Animals Are Not Equal to Humans

The oil has always been on top. Always. The water has always been on bottom. Always. In a bottle, oil is always considered to be on top, the steadier, important substance, at a higher level than water. Oil is at the top of the liquid chain. Then again, they are both liquids and have similar characteristics; does that mean water and oil should be on the same level? Should they be considered the equal? Many people agree that animals should have some rights. Animal rights, by definition, is an animal’s right to live free from human caused suffering. However, what is continually debated is what kind of rights animals ought to have. Should animals be considered an equal to the human species or be kept below them? Although animals share many attributes with human beings, there are too many differences between them for them to be considered equal.

First of all, animals do not need to be equal or have the same privileges because of their basic needs. There are 3 main necessities: food and water, shelter, and a habitat . Food and water for them to eat and drink, shelter to protect them from predators and bad weather, and a habitat to live in and interact with others (“The Basic Needs of Animals”). Considering the fact animals’ sole purpose in life is to survive and continue their species, certain liberties are of no concern to these creatures and would be wasted on them: the right to drive, the right to vote, the freedom to walk through streets without leashes, and the freedom to eat whatever they like. So of course, it would be unrealistic to say animals are equal to humans when more than half of what humans do does not matter to them.

What most animal rights activists would say is animals should not be discounted for their intelli...

... middle of paper ...

...Web. 25 Mar. 2011.

Katz, Jon. "Animals Need Better Care, Not Equal Rights." Slate (5 Mar. 2004). Rpt. in The Rights of Animals. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.

Kobilnyk, Andrey. “Do Animals Have Rights?” First Science. 1 Oct. 2007. Web.26 Jan. 2011.

Stiver, Randy. "God Did Not Make Animals the Moral Equivalent of Humans." The Rights of Animals. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.

Thorpe, Joey. Personal Interview. 31 Jan. 2011.

Will, George F. "U.K. Pets Get 'Freedoms'; Humans need freedom from government supervision of all dealings between people, or between people and tropical fish." Newsweek 13 Feb. 2006: 72. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.