animal testing is that there are not many alternatives. Whilst it is obviously cruel and pointless to subject animals to experiments, most people would agree that it is worse to do this to human beings. However, there needs to be some sort of procedure by which testing can move from theoretical to human trials without the need for the evils of animal testing. What this process would be remains to be seen, but it is essential for any humane society.

In conclusion, people may argue that there are benefits that come from experimenting on animals, but in fact there is no good reason to continue doing this. Scientists need to immediately seek an alternative and end this barbaric and pointless practice. 

Notes on the Answer

This was a good answer because it gave fully developed explanations and used language accurately. Here are some words and phrases from the answer:

• fiercely debated
• ethical problems
• profoundly unhelpful
• cruel and pointless
• theoretical
• humane society

Paragraph two was also quite interesting. I felt that the most convincing way to make my point was to show conventional logic and then comprehensively debunk it. To do so, I gave a clear example and demonstrated through a simple explanation of just why animal testing is so useless.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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Animal Rights, Essay Example

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Words: 1847

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Introduction

The issue of animal rights has been controversial for long centuries, despite the more modern focus upon it.  More exactly, and in multiple cultures, it seems to have existed beneath prevailing social views holding that, as animals are essentially the property of mankind, protecting their rights goes only to protecting the value of their use (Sunstein, Nussbaum, 2004,  p. 323).  The law, it is widely believed, will only look after animal welfare for this reason.  As the law ensures rights, then, the concept of animal rights has typically been a debate waged in a strictly ethical context, removed from factors of practicality.  Also suppressing any efforts to view animals as entitled to rights are religious views, which greatly influence most cultures.  Most of humanity’s history is, in one way or another, linked to humanity acting in the belief that it is elevated beyond all other forms of life.  Catholicism, for example, has always held that only man has true rights because only man has a soul, endowed by God.  Furthermore, traditional views of animals likely deny them rights simply out of a fear of equating humans with animals; is a monkey has the same, basic rights as a human baby, then a human baby has no greater status than a monkey (Sunstein, Nussbaum, 2004, p. 61).   Consequently, as many people have always been drawn to protecting animals by an instinctive desire, animal rights have been simmering as a subject for a very long time.

It is essential to understand, before any arguments supporting or opposing animals rights are presented, that the subject is distinct from animal welfare.  The proper treatment of animals is far less controversial than animal rights, because most people object to cruelty practiced on any living thing.  Animal rights advocates, on the other hand, hold that human exploitation of animals in any form violates basic rights of living beings, and that one species is not entitled to impose itself over another.  While those after animals rights and supporters of animal welfare unite on basic levels, there are important differences, and these enable arguments.

The most commonly made points from opponents to animal rights go to preserving and/or enhancing human life, which it is felt cannot be without treating animals in a way removed from having rights.  On the most elementary level, opponents cite the fact that animals have been raised as food sources since recorded history.   Not only is meat considered an essential staple of the human diet, testing on animals allows for the development of medicines that cannot be otherwise created (Ritter, Nobis, 2008, p. 9).  Those holding to these views by no means endorse cruelty to animals, as a rule.  Rather, they take the perceived, more pragmatic view that, religion aside, humans are the most evolved species and are therefore entitled to use whatever means are available to thrive.  Added to these arguments is one difficult to address, in that providing for animal rights would require a radical restructuring of all societies.  Whole economies are based on animal farming, in which the animals are nothing more than commodities to be raised and slaughtered.  Then, there is the matter of scale.  Opponents of animal rights often refer to the unfortunate fact that mankind has yet to establish universal rights for its own kind.  Entire cultures still exist wherein certain types of people are subjugated, or denied fundamental liberties, just as extremes in international relations, such as wars, frequently ignore human rights.  Lastly, and as noted, opponents are typically guided by religious influences.  In Western cultures, for instance, both Christian and Jewish faiths point to doctrine as clearly indicating mankind’s complete dominion over all other living things (Ritter, Nobis, 2008,  p. 16).

Supporters of animal rights rarely ignore these arguments; on the contrary, they usually agree that the issue is highly complex, and certainly not easily solved.  They acknowledge that animals play many roles in human affairs, and that concern over the rights of domestic pets is different than addressing farming or hunting matters.  What unites most animal rights supporters, however, is a fundamental skepticism based on traditional ethical and legal customs.  It is felt that law is what universally establishes any culture as civilized, and law must operate from a common concept of man as having the facility of reason.  Reason, then, obligates mankind to consider other unifying factors in all animal life, and it has been proposed by supporters that pain is as unifying an element in animals as reason is for mankind.  If this is pursued, it follows, and in a way reflecting legal thought, that the presence of pain establishes the potentials for higher quality of life (Sunstein, Nussbaum, 2004,  p. 196).  Then, there is the ethical imperative in place from human ignorance.  As humanity lacks a great deal of knowledge regarding classifications of animals, if not whatever “inner” lives they may possess, it is further obligated to err on the side of caution, and accord rights based on the fact that animal life is inherently an evolved state of being.  Simply, as animal rights supporters view the issue, we do not know enough to confidently deny other creatures rights, even if we perceive ourselves to be a more evolved form of life.

Personal View

In my estimation, it is crucial to understand that animal welfare is inextricably connected to animal rights, and we must never lose sight of the fact that acknowledging the former inevitably supports the latter.  If, for example, we hold that deliberate cruelty to animals is reprehensible, then we are already asserting that these are living creatures deserving of decent treatment.  We are giving them stature because we know that they experience life in many of the ways we do as human beings.  We certainly operate on the assumptions that pets develop real affection for us, as we frequently and ironically refer to this as being more desirable than human affection.  Then, as noted, we know absolutely that pain and suffering is as keenly felt by animals as it is by us.  Human beings may debate endlessly as to the reality of the human soul, but that debate does not include any power to deny the existence of one in another kind of life.  This, as I see it, automatically translates to a need to assure animal rights.

Beyond this, I strongly feel that, whatever animals experience as beings, our own concept of ourselves as evolved equates to a responsibility to care for them, and in ways not dependent upon our own needs.  In any sphere of human activity, virtue is defined as that action which exists to serve another, and not the self.  We have all the evidence we need, that animals feel.  That is more than enough to demand that we live up to our status as the most evolved of all creatures, and do whatever we can to provide for them.  I do not assert that livestock should be no longer owned, or that animals should be “consulted” in some way before being adopted as pets.  I do believe, however, that our own knowledge and ethics must guide us to assure rights universally in place regarding all treatment.  In basic terms, humanity is famous for exploiting itself historically, as cultures ignore the rights of other cultures.  Humans are empowered to resist.  Animals have no such ability.  If, then, we commit to treating the defenseless among us with a universal regard for basic welfare, we may eventually learn to act in the same way to our fellow human beings.

Potential Objections

It may be argued that my view ignores realities, or relies too much upon a conviction of animal states of being largely subjective.  As animals cannot directly communicate to us, we can only guess at how they actually feel, and it could be said that my argument “humanizes” animals to an unreasonable extent.  Then, there remains the matter of human superiority, which is not always put forth as an arrogance.  The reality is that humans create and build, and conduct interactions on a level far beyond the capabilities of animals.  Whether or not anyone or thing concerned has a soul, this is a fact.  Therefore, if using animals enhances our lives in any way, we are fully entitled to do this.  Animals themselves have no problem in “exploiting” other animals, when their power and greater skills allow for it.  The cat, for instance, toys with the mouse before killing it, simply because instinct drives it to do this.  To not take advantage of what animals offer is, then, a violation of human instinct.  Then, “cruelty” itself is open to interpretation.  The dog owner who decides to put their old pet to sleep may be seen as being cruel, and violating the rights of the dog.  To entertain animal rights at all, in fact, is a slippery slope, as that basic inability to know what an animal thinks and feels means that we cannot ever properly assign them rights.

To work my way up from the end, however an animal behaves in regard to another animal must not be allowed to guide how we act, simply because we do hold to being the most evolved species.  To accord animals protections and rights is by no means the equivalent of seeing them as equal to humans; it is, in fact, only a reinforcement of human superiority.  No one challenges that laws are in place to protect children and provide them with rights, because children are unable to assert these for themselves.  The same principle applies, in that the party deemed as wisest and most capable is inherently obligated to look after that which is not.  It is said that the defining quality of any civilization lies in how it treats its weakest members.  If we are to consider ourselves civilized, then, we are ethically responsible for protecting those creature unable to protect themselves.

As to the subjectivity involved in supporting animal rights, no one can reasonably state that this is not an issue.  Such complications, however, mark all human affairs as well, yet we do not abandon attempts to move onto a higher plane of action.  The pet owner deciding to end the life of the dog is inherently as subject to criticism as the terminally-ill person seeking to end their own life.  What matters in both cases is that a regard for the life is present.  This example, in fact, works very well with animal rights, because both cases go to determining the essential value of a life.  It is inevitable that mankind debates such things, yet it is the fact that debate is necessary which gives meaning to the subjects themselves.  If humanity cannot know absolutely to what degree animals feel and think, it is still known that they are relatively highly evolved beings with both feelings and brains.  Ultimately, how we choose to respect them defines what we are ourselves, and our own claim to being the most evolved of all.

Ritter, Christie, & Nobis, Nathan.  (2008).  Animal Rights .  Edina: ABDO Publishing.

Sunstein, Cass R., & Nussbaum, Martha C.  (2004).  Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions.   New York: Oxford University Press.

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Animal Rights Persuasive Essay Sample, with Outline

Published by gudwriter on November 23, 2017 November 23, 2017

Animal Rights Essay

Animals have a right to be free of human use and exploitation. They have an inherent worth and moral rights that should be respected. To have the best grades on such kind of essays, essay writing services for MBA will write them for you.

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Animal Rights Essay Outline

Introduction.

Thesis: People should consider giving animals the same rights as human beings because they deserve it.

Paragraph 1:

Animals should be granted the same rights as humans first because just like humans, they have the capacity to suffer.

• They feel motherly love, loneliness, frustration, fear, and pleasure depending on the situation they find themselves in.
• It should be the moral obligation of humans to take this fact into account whenever they consider undertaking actions that would interfere with the needs of animals.

Paragraph 2:

Human beings should also consider that animals have an inherent worth which in itself is completely separate from the usefulness of animals to humans.

• Being living beings capable of moving, all animals have the right to life and therefore have every right not to be subjected to any kinds of pain.
• It is wrong on the part of humans to presume that the sole reason for the existence of nonhuman animals is for them to be used by humans.

Paragraph 3:

Another consideration that humans should make is that their infringement of animal rights is based on prejudice that they can easily put an end to.

• Only prejudice pushes a person into denying another person the rights that they expect to have for themselves.
• Prejudice is morally unacceptable whether it is based on species, sexual orientation, gender, or race.

Paragraph 4:

There is no any morally relevant difference between human beings and non-human animals.

• If humans are entitled to their rights, it is only fair that animals too are allowed to enjoy their own rights.
• It makes no sense when human animals are granted their rights but non-human ones are denied theirs.

Paragraph 5:

Animals have a culture to preserve and thus killing or caging them amounts to an erosion of this culture.

• All species suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Not justifiable to subject another species to an experience one would not wish for themselves.

Paragraph 6:

It is the belief of some people that because animals are not humans, they should not have the same rights as humans.

• However, it should be noted that adult mammals and human animals have no morally relevant difference between them.
• They are both animals and they deserve to be treated the same.

It is true that animals are not human beings and that is not up for debate. However, they deserve to have the rights granted to humans because they suffer like humans. They have an inherent worth given that they are animals like humans save for the difference in their species.

Animals Should Have the Same Rights as Humans

Human beings continue to go to zoos and circuses, wearing leather, and eating meat; activities all of which involve either caging or killing of animals. Animals are also kept as pets by humans and this involves the selling of animals and constructing cages for them so they may not escape. Noteworthy, all these actions have to do with the infringement of animal rights in one way or another. It is however interesting that humans never consider the impacts that these actions have on animals presumably because animals, to them, have no rights. This disregard for animal rights has even attracted court cases some of which sought to have animals viewed as persons just as humans. People should consider giving animals the same rights as human beings because they deserve it.

At the same time Gudwriter’s also provides essay on argumentative essay on animal rights with examples.

Animals should be granted the same rights as humans first because just like humans, they have the capacity to suffer. They feel motherly love, loneliness, frustration, fear, and pleasure depending on the situation they find themselves in. As such, it should be the moral obligation of human beings to take this fact into account whenever they consider undertaking actions that would interfere with the needs of animals. As pointed out by Bennett-Jones (2015), “Factors to consider would include the degree of an animal’s autonomy, sensitivity to pain, level of sentience, self-awareness and ability to hold preferences.” It is well deserving for animals to lead their lives free from being exploited or being subjected to sufferings. As a matter of fact, when deciding on the rights of any being, the question should be whether they can suffer and not whether they can talk or reason.

Human beings should also consider that animals have an inherent worth which in itself is completely separate from their usefulness to humans. Being living beings capable of moving, all animals have the right to life and therefore have every right not to be subjected to any kind of pain. In this regard, it is wrong on the part of human beings to presume that the sole reason for the existence of nonhuman animals is for them to be used by humans. Animals attach immense value to their lives just like humans do, and rightly so. This is why they will always try to evade danger either by defending themselves or running away from sources of danger ( Smith, 2012 ). It is also why they go about looking for food to fend for themselves and their young ones, much like humans.

Further, there is no any morally relevant difference between human beings and non-human animals. If humans are entitled to their rights, it is only fair that animals too are allowed to enjoy their own rights. It makes no sense when human animals are granted their rights but non-human ones are denied theirs. Moreover, being ‘subject-of-a-life,’ both the human and non-human animal species have many attributes in common. They are for instance alive to the fact that they live (“Animal Rights,” 2014). There is thus no justification whatsoever why animals should be denied the rights they deserve. This point leaves human beings with no valid reason to continue trampling upon the rights of non-human animals.

Another consideration that humans should make is that their infringement of animal rights is based on prejudice that they can easily put an end to. As it is, only prejudice pushes a person into denying another person the rights that they expect to have for themselves. As noted by Smith (2012), prejudice is morally unacceptable whether it is based on species, sexual orientation, gender, or race. If humans would not eat a dog for instance, why should they eat goats? The capacity to feel pain is inherent in both dogs and goats. However, out of prejudice, humans consider one as food and the other as a companion.

Further, animals have a culture to preserve and thus killing or caging them amounts to an erosion of this culture. Just like humans, “Elephants that have witnessed the slaughter of their parents by poaching or culling and lost the support of their extended family group exhibit the same erratic and often detached behaviors…” (Siebert, 2014). Their fate resembles that of orphans of war who after losing their families and witnessing the destruction of their villages, remain to wallow in miser. In other words, all species suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Why subject another species to an experience you would not wish for yourself?

It is the belief of some people that because animals are not humans, they should not have the same rights as humans. However, as already seen, adult mammals and human animals have no morally relevant difference between them ( Cavalieri, 2003 ). They are both animals and they deserve to be treated the same. No matter how humanely animals may be treated, killing, confining, breeding, buying, and selling them invade into their rights. It is unjust to subject one species to sufferance while fighting for the rights of another species yet morally; they both deserve respect and freedom. It is thus dishonest to assume that humans can do whatever they like with animals.

It is true that animals are not human beings and that is not up for debate. However, they deserve to have the rights granted to humans because they suffer like humans. They have an inherent worth given that they are animals like humans save for the difference in their species. They have the will to organize their life according to their culture which is unfortunately interfered with by humans. It amounts to prejudice to subject them to untold sufferings in the name of being turned into food or being kept in cages for whatever purposes. In this respect, it is high time humans considered championing for animals to have the same rights as humans.

Animal Rights. (2014). In BBC . Retrieved July 10, 2020 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/rights/rights_1.shtml

Bennett-Jones, O. (2015). Should animals be given human rights? . BBC News . Retrieved 22 November 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-32854504

Cavalieri, P. (2003). The Animal Question: Why Nonhuman Animals Deserve Human Rights . Cary, NC: Oxford University Press, USA.

Siebert, C. (2014). Should Animals Have The Same Rights As People? . Popular Science . Retrieved 22 November 2017, from https://www.popsci.com/should-animals-same-rights-people

Smith, W. J. (2012). A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Boy: The Human Cost of the Animal Rights Movement . New York City, NY: Encounter Books.

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Latitude varies from −90° to 90°. The latitude of the Equator is 0°; the latitude of the South Pole is −90°; the latitude of the North Pole is 90°. Positive latitude values correspond to the geographic locations north of the Equator (abbrev. N). Negative latitude values correspond to the geographic locations south of the Equator (abbrev. S).

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Elektrostal , Moscow Oblast, Russia