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Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare

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Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare
11/29/12
Agriculture 3pd. Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare

When you think of the right way to treat wild and domesticated animals you’d think it’d be common sense. But in reality there are actually many more problems surrounding this extremely controversially topic than you’d think. The treatment of animals and justifying what is right and wrong has been a very big issue for a long time. Animals are used for many purposes in our society such as food, clothing, research, companionship and other uses but who is to say which ones are ethical. We all know that animal cruelty is against the law and that all animals have rights but it’s the specifics that are a little more complicated. Everyone that is making laws and the Presidents of organizations say they want animals to be happy and do what they please, but how are we supposed to know what animals want or exactly how they are feeling. The ethical treatment of animals basically has two viewpoints Animal Rights and Animal Welfare. Animal Rights means that we have no moral justification to use animals for any human purpose no matter how humanely we treat them. Basically an animal right activist is trying to get rid of all use of animals. This would mean they are against consumption of meat, hunting, medical research, zoos, seeing eye dogs and even keeping animals as pets no matter how well they are treated. One organization based on these beliefs is P.E.T.A or People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. It is the largest animal rights organization in the world and focuses on ending animal suffering in factory farming, clothing trade, laboratories and entertainment. There motto is “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any way”. Another place that promotes animal rights is Animal Place it is one of the oldest and largest sanctuaries for farmed animals in the country a 600 acre sanctuary in Grass Valley,

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