In a Berlin Zoo, the abandoned polar bear cub Knut looks cuddly, cute, and has stolen the hearts of many. Knut has no support from his mother and at his age must be raised by humans to save his life, a task that would seem to be supported by all animal lovers. But, while zoo leaders prepared to help the cub, animal rights activist insists it was wrong to intervene and save the cubs life (NBC News). Animal rights activist insisted that Knut would be been better off dead than raised by humans (NBC News). "Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws," states animal rights activist Frank Albrecht (NBC News). Albrecht continued to show his passion for animal rights by insisting that the zoo must “kill …show more content…
animal welfare controversy is the question of whether humans have the right over animals or if the animals themselves have rights.This questions fuels countless other debates regarding animals. This would mean that humans would not have ownership over animals in any way. No use of them for food, clothing, experimentation, companionship, or any interference what-so-ever. To claim that man 's use of animals is immoral… “ is to elevate moral levels of an animal higher than ourselves”, which is a flagrant contradiction (Locke 132). Animals should not be given a higher moral standing than humans. Animal rights are completely based on this one thought. In general animal welfare claims that animals are below humans, giving humans ownership and more rights than animals. Many do not understand the “rights” being discussed. The “rights” that people continue debating about are not the right to vote, freedom of speech, or the right to bear arms. It is the right to not be taken for food against your will, be used for clothing or experimentation without consent. Animals do not have the moral capacity to obtain these rights and freedoms. To elevate animals to equality with humans by applying human interpretations of morality. Author John Katz was sent a letter by an animal rights activist asking him to change his upcoming book to call humans animal “guardians”, instead of his frequently used label as “owner” (Katz 74). Showing that these activists do not believe we as humans should not have ownership over animals, but more of a shared living environment where everyone and everything is
Throughout history, societies have been faced with many social issues affecting their citizens. Martin Luther King Jr, a civil rights leader for African Americans, was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement, a movement that fought to undo the injustices African Americans endure by American society in the 1960s. Martin expressed his disgust with the social inequality among citizens when saying “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (PETA). Taking the prominent leader’s words into consideration, we should progress as a society by participating in the animal rights movement that strives to extend the same compassion, felt by Martin Luther King Jr, to all living things (PETA). Popular criticisms report that animals are inferior to humans because they are a source of food, but I will argue that they are victims of social injustice. Validity for my animal rights argument will come from individual and organizational expert accounts and by Bioethicist Peter Singer, Author Francis Fukuyama, New York Time’s Mark Bittman and also Animal Rights organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and Animal Equality, to help prove my argument. Animals are silent victims who are loudly crying out for someone to stand up for their rights; rights that can no longer be disregarded by being overlooked. It is my belief that animals should be respected, and afforded ethical and human treatment by society instead of being looked at as a source of food. In a society where animals have no voice, it is everyone’s civic duty to participate in the animal rights movement and acknowledge animals as living beings, which...
Almost all humans want to have possession and control over their own life, they want the ability to live independently without being considered someone’s property. Many people argue that animals should live in the same way as humans because animals don’t have possession of their lives as they are considered the property of humans. An article that argues for animal rights is “The case against pets” (2016) by Francione and Charlton. Gary L Francione and Anna E Charlton are married and wrote a book together, “Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach (2015). Francione is a law professor at Rutgers University and an honorary professor at University of East Anglia. Charlton is also a law professor at Rutgers University and she is the co-founder of the Rutgers Animal Rights Law Clinic. In this article Francione and Charlton mainly focus on persuading people to believe in animal rights but only focus on one right, the right of animals not to be property. The article is written in a well-supported manner with a lot of details and examples backing it up, but a few counter-arguments can be made against some of their arguments.
Regan, T. and P. Singer, eds. Animal Rights and Human Obligations 2/e (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989)
In this generation, filled with technology, we are surrounded by the media and are constantly seeing commercials for weight loss and billboards covered with extremely fit people that have the bodies we wish we could obtain. We see images in the media all the time and do not even realize the affect that they are having on us. When watching television,about 30% of what you are watching is advertisements that are slowly stimulating your mind. “The media and body image are closely related due to the number of images we see in the media and the excessive amount of exposure we have to those images” (The media and body image, 2015). When people view advertisements they do not think of the effect that it is having on them, it may be small but it can grow as more and more are viewed. Advertisements lead us to believe that we need to be like that, so when a magazine has photo shoot of a woman with a perfect body getting a tan on the beach we strive to be like that. We do know that that body is not achievable but want it so badly we will do whatever the magazine tells us. Photoshopping is also a dangerous thing when it come to body
The issue that has been raging for over many years is if animals should be owned by humans. This mainly concerns zoos, private owners and other facilities that hold animals. The public saw this issue and wanted to address it. Big organizations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are the ones who are mainly active in this dilemma. The people who are also interested in this issue are those who fit into the category of any side of the argument. Other people and organizations, who are interested in this topic, are zoos or animal wildlife parks. People of the public were interested in this issue, which is why there so many organizations and debates for the issue of animal cruelty. Zoos also promoted interest for this issue in the public, due to the high amount of visitors. There are two main viewpoints in this argument and one in the middle of both. One side is for animal being kept in zoos, facilities or owned by humans in general. The other side argues that animals should not be kept by anyone because they are nobody’s to own. The middle ground between the two points of view believes that only some people and facilities are allowed to take care of animals (basically those who are qualified).
The Cove is a film of activism, a film meant to move the hearts of individuals who love and support the rights of mammalian sea-dwellers like that of whales, porpoises, and most importantly dolphins. Produced in 2009 by the Oceanic Preservation Society it offers a unique perspective, when compared with other activist documentaries. In The Cove the producer and co-founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society was actually personally involved in the filming efforts and worked directly with dolphin trainer Richard O’Barry in drawing light on the events occurring in a private cove in the city of Taiji, Japan. The documentary is, of course, very biased towards the topic, with obvious pro-animal rights leanings supported indirectly with a strong utilitarian basis. When analyzing documentaries such as this it is vitally important to take as objective a perspective as possible, though humanity tends to be innately prone to bias, and scrutinize through perspectives that have established ethical guidelines.
Keeping animals locked in cages, bored and cramped up in such a small space is an awful sight to show the children. It creates an image in the little minds of children that animals are to be treated like they don’t matter. They say Zoos are a place where children can learn about the wild, exotic animals, but in reality it doesn't teach them anything only that they are meant to be caged up, which is wrong. Also, it is really painful to see the animals bored and lonely, so why should people keep letting them do this to these beautiful creatures. Animal captivity for entertainment should end to let them go to their rightful home.
Colb, Sherry. "A Response to the Claim That Eating Animals Is Natural." Free From Harm. N.p., 25 July 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
To quote Jeremy Bentham in his book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, in regard to the consciousness of animals, "The question is not, 'Can they reason? ' nor, 'Can they talk? ' but rather, 'Can they suffer? '. It is far too common for us as humans – the top of the food chain - to forget that we are not the only beings on the planet capable of thought. It is very simple to lump together all the creatures deemed as unintelligent or insentient together and basically de-animalize them – stripping them of their own evolutionary accomplishments and cognitive or mental development. With no empathy or deeper understanding of these beasts, we are free of any moral weights on our consciousness that may come from forcing them to live in humiliating and revolting conditions and are fed a chemical concoction of hormones and chemicals. This unfair and unjust treatment of animals has touched the hearts of many individuals across the globe, influencing them to take up a new diet that with it brings about a new lifestyle. Vegetarianism (or veganism, for those who are serious about
As an advocate of animal rights, Tom Regan presents us with the idea that animals deserve to be treated with equal respect to humans. Commonly, we view our household pets and select exotic animals in different regard as oppose to the animals we perceive as merely a food source which, is a notion that animal rights activists
In the 1970s the question of animal rights became a major social issue that more people started to take notice and action in. This discovery of the cruelty these animals go through, lead animal cruelty to become a serious issue in our world today. To understand how animals could be treated so unjustly one would need to know that many believed that animals could not feel pain. However, animals can feel pain just like humans can and using them for experimentation causes them extreme pain. “Each year, more than 100 million animals are killed in the U.S. laboratories for biology lessons, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics” (Peta 1). With countries having inadequate regulations to protect animal’s rights the chances of that number dropping are slim to none.
Joyce Carol Oates wrote Foxfire, a book taking place in 1953, in 1993 and its major themes are still relevant in 2015. In Foxfire, a girl gang (FOXFIRE) takes on social injustices they see in the world, namely fighting against Capitalism and for women’s rights. They get money through their jobs, “hooking” and by other indescribable ways and use this money to contribute not only to FOXFIRE FINANCES but also to other women who have helped them or are in need of help themselves, comparable to a 1950’s feminist Robin Hood. FOXFIRE’s main goal is to help women in need and to “fight the patriarchy”. They shelter women of sexual and physical abuse and get revenge on the men that performed these actions. While nowadays the fight for feminism is
The factors of influence on body image that we are exposed to in the American culture are endless. There are magazines in every shopping market with magazine covers featuring the thin, tan, popular celebrities. This is harmful for people to see because they don’t realize these images are incredibly misleading due to photo alterations (Brady ). Almost every family owns a television w...
"The Case For Animal Rights" written by Tom Regan, promotes the equal treatment of humans and non-humans. I agree with Regan's view, as he suggests that humans and animals alike, share the experience of life, and thus share equal, inherent value.
Animals are so often forgotten when it comes to the many different levels of basic rights. No, they can’t talk, or get a job, nor can they contribute to society the way humans can. Yet they hold a special place in their owners’ hearts, they can without a doubt feel, show their different emotions, and they can most definitely love. In recent years there has been a massive increase in animal rights awareness, leading to a better understanding and knowledge in the subject of the humane treatment of animals. Where do humans draw the line between the concern of equality, and simple survival?