Appetizer

Animal rights is a hot topic on many high school and college campuses. Often, supporters of animal rights hold an emotionally-charged position based on images of animals in laboratory cages or slaughterhouses, while those opposed to animal rights come off as cruel and calloused.

While few people are familiar with the philosophical leaders of the movement, Peter Singer and Tom Regan, many people are familiar with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Through PETA, the public has come to learn the basic argument behind animal rights: because animals feel pain they have the right to be free of pain and harm, and therefore cruelty to animals must be stopped. From this perspective, cruelty to animals includes animal testing, eating animals, using animals for clothing, using animals for labor, and even owning animals.

Logically extending the guiding principle of the animal rights movement would eventually lead to animals having equal standing with humans. In fact, the Great Ape Project (Project GAP) argues that non-human great primates should have the "main" rights to: "life, the protection of individual liberty and the prohibition of torture." To achieve similar rights for all animals, some activists, including some employed by PETA, promote or commit violence against humans and destruction of property.

Those opposed to animal rights start with the premise that animals are not equal to humans and that human experiences differ from animals in both degree and kind. Common sense and science certainly support that argument. As for animal cruelty, those opposed to animal rights are often opposed to animal cruelty on the grounds that it corrupts humans. Most western societies have enacted humane practices for the use of animals in laboratories, in slaughterhouses, for entertainment, and in various work environments.

Beyond the realm of philosophy, the idea of extending "rights" to animals is a curious one that raises a number of practical questions. How do animals make known their rights? Are animals aware of their rights? If so, how do animals express rights violations? If animals have rights, should animals be protected from predatory animals (see image above)? If an animal is in pain, what should the human authorities do? What should other animals do to protect the rights of their fellow animals? Perhaps the answers to these questions and others should be known before embarking on radical changes to society, legal systems, and the concept of civilization.