There are many kinds of Animal Cruelty, Cruelty to Pets, Cruelty to Farm Animals, Circus and Zoo Animals,Etc.
Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to the circus and to zoos. Many of us bought our beloved “pets” at a pet shop. We wore wool, ate at KFC,
and maybe even fished. We never considered the impact of these actions
on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the
question “Why should animals have rights?”
Supporters of
animal rights believe that animals matter as individuals; that they
have their own value completely separate from how useful they are to
us; and that every creature has a right to live free from pain and
suffering. Animal rights is both a philosophy and a social movement
that challenges society’s traditional view that all the other animals
on this planet exist solely for human use. PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk
has said, “When it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness, and fear, a
rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Each one values his or her life and
fights the knife.”
Peter Singer, in his book Animal Liberation,
states that the basic principle of equality does not require equal or
identical treatment; it requires equal consideration. This is an
important distinction when talking about animal rights. People often
ask us if we really think that animals should have rights, and the
answer is, quite simply, “Yes.” We’re not saying that animals should
have drivers licenses or the right to vote, just that animals deserve
to live their lives free from suffering and exploitation. Philosopher
Jeremy Bentham once said that when deciding on a being’s rights, “[t]he
question is not ‘Can they reason?’ nor ‘Can they talk?’ but ‘Can they
suffer?’” What he meant is that if a being can suffer, then that being
deserves the right to equal consideration. It doesn’t matter whether or
not that being can talk or can understand mathematics. Regardless of
anything else, all animals have the ability to suffer in the same way
that human beings do. They feel pain, pleasure, fear, frustration,
loneliness, and motherly love. So whenever we do anything that
interferes with their needs, we have a moral responsibility to take
them into account.
Only prejudice allows us to deny
others the rights that we expect to have for ourselves. Whether
prejudice is based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or species, it
is morally unacceptable. If you wouldn’t eat a dog, why eat a pig?
Think about it—both animals have the exact same ability to feel pain,
but it is prejudice based on species that allows us to call one “pet”
and the other “dinner.”
Join the fight against prejudice today! Sign up
for the Street Team and help us change the world. For more information
on what happens to animals raised for food, clothing, experimentation,
and entertainment, check out the following links:
Taken from www.peta2.com
