Animal Rights
...her are all the scientists. There will always be the one scientist, or a worker in a factory farm that gets there kicks, and giggles from hurting animals. “While one of the workers was talking about football he “spiked” a chicken onto the conveyor belt, pretending he had scored a touchdown.” An undercover agent for the animal rights group called Compassion Over Killing (COK) witness this at a KFC factory farm. Though this is not animal research it Animal Rights 5 is just an example of how ignorant someone could be. When you look at the big picture animal research needs animal rights for the respect of the animal that sacrifices itself for the well being of man. Animal Rights Philosophy “Animals are treated like machines that convert low-priced fodder into high-priced flesh, and any innovation will be used if it results in a cheaper conversion ratio.” This quote comes from the top man when it comes to animal rights philosophy. Mr. Peter Singer believes, so strongly in the liberation of animals that he calls it “the tyranny of human over non-human animals.” comparing it to the enslavement of the African Americans. Peter Singer brought more people to animal rights than any animal rights activist ever has. His writings still influence peoples thought about animal rights all over. If you look at books published on animal rights from 1970 to 1995 you can see a little after 1975 when his book was published that more and more people took notice of the notion that animals have the same intrinsic rights as humans. Main Concerns For The Animals Animal Rights 6 The main concern for the animal is weather, or not it is being treated cruel. When animals are being tested they can be put in some very cruel environments. “Millions of animals are used in experiments in which they are burned, scalded, blinded, and otherwise mutilated with out anesthesia during, or after the procedures.” In this quote above from Gary L. Francione speaks about a pig being burned to see its’ consequent eating habits. This can be considered very cruel, and unnecessary. If animals are to be tested they need to be tested for legitimate reasons. Not for the pure knowledge of ones self. In this case this poor pig was being put through these tests for a class at a prestigious institution. Gary makes a very good comparison of why this should be deemed unnecessary. He says if an “adolescent” were to commit this same act of burning the pig it would be going against the norms of society, but since this pig is being subjected to this testing for institutional purposes then it is “legitimate.” An animal being considered property is another big concern to animal rights activists. The common law states that if we are to own an animal then we are to take care of it, and treat it humanely, but when it comes to researching, and testing your animal it is not mistreatment to the animal if it is for a just cause. What is just and what is not just? This question of course will always be brought up. Justification is in the eye of the beholder. In this case any animal that is being held against its will is unjust, so there for any research, and testing done is unjust, and should be deemed unnecessary no matter what the outcome of the research. Animals can’t talk, and tell you what they want, or what they need. They depend on their owner to be able to know all of this. Animal Research Discoveries Animal Rights 7 Since the mid 18th century on into the “19th century with the first measurement of blood pressure, the establishment of experimental, and the discovery of spinal reflexes by Marshall Hall: all of which depended on the use of animals in research.” These may seem like small discoveries, but without just these two discoveries we would know very little about our bodies. “So act as to treat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other in every case as an end and, withal, never as a means only.” Immanuel Kant said this about human research. Animal activists argue that we should use humans rather than animals. Saying that the data is unreliable for an animal is much more different than a human. How do we know the research is credible? To say we are much different then lets say a Chimpanzee is to say we aren’t animals ourselves. Humans are animals on the same planet as all the rest of the animals in the world. It has been proven over, and over since the 1920’s that we can gain great knowledge from the testing, and research of animals. Just from 1920’s to the 1980’s there were over twenty four major medical breakthroughs that depended on the research of animals. Through time we have seen what we have gained from animal research. Animal Rights 8 Though the numbers aren’t high over the years the medical advances we made are huge. From the discovery of insulin for diabetes in the 1920’s to the most precious discoveries of life-support sustens for premature babies, these are only a couple, but you can see that these things we have gained are quite important. Many of us would not be living now if it weren’t for the medical advances we have made with the use of our brave little lab animals. Why Animals Should Have Some Rights. Animals like everything else on this universe should have the right to rights. We have set aside rights for animals. We have said to treat them humanely, and to take care of them. We have done this in so many ways it has gotten kind of old. We have brought back forests, wetlands, and set aside thousands if not millions, and millions of acres of land for animals. We have set aside whole sanctuaries for the animals. We have brought back animals that are damaging to the eco-system (Grey Wolves) to please animal activists. Animals in captivity do not know the difference bet...