Animal Rights

Animal rights refers to a philosophy that posits animals have certain rights that should be honored by human beings, the most important of which is the right to live a life free from suffering, cruelty, neglect, or mistreatment. A popular animal rights bumper sticker from the 1980s, “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, or experiment on,” describes this belief succinctly. While vegetarianism and kindness to animals have existed for centuries, animal rights, as a coherent philosophy, political movement, and form of activism, is a relatively recent phenomenon, originating with the publication of [Page 38]Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation (1975), an inspirational call-to-arms for many adherents. Animal rights organizations proliferated and extended into every type of exploitation and use of animals, including the treatment of animals ...