Animals Should Have Rights Similar To the Rights We Have

I agree though, they should however have rights that are SIMILAR to our human rights.

Tanya: Would you rather test an unknown substance on a family member or a family "pet" that could be replaced? I’m not saying that we should treat animals viciously; however, I am saying that I would rather my favorite “pet” be tested on rather than a loved one whom I could never replace.

Making Sense of The Question

Tanya: I agree it is an excellent analysis. Moral and legal rights are two different things.

Why Animal Rights Don't Exist

Tanya: We view animals as property; we do not consider a human being property. Imagine how many dangerous animals would be roaming the areas where innocent children played; if animals had the same rights that a mentally stable human had.

Linh: Saying that "If a non-human animal, however evolved, kills, maims or injures another animal of its own kind, we may lament this all we like, but to hold the perpetrator responsible just will not work. Animals are mostly instinctually driven to behave as they do" reflects the rest of the human population. They kill another for protection or for food. You can't blame them for that because it's different than a person killing another human. That would be killing for which you would hold the perpetrator responsible. But if a victim were to kill someone out of self defense, can you blame that victim for doing it? We kill things to get our food or we kill things to protect us. So how can you say that they are monsters that "behave as they do"  

Linh To Tanya: Not considering a human being as property is not true in a lot of parts of the world. In some cases, men do view and treat their wives as "property." Also, you don't have to have "dangerous animals" for innocent children to be hurt, we already have child predators in the world. Besides, dangerous animals would just be one of the exceptions, we would find a way to prevent them from indangering anyone without having to kill them. I'm also sure that they would probably live in different habitats then the one that we do, so coming in contact might be less likelier than you think.

Tanya @ Linh: True. But think about the animals you see when you drive around. Most people take care of their animals. They take them to veterinarians. These veternarians adminster shots that protect us from an animal if and when they bite us. If we did not keep any animals as property, a rabid dog may be just as likely as a pedophile to harm a human.

What Are Rights?

Linh: "Thus an animal that is capable of experiencing pleasure or happiness may be sacrificed to further some human purpose only if that demonstrably contributes to the overall pleasure or happiness on earth"

This is awful. Why should we have to sacrifice at all? We are not barbarians. We have come farther in humanity and should be above this. Animals and humans both, have the right to choose whether they want to be sacrificed or not.

Tanya @ Linh: How do animals choose whether or not they want to be sacrificed? Animals are not capable of making decisions. I do not believe that animals want to be "sacrificed", but i believe that the ability to make choices is something that sets animals and humans apart.    

Tanya: Animals already have a certain amount of moral rights.

Linh: Animals do already have a certain amount of moral rights, but those rights are questioned. We shouldn't have to question those rights, they should already be known,"because animals are like us in some relevant regards, they should be treated like we would be treated."

Tanya @ Linh: Of course we should not have to question an animal's moral rights. I agree that we should treat animals the same way we would want to be treated. You quoted that, "because animals are like us in some relevant regards." Animals "seek out comfort, avoid pain, and desire companionship." What are other ways "animals are like us?"

Tanya: Bob Torres brings up a good point about animals “seek[ing] out comfort, avoid[ing] pain, and desir[ing] companionship.” Most animals are just as social as humans are. They yearn for attention as children do; however, they are not children. There is a wall separating a human from an animal. Most people do not treat children as though they were animals. I am not saying that because animals are not human we should not treat them with respect or inflict intentional pain, but I am saying that we do not need to stop eating “livestock” and testing on animals because they may feel “uncomfortable” with the idea. 

Marly: I think many people are too insensitive towards animals. People mistreat, brutally torture, and kill animals every day. Simply going on the PETA website would confirm this. But even in school I've heard stories about horrible things being done to animals. A lot of times, it makes me feel sick to my stomach knowing that people could be so cruel because animals are innocent and have little defense against a human wishing to hurt them. I do not believe that animals should have the exact same rights as people. I think leaving huge amounts of money to your dog when you die is a bit ridiculous. But, they should be given equal moral consideration. When it comes to animals, I think in many situations people should live by the rule that we were taught at a young age: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated." Basically, if you would not abuse or kill a human, then you should not do it to an animal. Plus, you would not want an animal to do these things to you.

Chuck

Jackie B.

It is a Leap to Say Animals Have Interest in Leading Their Own Lives 

Linh: Animals kill and consume living beings (other animals and/or plants) in order to survive, and it is in their "interest" to survive and multiply according to the rule of the "survival of the fittest."

All of these qualities make-up a human being, so yea they do have an interest in leading their own life and it shouldn't be a surprise.