ANIMAL RIGHTS THOUGHTS (Whole Text)

Thoughts of Animal Rights
動物權思潮英文版講義
動物權思潮英文版講義
台大通識
台大通識課程
通識課程 629 U2260
Animal Ethics Dilemma: Five aspects of animal ethics
Animal Ethics Dilemma

From: An interactive learning tool for university and professional training. http://ae.imcode.com/en/1001
The Contractarian View
“Morality is based on agreement”
The basic contractarian idea is that ethical obligations originate in mutual agreements or contracts
between people. Moral duties are similar to the terms and conditions we sign up to when opening a
bank account.
The thinking here is this. Each of us has his or her own interests. We are perfectly entitled to pursue
these, but in most situations we can benefit from the help of others. Others will find it attarctive to help
so long as they get some kind of help in return. Hence mutual cooperation is in all of our interests. It is
best for everyone. In cooperating we make agreements, and it is these agreements that bring ethical
obligations into being.
Such agreements need not be formally entered into like commercial contracts. They may be implicit in
people’s considered behaviour. Even so, non-human animals cannot make agreements. They lack the
understanding and control needed to enter a contractual arrangement.
As a result, animals neither create nor have moral duties. We, however, may have indirect ethical
obligations towards animals, because they can matter to other humans. If you have agreed with a
family that you will look after their cat while they visit relatives in Canada, you should do just that.
Hence, the cat is indirectly protected by your agreement.
Examples of statements typically made on the basis of this view:
“We should care about animal welfare, because consumers demand it and we want to sell products.”
“As far as possible one should avoid using cats, dogs, monkeys and other sensitive species for research,
because the general public objects.”
“I need to treat animals well enough for them to suit my purposes, but I don’t think it is
worthwhile doing any more than that.”
“To improve the quality of animal research, one should be concerned about animal welfare.”
1/5
The Utilitarian View
“Morality is about maximising human and animal well-being”
Animals, like humans, deserve moral consideration. What matters in our dealings with animals is the
extent to which we affect their well-being.
In deciding what to do, we must therefore consider welfare consequences for animals as well as
potential benefits for humans.
Activities which have an adverse impact on the well-being of animals may be justified if, all things
considered, they lead to a net increase in welfare (for humans or other animals)
Killing animals (e.g. for food) may be justified if the

farming conditions are not detrimental to animal welfare
and the killing is humanely performed.
Examples of statements typically made on the basis of this

view:
“Modern animal production is problematic because there is

a negative effect on animal welfare which is not
counterbalanced by the human benefits.”
“Some animal research may be justified by its vital

importance, as it may enable us to find cures for alleviate
painful diseases.”
“It is sometimes better for stray cats to be euthanased, as

they would otherwise live very poor lives. The remaining
stray cat population may benefit as well, because there will
be less competition for food.”
2/5
The Relational View
“Morality grows out of our relationship with animals and one another”
The relational view is really a group of associated views. What these views have in common is an
emphasis on the ethical importance of relationships between animals and human beings, and between
and among humans.
In one view, our duties to animals depend on whether they are close to us or not. So we have special
duties to domestic animals because they are in our care, although generally speaking we do not have
duties to wild animals.
Another view focuses on the way in which our treatment of animals might affect our treatment of
humans. Thus treating an animal badly is wrong because it reflects a moral attitude that may lead a
person to treat humans badly as well.
In each case, the relational theorist may hold, simply, that where a close relationship between a person
and animals already exists (e.g. a shepherd and flock) special ethical limits on the treatment of the
animals apply. However, because the key idea here is that there is value in close relationships,
relational theorists often wish to go further and hold that close relationships should be encouraged
wherever possible.
A comparison which may help to convey this last point is this: most of us think that friendship brings
with it responsibilities we do not have to people we don't know, but we also tend to think that
friendships are worth encouraging where the opportunity arises because they are valuable in
themselves.
“A dog is a man’s best friend, so it should be treated better than animals on farms and in laboratories.”
“We have no duties to pests like mice and rats, except to get rid of them as efficiently as possible.”
3/5
The Animal Rights View
“Good results cannot justify evil means”
Defenders of animal rights believe that fixed ethical rules place limits on our treatment of animals:
there are some things that we are not permitted to do to an animal whatever the circumstances. This
idea, of a non-negotiable prohibition, is what people are getting at when they talk about “animal
rights”.
It is one thing to say that animals have rights, and another to say what these rights are. This means that
the animal rights view comes in more or less radical forms.
Most radically, a defender of animal rights may hold that animals have rights just like our human rights.
Obviously, this view would exclude uniquely human rights, such as the right to freedom of speech.
However, it would include the right not to be killed for human benefit (except in self-defence.)
At the other end of the range, the claim may be merely that animals have the right to be treated “with
respect” or “humanely”: roughly speaking, we must not do avoidable harm to animals. Weaker views
of this kind need not rule out livestock farming and animal slaughter.
There is a vivid contrast here with utilitarianism, since utilitarians believe that, in maximising welfare
or happiness, it may be morally acceptable to violate what the defender of rights would call “rights”.
“Animals are not our slaves.”
“Animals have inherent value, and this should be respected.”
“Experiments on animals are unacceptable, regardless of the potential benefits involved.”
4/5
The Respect for Nature view
“We have a duty to protect not just individual animals, but the species to which they belong –
and, in particular, the integrity of each species.”
For those who hold this view, the problem, when a species becomes extinct, is not just that there is a
loss of resources or reduction in recreational opportunities. It is that the species in itself is of value, and
it no longer exists.
Again, because the preservation of species is in itself morally good, we should respect nature and its
rich genetic structures. We should not genetically modify species, since that involves disrespectful
interference.
A similar view can, of course, be taken about more established ways of interfering with the nature of
animals, including traditional selective breeding.
“We should leave animals the way evolution made them.”
“Endangered species have to be protected from extinction.”
“Nature must take its course.”
5/5
Animal rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 18
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Animal rights
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Animal liberation" redirects here; for other uses, see Animal liberation (disambiguation). For the album by Moby, see
Animal Rights (album).
Animal rights, is the idea that the most basic interests of animals, such as the interest
in avoiding suffering, should be afforded the same consideration as the similar
interests of human beings.[1] Animal rights advocates approach the issue from
different philosophical positions, but they agree that animals should no longer be
regarded as property, or used as food, clothing, research subjects, or entertainment, but
should instead be viewed as legal persons and members of the moral community.[2][3]
The idea of awarding rights to animals has the support of legal scholars such as Alan
Dershowitz and Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School.[4][2] Steven Wise, also of
Harvard Law School, argues that the first serious judicial challenges to what he calls
the "legal thinghood" of animals may only be a few years away,[5] while Toronto
lawyer Clayton Ruby believes that the idea of animal rights has reached the stage the
gay rights movement was at 25 years ago.[6] Animal law is now taught in 100 out of
180 law schools in the United States,[7] and in eight law schools in Canada.[6] The
concept of animal rights is routinely covered in universities as part of applied ethics or
philosophy courses; Robert Garner of the University of Leicester calls it the "new
morality."[8] In June 2008, Spain became the first country to introduce animal rights, A man holds a monkey by a rope
when a cross-party parliamentary committee recommended that rights be extended to around her neck, a scene epitomizing
the idea of animal ownership.
the great apes, in accordance with Peter Singer's Great Ape Project.[9]
Critics argue that animals are unable to enter into a social contract or make moral Rights
choices, and therefore cannot be regarded as possessors of rights, a position summed up Theoretical Distinctions
by the philosopher Roger Scruton, who writes that only human beings have duties and Conceptual Distinctions
that "[the] corollary is inescapable: we alone have rights."[10] An argument running Natural and legal rights
parallel to this is that there is nothing inherently wrong with using animals as resources Claim rights and liberty rights
so long as they do not suffer unnecessarily, a view known as the animal welfare position. Negative and positive rights
[11] There has also been criticism, including from within the animal rights movement, of Individual rights and Group rights
Substantial Distinctions
certain forms of animal rights activism, in particular the destruction of fur farms and Civil and political rights
animal laboratories by the Animal Liberation Front. Economic, social and cultural rights
Three generations of human rights
Contents Areas of Concern
Particular Groups
1 Development of the idea Animal rights and Human rights
Children's rights and Youth rights
1.1 Moral status of animals in the ancient world
Fathers' rights and Mothers' rights
1.2 17th century: Animals as automata
Men's rights and Women's rights
1.2.1 1641: Descartes
Other groups of Rights
1.2.2 1635, 1641, 1654: First known laws protecting animals Digital rights
1.2.3 1693: Locke Labor rights
1.3 18th century: The centrality of sentience, not reason LGBT rights
1.3.1 1754: Rousseau Reproductive rights
1.3.2 1785: Kant
1.3.3 1789: Bentham
1.3.4 1792: Thomas Taylor
1.4 19th century: Emergence of jus animalium
1.4.1 Legislation
1.4.1.1 1822: Martin's Act
1.4.1.2 1824: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
1.4.1.3 An early example of direct action
1.4.1.4 1866: American SPCA
1.4.2 Other groups
1.4.3 1824: Development of the concept of animal rights
1.4.3.1 1839: Schopenhauer
1.4.4 Late 1890s: Opposition to anthropomorphism
1.5 Early 20th century: Tierschutzgesetz; industrialization of animal use
1.5.1 1933: Tierschutzgesetz
1.5.1.1 Significance of the German position
1.5.2 Post 1945: Increase in animal use
1.6 Late 20th century: Emergence of an animal rights movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights 2008/10/18
Animal rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 第 17 頁，共 26 頁
Overview
Further information: Consequentialism, Deontological ethics, and Teleological ethics
There are two main philosophical approaches to the issue of animal rights: a utilitarian approach and
a rights-based one. The former is exemplifed by Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton, and
the latter by Tom Regan, professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State University.
Their differences reflect a distinction philosophers draw between ethical theories that judge the
rightness of an act by its consequences (called consequentialism, teleological ethics, or
utilitarianism, which is Singer's position), and those who judge acts to be right or wrong in
themselves, almost regardless of consequences (called deontological ethics, of which Regan is an
adherent). A consequentialist might argue, for example, that lying is wrong if the lie will make
someone unhappy. A deontologist would argue that lying is simply wrong.
Within the animal rights debate, Singer does not believe there are such things as natural rights and
that animals have them, although he uses the language of rights as shorthand for how we ought to
treat individuals. Instead, he believes that, when we weigh the consequences of an act in order to
judge whether it is right or wrong, the interests of animals, primarily their interest in avoiding
suffering, ought to be given equal consideration to the similar interests of human beings. That is,
where the suffering of one individual, human or non-human, is equivalent to that of any other, there
is no moral reason to award more weight to either one of them.
Regan's philosophy, on the other hand, is not driven by the weighing of consequences. He believes
that animals are what he calls "subjects-of-a-life," who have moral rights for that reason, and that
moral rights ought not to be ignored.
Utilitarian approach: Peter Singer
Further information: Act utilitarianism, Animal language, Animal Liberation

(book), and Preference utilitarianism
Equal consideration of interests
Singer is an act utilitarian, or more specifically a preference utilitarian, meaning that he judges the
rightness of an act by its consequences, and specifically by the extent to which it satisfies the
preferences of those affected, maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. (There are other forms of
utilitarianism, such as rule utilitarianism, which judges the rightness of an act according to the usual
consequences of whichever moral rule the act is an instance of.)
Singer's position is that there are no moral grounds for failing to give equal consideration to the
interests of human and non-humans. His principle of equality does not require equal or identical
treatment, but equal consideration of interests. A mouse and a man both have an interest in not being
kicked down the street, because both would suffer if so kicked, and there are no moral or logical
grounds, Singer argues, for failing to accord their interests in not being kicked equal weight.[81]
Singer quotes the English philosopher Henry Sidgwick: "The good of any one individual is of no
more importance, from the point of view ... of the Universe, than the good of any other."[72] This
reflects Jeremy Bentham's position: "[E]ach to count for one, and none for more than one."
Unlike the position of a man or a mouse, a stone would not suffer if kicked down the street, and
therefore has no interest in avoiding it. Interests, Singer argues, are predicated on the ability to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights 2008/4/3
Moral absolutism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 第 1 頁，共 3 頁
Moral absolutism
Moral absolutism is the belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can
be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, devoid of the context of the act. "Absolutism"
is often philosophically contrasted with moral relativism, which is a belief that moral truths are
relative to social, cultural, historical or personal references, and to situational ethics, which holds that
the morality of an act depends on the context of the act.
Morals are inherent in the laws of the universe, the nature of humanity, the will or character of a God
or Gods, or some other fundamental source. Moral absolutists regard actions as inherently moral or
immoral. Moral absolutists might, for example, judge slavery, war, dictatorship, the death penalty, or
childhood abuse to be absolutely and inarguably immoral regardless of the beliefs and goals of a
culture that engages in these practices.
In a minority of cases, moral absolutism is taken to the more constrained position that actions are
moral or immoral regardless of the circumstances in which they occur. Lying, for instance, would
always be immoral, even if done to promote some other good (e.g., saving a life). This rare view of
moral absolutism might be contrasted with moral consequentialism—the view that the morality of an
action depends on the context or consequences of that action.
Modern human rights theory is a form of moral absolutism, usually based on the nature of humanity
and the essence of human nature. One such theory was constructed by John Rawls in his A Theory of
Justice.
Contents
1 Moral absolutism and moral objectivism
2 Moral absolutism and religion
2.1 Graded absolutism
3 Moral absolutism and free will
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links
Moral absolutism and moral objectivism

The difference between these positions is subtle. Absolutism can be seen as a stronger form of
objectivism.
"Moral absolutism: There is at least one principle that ought never to be violated." [1](p. 50)
"Moral objectivism: There is a fact of the matter as to whether any given action is morally
permissible or impermissible: a fact of the matter that does not depend solely on social custom
or individual acceptance (developed from [1] p. 50)."
Moral absolutism and religion

Many religions have morally absolutist positions, regarding their system of morality as having been
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_absolutism 2008/2/29
Relativism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 第 1 頁，共 13 頁
Relativism
Compare moral relativism, aesthetic relativism, social constructionism, cultural relativism,

and cognitive relativism.
Relativism is the idea that some element or aspect of experience or culture is relative to, i.e.,
dependent on, some other element or aspect. Some relativists claim that humans can understand and
evaluate beliefs and behaviors only in terms of their historical or cultural context. The term often
refers to truth relativism, which is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths, i.e., that truth is
always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture.
One argument for relativism suggests that our own cognitive bias prevents us from observing
something objectively with our own senses, and notational bias will apply to whatever we can
allegedly measure without using our senses. In addition, we have a culture bias — shared with other
trusted observers — which we cannot eliminate. A counterargument to this states that subjective
certainty and concrete objects and causes form part of our everyday life, and that there is no great
value in discarding such useful ideas as isomorphism, objectivity and a final truth. (For more
information on the "usefulness" of ideas, see Pragmatism.)
Relativism does not say that all points of view are equally valid, in contrast to an absolutism which
argues there is but one true and correct view. In fact, relativism asserts that a particular instance Y
exists only in relation to and as a manifestation of a particular framework or viewpoint X, and that
no framework or standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others. That is, a non-universal trait Y
(e.g., a particular practice, behavior, custom, convention, concept, belief, perception, ethics, truth, or
conceptual framework) is a dependent variable influenced by the independent variable X (e.g., a
particular language, culture, historical epoch, a priori cognitive architecture, scientific frameworks,
gender, ethnicity, status, individuality). Notably, this is not an argument that all instances of a certain
kind of framework (say, all languages) do not share certain basic universal commonalities (say,
grammatical structure and vocabulary) that essentially define that kind of framework and distinguish
it from other frameworks (for example, linguists have criteria that define language and distinguish it
from the mere communication of other animals). Moreover, relativism also presupposes
philosophical realism in that there are actual objective things in the world that are relative to other
real things. Moreover, relativism also assumes causality, as well as a problematic web of
relationships between various independent variables and the particular dependent variables that they
influence.
Contents
1 Forms of relativism and advocates of relativism
1.1 Anthropological versus philosophical relativism
1.2 Descriptive versus normative relativism
1.3 Indian religions
1.4 Sophists
1.5 Bernard Crick
1.6 Paul Feyerabend
1.7 Thomas Kuhn
1.8 George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
1.9 Robert Nozick
1.10 Joseph Margolis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativism 2008/4/4
Moral agency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 第 1 頁，共 2 頁
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Moral agency
Moral agency is a person's capacity for making moral judgments and taking actions that comport
with morality.
Contents
1 Development and analysis
2 Distinction between moral agency and eligibility for moral consideration
3 Sources
4 See also
Development and analysis

Most philosophers suggest that only rational beings, people who can reason and form self-interested
judgments, are capable of being moral agents. Some suggest that those with limited rationality (for
example, people who are mildly mentally disabled) also have some basic moral capabilities.
Determinists argue that all of our actions are the product of antecedent causes, and some believe this
is incompatible with free will and thus claim that we have no real control over our actions. Immanuel
Kant argued that whether or not our real self, the noumenal self, can choose, we have no choice but
to believe that we choose freely when we make a choice. This does not mean that we can control the
effects of our actions.
It is useful to compare the idea of moral agency with the legal doctrine of mens rea, which means
guilty mind, and states that a person is legally responsible for what he does as long as he should
know what he is doing, and his choices are deliberate. Some theorists discard any attempts to
evaluate mental states and, instead, adopt the doctrine of strict liability, whereby one is liable under
the law without regard to capacity, and that the only thing is to determine the degree of punishment,
if any. Moral determinists would most likely adopt a similar point of view.
Distinction between moral agency and eligibility for moral

consideration
Many, perhaps even most philosophers, tend to view morality as a transaction among rational
parties, i.e., among moral agents. For this reason (e.g., Kant), they would exclude other animals from
moral consideration. Others state that one must draw a distinction between moral agency and being
subject to moral considerations, and that too much emphasis is placed on rationality as a requirement
for being part of the moral realm. Utilitarian philosophers like Jeremy Bentham and Peter Singer
have argued that the key to inclusion in the moral community is not rationality — for if it were, we
might have to exclude some disabled people and infants, and might also have to distinguish between
the degrees of rationality of healthy adults — but that the real object of moral action is the avoidance
of suffering.
Sources
Singer, Peter, Animal Liberation, 1975.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_agency 2008/5/24
Harm principle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 第 1 頁，共 2 頁

Harm principle
The harm principle is articulated most clearly in John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, though it is also
articulated in John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and in the work of Wilhelm von
Humboldt, to whom Mill is obliged and discusses at length. Mill argues that the sole purpose of law
should be to stop people from harming others. Conversely, Mill concludes that government should
not forcibly prevent people from engaging in victimless crimes such as gambling, drug usage, and
prostitution.
Mill defines the harm principle in Chapter One as follows:
The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely
the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the
means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public
opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or
collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection.
That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a
civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either
physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear
because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the
opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right... The only part of the conduct of
anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which
merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own
body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
– John Stuart Mill, [1]
References
1. ^ John Stuart Mill. On Liberty (http://books.google.com/books?
id=qCQCAAAAQAAJ&dq=on+liberty&pg=PP1&ots=mj9Q-etlOn&sig=axRYnLMf4-
lmq_ltKaCmAtWgz8g&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?
hl=en&rlz=&q=On+Liberty&btnG=Google+Search&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-
thumbnail#PPA21,M1) 21-22. Oxford University. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
See also
Golden rule
Victimless crime
Wiccan Rede
Non-aggression principle
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle"

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle 2008/5/22
Deep ecology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 第 1 頁，共 9 頁
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Deep ecology
Deep ecology is a recent branch of ecological philosophy (ecosophy) that considers humankind an
integral part of its environment. Deep ecology places greater value on non-human species,
ecosystems and processes in nature than established environmental and green movements. Deep
ecology has led to a new system of environmental ethics. The core principle of deep ecology as
originally developed is Arne Næss's doctrine of biospheric egalitarianism — the claim that, like
humanity, the living environment as a whole has the same right to live and flourish. Deep ecology
describes itself as "deep" because it persists in asking deeper questions concerning "why" and "how"
and thus is concerned with the fundamental philosophical questions about the impacts of human life
as one part of the ecosphere, rather than with a narrow view of ecology as a branch of biological
science, and aims to avoid merely utilitarian environmentalism, which it argues is concerned with
resource management of the environment for human purposes.
Contents
Development
The phrase deep ecology was coined by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss in 1973,[1] and he
helped give it a theoretical foundation. "For Arne Næss, ecological science, concerned with facts and
logic alone, cannot answer ethical questions about how we should live. For this we need ecological
wisdom. Deep ecology seeks to develop this by focusing on deep experience, deep questioning and
deep commitment. These constitute an interconnected system. Each gives rise to and supports the
other, whilst the entire system is, what Næss would call, an ecosophy: an evolving but consistent
philosophy of being, thinking and acting in the world, that embodies ecological wisdom and
harmony."[2] Næss rejected the idea that beings can be ranked according to their relative value. For
example, judgments on whether an animal has an eternal soul, whether it uses reason or whether it
has consciousness (or indeed higher consciousness) have all been used to justify the ranking of the
human animal as superior to other animals. Næss states that "the right of all forms [of life] to live is a
universal right which cannot be quantified. No single species of living being has more of this
particular right to live and unfold than any other species." This metaphysical idea is elucidated in
Warwick Fox's claim that we and all other beings are "aspects of a single unfolding reality".[3]. As
such Deep Ecology would support the view of Aldo Leopold in his book, "A Sand County Almanac"
that humans are ‘plain members of the biotic community’. They also would support Leopold's "Land
Ethic": "a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic
community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."
Deep ecology offers a philosophical basis for environmental advocacy which may, in turn, guide
human activity against perceived self-destruction. Deep ecology and environmentalism hold that the
science of ecology shows that ecosystems can absorb only limited change by humans or other
dissonant influences. Further, both hold that the actions of modern civilization threaten global
ecological well-being. Ecologists have described change and stability in ecological systems in
various ways, including homeostasis, dynamic equilibrium, and "flux of nature".[4] Regardless of
which model is most accurate, environmentalists contend that massive human economic activity has
pushed the biosphere far from its "natural" state through reduction of biodiversity, climate change,
and other influences. As a consequence, civilization is causing mass extinction. Deep ecologists hope
to influence social and political change through their philosophy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology 2008/5/18
Genetic fallacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 第 1 頁，共 2 頁

Genetic fallacy
The genetic fallacy is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on
something or someone's origin rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any
difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem
from the earlier context.
The fallacy therefore fails to assess the claim on its merit. The first criterion of a good argument is
that the premises must have bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim in question.[1] Genetic
accounts of an issue may be true, and they may help illuminate the reasons why the issue has
assumed its present form, but they are irrelevant to its merits. [2]
According to the Oxford Companion to Philosophy, the term originates in Morris Cohen and Ernest
Nagel's book Logic and Scientific Method.
Examples
From Attacking Faulty Reasoning by T. Edward Damer, Third Edition p. 36:
"You're not going to wear a wedding ring, are you? Don't you know that the wedding
“ ring originally symbolized ankle chains worn by women to prevent them from
running away from their husbands? I would not have thought you would be a party to
such a sexist practice."
”
There may be reasons why people may not wish to wear wedding rings, but it would be logically
inappropriate for a couple to reject the notion of exchanging wedding rings on the sole grounds of its
alleged sexist origins.
From With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies by S. Morris Engel, Fifth Edition,
pg. 196:
America will never settle down; look at the rabble-rousers who founded it.
“ ”
Notes
1. ^ Attacking Faulty Reasoning: A Practical Guide to Fallacy-Free Arguments (Third Edition) by T.
Edward Damer, chapter II, subsection "The Relevance Criterion" (pg. 12)
2. ^ With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies (Fifth Edition) by S. Morris Engel, chapter
V, subsection 1 (pg. 198)
External links
Nizkor: Genetic fallacy (http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/genetic-fallacy.html)
Fallacies of relevance: Genetic fallacy
(http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/skepticism/blfaq_fall_genetic.htm) from atheism web
Forms of the genetic fallacy (http://www.friesian.com/genetic.htm)
Fallacy files: Genetic fallacy (http://www.fallacyfiles.org/genefall.html)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_fallacy 2008/5/23
Justice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice
Justice
Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, Ethics

rationality, law, natural law, fairness and equity. A conception of Theoretical
justice is one of the key features of society. However, views of
what constitutes justice vary from society to society and person Meta-ethics
Normative · Descriptive
to person.
Consequentialism
Deontology
Virtue ethics
Ethics of care
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reciprocity should be equal to the wrong suffered; "life for life, wound for wound, stripe for
1／9 2008/9/3 下午 11:18

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The activated brain regions include the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Humans
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RSS Feeds fairness' because it shows the rewarding experience of being treated fairly."
A region of the brain called the insula, associated with disgust, is more active when people are given
insulting offers, Lieberman said.
When people accepted the insulting offers, they tended to turn on a region of the prefrontal cortex
that is associated with emotion regulation, while the insula was less active.
"We're showing what happens in the brain when people swallow their pride," Tabibnia said. "The
region of the brain most associated with self-control gets activated and the disgust-related region
shows less of a response."
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Thoughts of Animal Rights
Contents
Introduction
Chap. Subjects Questions Pages
I General 1-10 1
II Animals and morality 11-25 9
III Practical issues 26-32 22
IV Arguments from biology 33-38 27
V Insects and plants 39-47 31
VI Farming 48-59 39
VII Leather, fur, and fashion 60-62 47
VIII Hunting and fishing 63-68 50
IX Animals for entertainment 69-74 56
X Companion animals 75-76 61
XI Laboratory animals 77-86 63
XII AR activism 87-91 78
XIII AR information and organisations 92-95 84
XIV Finally 96 101
Introduction of Animal Rights FAQ, from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
Archive-name: ar-faq
Last-modified: 95/Apr/29
Version: ar_faq.txt 2.08a
--------------------------------------------------------------
Animal Rights Frequently Asked Questions
(AR FAQ)
--------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Animal Rights Frequently Asked Questions text (AR FAQ). This FAQ is intended to
satisfy two basic goals: a) to provide a source of information and encouragement for people exploring
the issues involved in the animal rights movement, and b) to answer the common questions and
justifications offered up by AR opponents. It is unashamedly an advocacy vehicle for animal rights.
Opponents of AR are invited to create a FAQ that codifies their views; we do not attempt to do so here.
The FAQ restricts itself specifically to AR issues; nutrition and other vegetarian/veganism issues are
intentionally avoided because they are already well covered in the existing vegetarianism and veganism
FAQs maintained by Michael Traub. To obtain these FAQs, contact Michael at his e-mail address
given below.
The FAQ was created through a collaboration of authors. The answers have been attributed via
initials, as follows:
TA Ted Altar taltar@beaufort.sfu.ca

JE Jonathan Esterhazy jester@cc.umanitoba.ca
DG Donald Graft dgraft@gate.net
JEH John Harrington jeh@bisoym.com
DVH Dietrich Von Haugwitz vonha001@mc.duke.edu
LJ Leor Jacobi leor@mellers1.psych.berkeley.edu
LK Larry Kaiser lkaiser@umich.edu
JK Jeremy Keens keens@pitvax.xx.rmit.edu.au
BL Brian Luke luke@checkov.hm.udayton.edu
PM Peggy Madison madison@alpha.acast.nova.edu
BRO Brian Owen brian6@vaxc.middlesex.ac.uk
JSD Janine Stanley-Dunham janine@wlb.hwwilson.com
JLS Jennifer Stephens jlstephe@uncc.edu
MT Michael Traub traub@btcs.bt.co.uk
AECW Allen ECW aecw001@mayfair.demon.co.uk
The current FAQ maintainer is Donald Graft (see address above). Ideas and criticisms are actively
solicited and will be very gratefully received. The material included here is released to the public
domain. We request that it be distributed without alteration to respect the author attributions.
This FAQ contains 96 questions. If they are not all present, then a mailer has probably truncated it.
Contact the FAQ maintainer for a set of split-up files.
DG
i
I --- General , questions #1-10 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
I. GENERAL
#1 What is all this Animal Rights (AR) stuff and why should it
concern me?
The fundamental principle of the AR movement is that nonhuman animals deserve to live
according to their own natures, free from harm, abuse, and exploitation. This goes further than just
saying that we should treat animals well while we exploit them, or before we kill and eat them. It says
animals have the RIGHT to be free from human cruelty and exploitation, just as humans possess this
right. The withholding of this right from the nonhuman animals based on their species
membership is referred to as "speciesism".
Animal rights activists try to extend the human circle of respect and compassion beyond our
species to include other animals, who are also capable of feeling pain, fear, hunger, thirst, loneliness,
and kinship. When we try to do this, many of us come to the conclusion that we can no longer support
factory farming, vivisection, and the exploitation of animals for entertainment. At the same time, there
are still areas of debate among animal rights supporters, for example, whether ANY research that
harms animals is ever justified, where the line should be drawn for enfranchising species with rights,
on what occasions civil disobedience may be appropriate, etc. However, these areas of potential
disagreement do not negate the abiding principles that join us: compassion and concern for the pain and
suffering of nonhumans.
One main goal of this FAQ (frequently questions and answers) is to address the common
justifications that arise when we become aware of how systematically our society abuses and exploits
animals. Such "justifications" help remove the burden from our consciences, but this FAQ attempts to
show that they do not excuse the harm we cause other animals. Beyond the scope of this FAQ, more
detailed arguments can be found in three classics of the AR literature.
The Case for Animal Rights, Tom Regan (ISBN 0-520-05460-1)

In Defense of Animals, Peter Singer (ISBN 0-06-097044-8)
Animal Liberation, Peter Singer (ISBN 0-380-71333-0, 2nd Ed.)
While appreciating the important contributions of Regan and Singer, many animal rights activists
emphasize the role of empathetic caring as the actual and most appropriate fuel for the animal rights
movement in contradistinction 對比 to Singer's and Regan's philosophical rationales. To the reader
who says "Why should I care?", we can point out the following reasons:
One cares about minimizing suffering.
One cares about promoting compassion in human affairs.
One is concerned about improving the health of humanity.
1
One is concerned about human starvation and malnutrition.

One wants to prevent the radical disruption of our planet's ecosystem.
One wants to preserve animal species.
One wants to preserve wilderness.
The connections between these issues and the AR agenda may not be obvious. Please read on as we
attempt to clarify this.
DG
The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could
have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny.
Jeremy Bentham (philosopher)
Life is life--whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The
idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage...
Sri Aurobindo (poet and philosopher)
Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all
other living beings, we are still savages.
Thomas Edison (inventor)
The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the
murder of men.
Leonardo Da Vinci (artist and scientist)
see also questions 2-3, 26, 87-91
#2 Is the Animal Rights movement different from the Animal

Welfare movement? The Animal Liberation movement?
The Animal Welfare movement acknowledges the suffering of nonhumans and attempts to reduce
that suffering through "humane" treatment, but it does not have as a goal elimination of the use and
exploitation of animals. The Animal Rights movement goes significantly further by rejecting the
exploitation of animals and according them rights in that regard. A person committed to animal welfare
might be concerned that cows get enough space, proper food, etc., but would not necessarily have any
qualms about killing and eating cows, so long as the rearing and slaughter are "humane". The Animal
Welfare movement is represented by such organizations as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, and the Humane Society.
2
Having said this, it should be realized that some hold a broader interpretation of the AR movement.
They would argue that the AW groups do, in fact, support rights for animals (e.g., a dog has the right
not to be kicked). Under this interpretation, AR is viewed as a broad umbrella covering the AW and
strict AR groups. This interpretation has the advantage of moving AR closer to the mainstream.
Nevertheless, there is a valid distinction between the AW and AR groups, as described in the first
paragraph.
Animal Liberation (AL) is, for many people, a synonym for Animal Rights (but see below). Some
people prefer the term "liberation" because it brings to mind images of other successful liberation
movements, such as the movement for liberation of slaves and liberation of women, whereas the term
"rights" often encounters resistance when an attempt is made to apply it to nonhumans. The phrase
"Animal Liberation" became popular with the publication of Peter Singer's classic book of the same
name. This use of the term liberation should be distinguished from the literal meaning discussed in
question #88, i.e., an Animal Liberationist is not necessarily one who engages in forceful civil
disobedience or unlawful actions.
Finally, intellectual honesty compels us to acknowledge that the account given here is rendered in
broad strokes (but is at least approximately correct), and purposely avoids describing ongoing debate
about the meaning of the terms "Animal Rights", "Animal Liberation", and "Animal Welfare", debate
about the history of these movements, and debate about the actual positions of the prominent thinkers.
To depict the flavor of such debates, the following text describes one coherent position. Naturally, it
will be attacked from all sides!
Some might suggest that a subtle distinction can be made between the Animal Liberation and
Animal Rights movements. The Animal Rights movement, at least as propounded by Regan and his
adherents, is said to require total abolition of such practices as experimentation on animals. The Animal
Liberation movement, as propounded by Singer and his adherents, is said to reject the absolutist view
and assert that in some cases, such experimentation can be morally defensible. Because such cases
could also justify some experiments on humans, however, it is not clear that the distinction described
reflects a difference between the liberation and rights views, so much as it does a broader difference of
ethical theory, i.e., absolutism versus utilitarianism. DG
Historically, animal welfare groups have attempted to improve the lot of animals in society. They
worked against the popular Western concept of animals as lacking souls and not being at all worthy of
any ethical consideration. The animal rights movement set itself up as an abolitionist alternative to the
reform-minded animal welfarists. As the animal rights movement has become larger and more
influential, the animal exploiters have finally been forced to respond to it. Perhaps inspired by the
efforts of Tom Regan to distinguish AR from AW, industry groups intent on maintaining the status quo
(the official site) have embraced the term "animal welfare". Pro-vivisection, hunting, trapping,
agribusiness, and animal entertainment groups now refer to themselves as "animal welfare" supporters.
Several umbrella groups whose goal is to defend these practices have also arisen.
3
This classic case of public-relations doublespeak acknowledges the issue of cruelty to animals in
name only, while allowing for the continued use and abuse of animals. The propaganda effect is to
stigmatize animal rights supporters as being extreme while attempting to portray themselves as the
reasonable moderates. Nowadays, the cause of "animal welfare" is invoked by the animal industry at
least as often as it is used by animal protection groups. LJ
SEE ALSO: #1, #3, #87-#88
#3 What exactly are rights and what rights can we give animals ?
Despite arguably being the foundation of the Western liberal tradition, the concept of "rights" has
been a source of controversy and confusion in the debate over AR. A common objection to the notion
that animals have rights involves questioning the origin of those rights. One such argument might
proceed as follows:
Where do these rights come from? Are you in special communication with God, and he has told
you that animals have rights? Have the rights been granted by law? Aren't rights something that
humans must grant?
It is true that the concept of "rights" needs to be carefully explicated. It is also true that the concept
of "natural rights" is fraught with philosophical difficulties. Complicating things further is the
confusion between legal rights and moral rights.
One attempt to avoid this objection is to accept it, but argue that if it is not an obstacle for thinking
of humans as having rights, then it should not be an obstacle for thinking of animals as having rights.
Henry Salt wrote:

Have the lower animals "rights?" Undoubtedly--if men have. That is the point I wish to make
evident in this opening chapter... The fitness of this nomenclature is disputed, but the existence of some
real principle of the kind can hardly be called in question; so that the controversy concerning "rights" is
little else than an academic battle over words, which leads to no practical conclusion. I shall assume,
therefore, that men are possessed of "rights," in the sense of Herbert Spencer's definition; and if any of
my readers object to this qualified use of the term, I can only say that I shall be perfectly willing to
change the word as soon as a more appropriate one is forthcoming. The immediate question that claims
our attention is this--if men have rights, have animals their rights also?
Satisfying though this argument may be, it still leaves us unable to respond to the sceptic who
disavows the notion of rights even for humans. Fortunately, however, there is a straightforward
interpretation of "rights" that is plausible and allows us to avoid the controversial rights rhetoric and
4
underpinnings. It is the notion that a "right" is the flip side of a moral imperative. If, ethically, we must
refrain from an act performed on a being, then that being can be said to have a "right" that the act not
be performed. For example, if our ethics tells us that we must not kill another, then the other has a right
not to be killed by us. This interpretation of rights is, in fact, an intuitive one that people both
understand and readily endorse. (Of course, rights so interpreted can be codified as legal rights through
appropriate legislation.)
It is important to realize that, although there is a basis for speaking of animals as having rights,
that does not imply or require that they possess all the rights that humans possess, or even that humans
possess all the rights that animals possess. Consider the human right to vote. (On the view taken here,
this would derive from an ethical imperative to give humans influence over actions that influence their
lives.) Since animals lack the capacity to rationally consider actions and their implications, and to
understand the concept of democracy and voting, they lack the capacity to vote. There is, therefore, no
ethical imperative to allow them to do so, and thus they do not possess the right to vote.
Similarly, some fowls have a strong biological need to extend and flap their wings; right-thinking
people feel an ethical imperative to make it possible for them to do so. Thus, it can be said that fowl
have the right to flap their wings. Obviously, such a right need not be extended to humans.
The rights that animals and humans possess, then, are determined by their interests and capacities.
Animals have an interest in living, avoiding pain, and even in pursuing happiness (as do humans). As a
result of the ethical imperatives, they have rights to these things (as do humans). They can exercise
these rights by living their lives free of exploitation and abuse at the hands of humans. DG
SEE ALSO: #1-#2
#4 Isn't AR hypocritical, e.g., because you don't give rights to

insects or plants?
The general hypocrisy argument appears in many forms. A typical form is as follows:
"It is hypocritical to assert rights for a cow but not for a plant; therefore, cows cannot have rights."
Arguments of this type are frequently used against AR. Not much analysis is required to see that
they carry little weight. First, one can assert a hypothesis A that would carry as a corollary hypothesis
B. If one then fails to assert B, one is hypocritical, but this does not necessarily make A false. Certainly,
to assert A and not B would call into question one's credibility, but it entails nothing about the validity
of A. Second, the factual assertion of hypocrisy is often unwarranted. In the above example, there are
grounds for distinguishing between cows and plants (plants do not have a central nervous system), so
the charge of hypocrisy is unjustified. One may disagree with the criteria, but assertion of such criteria
nullifies the charge of hypocrisy.
Finally, the charge of hypocrisy can be reduced in most cases to simple speciesism. For example,
the quote above can be recast as: "It is hypocritical to assert rights for a human but not for a plant;
therefore, humans cannot have rights."
5
To escape from this reductio ad absurdum of the first quote, one must produce a crucial relevant
difference between cows and humans, in other words, one must justify the speciesist assignment of
rights to humans but not to cows. (In question #24, we apply a similar reduction to the charge of
hypocrisy related to abortion. For questions dealing specifically with insects and plants, refer to
questions #39 through #46.)
Finally, we must ask ourselves who the real hypocrites are. The following quotation from Michael
W. Fox describes the grossly hypocritical treatment of exploited versus companion animals. DG
Farm animals can be kept five to a cage two feet square, tied up constantly by a two-foot-long
tether, castrated without anesthesia, or branded with a hot iron. A pet owner would be no less than
prosecuted for treating a companion animal in such a manner; an American president was, in fact,
morally censured merely for pulling the ears of his two beagles. Michael W. Fox (Vice President of
HSUS) SEE ALSO: #24, #39-#46
#5 What right do AR people have to impose their beliefs on others?
There is a not-so-subtle distinction between imposition of one's views and advertising them. AR
supporters are certainly not imposing their views in the sense that, say, the Spanish Inquisition imposed
its views, or the Church imposed its views on Galileo. We do, however, feel a moral duty to present our
case to the public, and often to our friends and acquaintances. There is ample precedent for this:
protests against slavery, protests against the Vietnam War, condemnation of racism, etc. One might
point out that the gravest imposition is that of the exploiter of animals upon his innocent and
defenseless victims. DG
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
George Orwell (author)
I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.
Harry S. Truman (33rd U.S. President)
SEE ALSO: #11, #87-#91
#6 Isn't AR just another facet of political correctness?
If only that were true! The term "politically correct" generally refers to a view that is in
synchronization with the societal mainstream but which some might be inclined to disagree with. For
example, some people might be inclined to dismiss equal treatment for the races as mere "political
correctness". The AR agenda is, currently, far from being a mainstream idea.
Also, it is ridiculous to suppose that a view's validity can be overturned simply by attaching the
label "politically correct" or "politically incorrect". DG
#7 Isn't AR just another religion?
6
No. The dictionary defines "religion" as the appeal to a supernatural power. (An alternate
definition refers to devotion to a cause; that is a virtue that the AR movement would be happy to
avow.)
People who support Animal Rights come from many different religions and many different
philosophies. What they share is a belief in the importance of showing compassion for other
individuals, whether human or nonhuman. LK
#8 Doesn't it demean (貶抑

貶抑 humans to give rights to animals?
貶抑)
A tongue-in-cheek, though valid, answer to this question is given by David Cowles-Hamar:

"Humans are animals, so animal rights are human rights!"
In a more serious vein, we can observe that giving rights to women and black people does not
demean white males. By analogy, then, giving rights to nonhumans does not demean humans. If
anything, by being morally consistent, and widening the circle of compassion to deserving nonhumans,
we ennoble humans. (Refer to question #26 for other relevant arguments.) DG
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mahatma Gandhi (statesman and philosopher)
It is man's sympathy with all creatures that first makes him truly a man.
Albert Schweitzer (statesman, Nobel 1952)
For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he
who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.
Pythagoras (mathematician)
SEE ALSO: #26
#9 Weren't Hitler and Goebbels in favor of animal rights?
This argument is absurd and almost unworthy of serious consideration. The questioner implies
that since Hitler and Goebbels allegedly held views supportive of animal rights (e.g., Hitler was a
vegetarian for some time), the animal rights viewpoint must be wrong or dubious.
The problem for this argument is simple: bad people and good people can both believe things
correctly. Or put in another way, just because a person holds one bad belief (e.g., Nazism), that doesn't
make all his beliefs wrong. A few examples suffice to illustrate this. The Nazis undertook smoking
reduction campaigns. Is it therefore dubious to discourage smoking? Early Americans withheld respect
7
and liberty for black people. Does that mean that they were wrong in giving respect and liberty to
others?
Technically, this argument is an "ignoratio elenchus fallacy", arguing from irrelevance.
Finally, many scholars are doubtful that Hitler and Goebbels supported AR in any meaningful way.
DG
SEE ALSO: #54
#10 Do you really believe that "a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy"?
Taken alone and literally, this notion is absurd. However, this quote has been shamelessly
removed from its original context and misrepresented by AR opponents. The original context of the
quote is given below. Viewed within its context, it is clear that the quote is neither remarkable nor
absurd. DG
When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst,
a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Ingrid Newkirk (AR activist)
SEE ALSO: #47
8
II --- Animals and Morality, questions # 11-25 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
II. ANIMALS AND MORALITY
#11 There is no correct or incorrect in morals; you have yours and

I have mine, right?
This position, known as moral relativism, is quite ancient but became fashionable at the turn of the
century, as reports on the customs of societies alien to those found in Europe became available. It fell
out of fashion, after the Second World War, although it is occasionally revived. Ethical propositions,
we are asked to believe, are no more than statements of personal opinion and, therefore, cannot carry
absolute weight.
The main problem with this position is that ethical relativists are unable to denounce execrable
ethical practices, such as racism. On what grounds can they condemn (if at all) Hitler's ideas on racial
purity? Are we to believe that he was uttering an ethical truth when advocating the Final Solution?
In addition to the inability to denounce practices of other societies, the relativists are unable to
counter the arguments of even those whose society they share. They cannot berate someone who
proposes to raise and kill infants for industrial pet food consumption, for example, if that person sees it
as morally sound. Indeed, they cannot articulate the concept of societal moral progress, since they lack
a basis for judging progress. There is no point in turning to the relativists for advice on ethical issues
such as euthanasia, infanticide, or the use of fetuses in research.
Faced with such arguments, ethical relativists sometimes argue that ethical truth is based on the
beliefs of a society; ethical truth is seen as nothing more than a reflection of societal customs and habits.
Butchering animals is acceptable in the West, they would say, because the majority of people think it
so.
They are on no firmer ground here. Are we to accept that chattel slavery was right before the US
Civil War and wrong thereafter? Can all ethical decisions be decided by conducting opinion polls?
It is true that different societies have different practices that might be seen as ethical by one and
unethical by the other. However, these differences result from differing circumstances. For example, in
a society where mere survival is key, the diversion of limited food to an infant could detract
significantly from the well-being of the existing family members that contribute to food gathering.
Given that, infanticide may be the ethically correct course.
The conclusion is that there is such a thing as ethical truth (otherwise, ethics becomes vacuous and
devoid of proscriptive force). The continuity of thought, then, between those who reject the evils of
slavery, racial discrimination, and gender bias, and those who denounce the evils of speciesism
becomes striking. AECW
Many AR advocates (including myself) believe that morality is relative. We believe that AR is much
more cogently argued when it is argued from the standpoint of your opponent's morality, not some
9
mythical, hard-to-define universal morality. In arguing against moral absolutism, there is a very simple
objection: Where does this absolute morality come from? Moral absolutism is an argument from
authority, a tautology. If there were such a thing as "ethical truth", then there must be a way of
determining it, and obviously there isn't. In the absence of a known proof of "ethical truth", I don't
know how AECW can conclude it exists.
An example of the method of leveraging a person's morality is to ask the person why he has
compassion for human beings. Almost always he will agree that his compassion does not stem from the
fact that: 1) humans use language, 2) humans compose symphonies, 3) humans can plan in the far
future, 4) humans have a written, technological culture, etc. Instead, he will agree that it stems from the
fact that humans can suffer, feel pain, be harmed, etc. It is then quite easy to show that nonhuman
animals can also suffer, feel pain, be harmed, etc. The person's arbitrary inconsistency in not according
moral status to nonhumans then stands out starkly. JEH
There is a middle ground between the positions of AECW and JEH. One can assert that just as
mathematics is necessarily built upon a set of unprovable axioms, so is a system of ethics. At the
foundation of a system of ethics are moral axioms, such as "unnecessary pain is wrong". Given the set
of axioms, methods of reasoning (such as deduction and induction), and empirical facts, it is possible to
derive ethical hypotheses. It is in this sense that an ethical statement can be said to be true. Of course,
one can disagree about the axioms, and certainly such disagreement renders ethics "relative", but the
concept of ethical truth is not meaningless.
Fortunately, the most fundamental ethical axioms seem to be nearly universally accepted, usually
because they are necessary for societies to function. Where differences exist, they can be elucidated
and discussed, in a style similar to the "leveraging" described by JEH. DG
To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the sufferings of animals
than in the sufferings of man. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and that the
man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly butchered every day without a
shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be thought ridiculous. And that is the
unpardonable crime. Romain Rolland (author, Nobel 1915)
SEE ALSO: #5
#12 The animals are raised to be eaten; so what is wrong with that?
This question has always seemed to me to be a fancy version of "But we want to do these things,
so what is wrong with that?" The idea that an act, by virtue of an intention of ours, can be exonerated
morally is totally illogical.
But worse than that, however, is the fact that such a belief is a dangerous position to take because
it can enable one to justify some practices that are universally condemned. To see how this is so,
consider the following restatement of the basis of the question: "Suffering can be excused so long as
we breed them for the purpose." Now, cannot an analogous argument be used to defend a group of
10
slave holders who breed and enslave humans and justify it by saying "but they're bred to be our
workers"? Could not the Nazis defend their murder of the Jews by saying "but we rounded them up to
be killed"? DG
Shame on such a morality that is worthy of pariahs, and that fails to recognize the eternal essence
that exists in every living thing, and shines forth with inscrutable significance from all eyes that see the
sun! Arthur Schopenhauer (philosopher)
SEE ALSO: #13, #61
#13 But isn't it true that the animals wouldn't exist if we didn't
raise them for slaughter?
There are two ways to interpret this question. First, the questioner may be referring to "the
animals" as a species, in which case the argument might be more accurately phrased as follows:
"The ecological niche of cows is to be farmed; they get continued

survival in this niche in return for our using them."
Second, the questioner may be referring to "the animals" as individuals, in which case the
phrasing might be:
"The individual cows that we raise to eat would not have had a life had we not done so."
We deal first with the species interpretation and then with the individuals interpretation. The
questioner's argument applies presumably to all species of animals; to make things more concrete, we
will take cows as an example in the following text.
It is incorrect to assert that cows could continue to exist only if we farm them for human
consumption. First, today in many parts of India and elsewhere, humans and cows are engaged in a
reciprocal and reverential relationship. It is only in recent human history that this relationship has been
corrupted into the one-sided exploitation that we see today. There IS a niche for cows between
slaughter/consumption and extinction. (The interested reader may find the book Beyond Beef by
Jeremy Rifkin quite enlightening on this subject.)
Second, several organizations have programs for saving animals from extinction. There is no
reason to suppose that cows would not qualify.
The species argument is also flawed because, in fact, our intensive farming of cattle results in
habitat destruction and the loss of other species. For example, clearing of rain forests for pasture has
led to the extinction of countless species. Cattle farming is destroying habitats on six continents. Why
is the questioner so concerned about the cow species while being unconcerned about these other
species? Could it have anything to do with the fact that he wants to continue to eat the cows?
11
Finally, a strong case can be made against the species argument from ethical theory. Arguments
similar to the questioner's could be developed that would ask us to accept practices that are universally
condemned. For example, consider a society that breeds a special race of humans for use as slaves.
They argue that the race would not exist if they did not breed them for use as slaves. Does the reader
accept this justification?
Now we move on to the individuals interpretation of the question. One attempt to refute the
argument is to answer as follows:
"It is better not to be born than to be born into a life of

misery and early death."
To many, this is sufficient. However, one could argue that the fact that the life is miserable before
death is not necessary. Suppose that the cows are treated well before being killed painlessly and eaten.
Is it not true that the individual cows would not have enjoyed their short life had we not raised them for
consumption? Furthermore, what if we compensate the taking of the life by bringing a new life into
being?
Peter Singer originally believed that this argument was absurd because there are no cow souls
waiting around to be born. Many people accept this view and consider it sufficient, but Singer now
rejects it because he accepts that to bring a being to a pleasant life does confer a benefit on that being.
(There is extensive discussion of this issue in the second edition of Animal Liberation.) How then are
we to proceed?
The key is that the AR movement asserts that humans and nonhumans have a right to not be killed
by humans. The ethical problem can be seen clearly by applying the argument to humans. Consider the
case of a couple that gives birth to an infant and eats it at the age of nine months, just when their next
infant is born. A 9-month old baby has no more rational knowledge of its situation or future plans than
does a cow, so there is no reason to distinguish the two cases. Yet, certainly, we would condemn the
couple. We condemn them because the infant is an individual to whom we confer the right not to be
killed. Why is this right not accorded to the cow? I think the answer is that the questioner wants to eat
it. DG
It were much better that a sentient being should never have existed,
than that it should have existed only to endure unmitigated misery.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (poet)
SEE ALSO: #12
#14 Don't the animals we use have a happier life since they are fed
and protected?
12
The questioner makes two assumptions here. First, that happiness or contentment accrues from
being fed and protected, and second, that the animals are, in fact, fed and protected. Both of these
premises can be questioned.
Certainly the animals are fed; after all, they must be fattened for consumption. It is very difficult
to see any way that, say, factory-farmed chickens are "protected". They are not protected from
mutilation, because they are painfully debeaked. They are not protected from psychological distress,
because they are crowded together in unnatural conditions. And finally, they are not protected from
predation, because they are slaughtered and eaten by humans.
We can also question the notion that happiness accrues from feeding and protection alone. The
Roman galley slaves were fed and protected from the elements; nevertheless, they would presumably
trade their condition for one of greater uncertainty to obtain happiness. The same can be said of the
slaves of earlier America.
Finally, an ethical argument is relevant here. Consider again the couple of question #13. They will
feed and protect their infant up to the point at which they consume it. We would not accept this as a
justification. Why should we accept it for the chicken? DG
SEE ALSO: #13
#15 Is the use of service animals and beasts of burden considered

exploitative?
A simple approach to this question might be to suggest that we all must work for a living and it
should be no different for animals. The problem is that we want to look at the animals as like children,
i.e., worthy of the same protections and rights, and, like them, incapable of being morally responsible.
But we don't force children into labor! One can make a distinction, however, that goes something like
this: The animals are permanently in their diminished state (i.e., incapable of voluntarily assenting to
work); children are not. We do not impose a choice of work for children because they need the time to
develop into their full adult and moral selves. With the animals, we choose for them a role that allows
them to contribute; in return, we do not abuse them by eating them, etc. If this is done with true
concern that their work conditions are appropriate and not of a sweat-shop nature, that they get enough
rest and leisure time, etc., this would constitute a form of stewardship that is acceptable and beneficial
to both sides, and one that is not at odds with AR philosophy. DG
#16 Doesn't the Bible give Humanity dominion over the animals?
It is true that the Bible contains a passage that confers on humanity dominion over the animals. The
import of this fact derives from the assumption that the Bible is the word of God, and that God is the
ultimate moral authority. Leaving aside for the moment consideration of the meaning of dominion, we
can take issue with the idea of seeking moral authority from the Bible. First, there are serious problems
13
with the interpretation of Biblical passages, with many verses contradicting one another, and with
many scholars differing dramatically over the meaning of given verses.
Second, there are many claims to God-hood among the diverse cultures of this world; some of
these Gods implore us to respect all life and to not kill unnecessarily. Whose God are we to take as the
ultimate moral authority?
Finally, as Tom Regan observes, many people do not believe in a God and so appeals to His moral
authority are empty for such people. For such people, the validity of judgments of the supposed God
must be cross-checked with other methods of determining reasonableness. What are the cross-checks
for the Biblical assertions?
These remarks apply equally to other assertions of Biblical approval of human practices (such as
the consumption of animals).
Even if we accept that the God of the Bible is a moral authority, we can point out that "dominion"
is a vague term, meaning "stewardship" or "control over". It is quite easy to argue that appropriate
stewardship or control consists of respecting the life of animals and their right to live according to their
own nature. The jump from dominion to approval of our brutal exploitation of animals is not contained
in the cited Biblical passage, either explicitly or implicitly. DG
#17 Morals are a purely human construction (animals don't

understand morals); doesn't that mean it is not rational to apply our
morality to animals?
The fallaciousness of this argument can be easily demonstrated by making a simple substitution:
Infants and young children don't understand morals, doesn't that mean it is not rational to apply our
morality to them? Of course not. We refrain from harming infants and children for the same reasons
that we do so for adults. That they are incapable of conceptualizing a system of morals and its benefits
is irrelevant.
The relevant distinction is formalized in the concept of "moral agents" versus "moral patients". A
moral agent is an individual possessing the sophisticated conceptual ability to bring moral principles to
bear in deciding what to do, and having made such a decision, having the free will to choose to act that
way. By virtue of these abilities, it is fair to hold moral agents accountable for their acts. The
paradigmatic moral agent is the normal adult human being.
Moral patients, in contrast, lack the capacities of moral agents and thus cannot fairly be held
accountable for their acts. They do, however, possess the capacity to suffer harm and therefore are
proper objects of consideration for moral agents. Human infants, young children, the mentally deficient
or deranged, and nonhuman animals are instances of moral patienthood.
Given that nonhuman animals are moral patients, they fall within the purview of moral
consideration, and therefore it is quite rational to accord them the same moral consideration that we
accord to ourselves. DG SEE ALSO: #19, #23, #36
14
#18 If AR people are so worried about killing, why don't they

become fruitarians?
Killing, per se, is not the central concern of AR philosophy, which is concerned with the
avoidance of unnecessary pain and suffering. Thus, because plants neither feel pain nor suffer, AR
philosophy does not mandate fruitarianism (a diet in which only fruits are eaten because they can be
harvested without killing the plant from which they issue). DG
SEE ALSO: #42-#46
#19 Animals don't care about us; why should we care about them?
The questioner's position--that, in essence, we should give rights only to those able to respect
ours--is known as the reciprocity argument. It is unconvincing both as an account of the way our
society works and as a prescription for the way it should work.
Its descriptive power is undermined by the simple observation that we give rights to a large
number of individuals who cannot respect ours. These include some elderly people, some people
suffering from degenerative diseases, some people suffering from irreversible brain damage, the
severely retarded, infants, and young children. An institution that, for example, routinely sacrificed
such individuals to test a new fertilizer would certainly be considered to be grievously violating their
rights.
The original statement fares no better as an ethical prescription. Future generations are unable to
reciprocate our concern, for example, so there would be no ethical harm done, under such a view, in
dismissing concerns for environmental damage that adversely impacts future generations.
The key failing of the questioner's position lies in the failure to properly distinguish between the
following capacities:
The capacity to understand and respect others' rights (moral agency).

The capacity to benefit from rights (moral patienthood).
An individual can be a beneficiary of rights without being a moral agent. Under this view, one
justifies a difference of treatments of two individuals (human or nonhuman) with an objective
difference that is RELEVANT to the difference of treatment. For example, if we wished to exclude a
person from an academic course of study, we could not cite the fact that they have freckles. We could
cite the fact that they lack certain academic prerequisites. The former is irrelevant; the latter is relevant.
Similarly, when considering the right to be free of pain and suffering, moral agency is irrelevant; moral
patienthood IS relevant. AECW
15
The assumption that animals don't care about us can also be questioned. Companion animals have
been known to summon aid when their owners are in trouble. They have been known to offer comfort
when their owners are distressed. They show grief when their human companions die. DG
SEE ALSO: #17, #23, #36
#20 A house is on fire and a dog and a baby are inside. Which do
you save first?
The one I choose to save first tells us nothing about the ethical decisions we face. I might decide
to save my child before I saved yours, but this certainly does not mean that I should be able to
experiment on your child, or exploit your child in some other way. We are not in an emergency
situation like a fire anyway. In everyday life, we can choose to act in ways that protect the rights of
both dogs and babies. LK
Like anyone else in this situation, I would probably save the one to which I am emotionally more
attached. Most likely it would be the child. Someone might prefer to save his own beloved dog before
saving the baby of a stranger. However, as LK states above, this tells us nothing about any ethical
principles. DVH
#21 What if I made use of an animal that was already dead?
There are two ways to interpret this question. First, the questioner might really be making the
excuse "but I didn't kill the animal", or second, he could be asking about the morality of using an
animal that has died naturally (or due to a cause unassociated with the demand for animal products,
such as a road kill). For the first interpretation, we must reject the excuse. The killing of animals for
meat, for example, is done at the request (through market demand), and with the financial support
(through payment), of the end consumers. Their complicity is inescapable. Society does not excuse the
receiver of stolen goods because he "didn't do the burglary".
For the second interpretation, the use of naturally killed animals, there seems to be no moral
difficulty involved. Many would, for esthetic reasons, still not use animal products thus obtained.
(Would you use the bodies of departed humans?) Certainly, natural kills cannot satisfy the great
demand for animal products that exists today; non-animal and synthetic sources are required.
Other people may avoid use of naturally killed animal products because they feel that it might
encourage a demand in others for animal products, a demand that might not be so innocently satisfied.
DG
This can be viewed as a question of respect for the dead. We feel innate revulsion at the idea of
grave desecration for this reason. Naturally killed animals should, at the very least, be left alone rather
than recycled as part of an industrial process. This was commonly practiced in the past, e.g., Egyptians
used to mummify their cats. AECW
16
You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is

concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (author)
#22 Where should one draw the line: animals, insects, bacteria?
AR philosophy asserts that rights are to be accorded to creatures that have the capacity to
experience pain, to suffer, and to be a "subject of a life". Such a capacity is definitely not found in
bacteria. It is definitely found in mammals. There is debate about such animals as mollusks and
arthropods (including insects). One should decide, based upon available evidence and one's own
conscience, where the line should be drawn to adhere to the principle of AR described in the first
sentence.
Questions #39 and #43 discuss some of the evidence relevant to drawing the line. DG
SEE ALSO: #39, #43
#23 If the killing is wrong, shouldn't you stop predators from

killing other animals?
This is one of the more interesting arguments against animal rights. We prevent human moral patients
from harming others, e.g., we prevent children from hitting each other, so why shouldn't we do the
same for nonhuman moral patients (refer to question #17 for a definition of moral patienthood)? If
anything, the duty to do so might be considered more serious because predation results in a serious
harm--death.
A first answer entails pointing out that predators must kill to survive; to stop them from killing is,
in effect, to kill them.
Of course, we could argue that intervening on a massive scale to prevent predation is totally
impractical or impossible, but that is not morally persuasive.
Suppose we accept that we should stop a cat from killing a bird. Then we realize that the bird is
the killer of many snakes. Should we now reason that, in fact, we shouldn't stop the cat? The point is
that humans lack the broad vision to make all these calculations and determinations.
The real answer is that intervening to stop predation would destroy the ecosystems upon which the
biosphere depends, harming all of life on earth. Over millions of years, the biosphere has evolved
complex ecosystems that depend upon predation for their continued functioning and stability. Massive
intervention by humans to stop predation would inflict serious and incalculable harm on these
ecosystems, with devastating results for all life.
Even if we accept that we should prevent predation (and we don't accept that), it does not follow
that, because we do not, we are therefore justified in exploiting moral patients ourselves. When we fail
to stop widespread slaughter of human beings in foreign countries, it does not follow that we, ourselves,
17
believe it appropriate to participate in such slaughter. Similarly, our failure to prevent predation cannot
be taken as justification of our exploitation of animals. DG
SEE ALSO: #17, #19, #36, #64
#24 Is the AR movement against abortion? If not, isn't that

hypocritical?
Attempts are frequently made to tie Animal Rights exponents to one side or the other of the
abortion debate. Such attempts are misguided. Claims that adherence to the ethics of AR determine
one's position on embryo rights are plainly counter-intuitive, unless one is also prepared to argue that
being a defender of human rights compels one to a particular position on abortion. Is it the case that
one cannot consistently despise torture, serfdom, and other barbaric practices without coming to a
particular conclusion on abortion?
AR defenders demand that the rights currently held by humans be extended to all creatures similar
in morally relevant ways. For example, since society does not accept that mature, sentient human moral
patients (refer to question #17 for a brief description of the distinction between patients and agents)
may be routinely annihilated in the name of science, it logically follows that comparable nonhuman
animals should be given the same protection. On the other hand, abortion is still a moot point. It is
plainly illogical to expect the AR movement to reflect anything other than the full spectrum of opinion
found in society at large on the abortion issue.
Fundamentally, AR philosophers are content with submitting sufficient conditions for the
attribution of rights to individuals, conditions that explain the noncontroversial protections afforded
today to humans. They neither encourage nor discourage attempts to widen the circle of protection to
fetuses. AECW
There is a range of views among AR supporters on the issue of abortion versus animal rights.
Many people believe, as does AECW, that the issues of abortion and AR are unrelated, and that the
question is irrelevant to the validity of AR. Others, such as myself, feel that abortion certainly is
relevant to AR. After all, the granting of rights to animals (and humans) is based on their capacity to
suffer and to be a subject-of-a-life. It seems clear that late-term fetuses can suffer from the abortion
procedure. Certain physiological responses, such as elevated heart rates, and the existence of a
functioning nervous system support this view.
It also can be argued that the fetus is on a course to become a subject-of-a-life, and that by
aborting the fetus we therefore harm it. Some counter this latter argument by claiming that the
"potential" to become subject-of-a-life is an invalid grounds for assigning rights, but this is a fine
philosophical point that is itself subject to attack. For example, suppose a person is in a coma that,
given enough time, will dissipate--the person has the potential to be sentient again. Does the person
lose his rights while in the coma?
18
While the arguments adduced may show that abortion is not irrelevant to AR, they do not show
that abortion is necessarily wrong. The reason is that it is possible to argue that the rights of the fetus
are in conflict with the rights of the woman, and that the rights of the woman dominate. All may not
agree with this trade-off, but it is a consistent, non-hypocritical stance that is not in conflict with AR
philosophy. See question #4 for an analysis of hypocrisy arguments in general. DG
SEE ALSO: #4
#25 Doesn't the ethical theory of contractarianism show that

animals have no rights?
Contractarianism is an ethical theory that attempts to account for our morality by appealing to
implicit mutually beneficial agreements, or contracts. For example, it would explain our refusal to
strike each other by asserting that we have an implied contract: "You don't hit me and I won't hit you."
The relevance of contractarianism to AR stems from the supposition that nonhuman animals are
incapable of entering into such contracts, coupled with the assertion that rights can be attributed only
to those individuals that can enter into such contracts. Roughly, animals can't have rights because they
lack the rational capacity to assent to a contract requiring them to respect our rights.
Contractarianism is perhaps the most impressive attempt to refute the AR position; therefore, it is
important to consider it in some detail. It is easily possible to write a large volume on the subject. We
must limit ourselves to considering the basic arguments and problems with them. Those readers finding
this incomplete or nonrigorous are advised to consult the primary literature.
We begin by observing that contractarianism fails to offer a compelling account of our moral
behavior and motives. If the average person is asked why they think it wrong to steal from their
neighbor, they do not answer that by refraining from it they ensure that their neighbor will not steal
from them. Nor do they answer that they have an implicit mutual contract with their neighbor. Instead
of invoking contracts, people typically assert some variant of the harm principle; e.g., they don't steal
because it would harm the neighbor. Similarly, we do not teach children that the reason why they
should not steal is because then people will not steal from them.
Another way to point up the mismatch between the theory of contractarianism and our actual
moral behavior is to ask if, upon risking your own life to save my child from drowning, you have done
this as a result of a contractual obligation. Certainly, one performs such acts as a response to the
distress of another being, not as a result of contractual obligations.
Contractarianism can thus be seen as a theory that fails to account for our moral behavior. At best,
it is a theory that its proponents would recommend to us as preferable. (Is it seen as preferable because
it denies rights to animals, and because it seems to justify continued exploitation of animals?)
Arguably the most serious objection to contractarianism is that it can be used to sanction
arrangements that would be almost universally condemned. Consider a group of very rich people that
assemble and create a contract among themselves the effect of which is to ensure that wealth remains in
19
their control. They agree by contract that even repressive tactics can be used to ensure that the masses
remain in poverty. They argue that, by virtue of the existence of their contract, that they do no wrong.
Similar contracts could be drawn up to exclude other races, sexes, etc.
John Rawls attempts to overcome this problem by supposing that the contractors must begin from
an "initial position" in which they are not yet incarnated as beings and must form the contract in
ignorance of their final incarnation. Thus, it is argued, since a given individual in the starting
position does not know whether, for example, she will be incarnated as a rich woman or a poor woman,
that individual will not form contracts that are based on such criteria. In response, one can begin to
wonder at the lengths to which some will go in creating ad hoc adjustments to a deficient theory. But
more to the point, one can turn around this ad hoc defense to support the AR position. For surely, if
individuals in the initial position are to be truly ignorant of their destiny, they must assume that they
may be incarnated as animals. Given that, the contract that is reached is likely to include strong
protections for animals!
Another problem with Rawls' device is that probabilities can be such that, even given ignorance,
contracts can result that most people would see as unjust. If the chance of being incarnated as a slave
holder is 90 percent, a contract allowing slavery could well result because most individuals would feel
they had a better chance of being incarnated as a slave holder. Thus, Rawls' device fails even to achieve
its purpose.
It is hard to see how contractarianism can permit movement from the status quo. How did alleged
contracts that denied liberty to slaves and excluded women from voting come to be renegotiated?
Contractarianism also is unable to adequately account for the rights we give to those unable to
form contracts, i.e., infants, children, senile people, mental deficients, and even animals to some extent.
Various means have been advanced to try to account for the attribution of rights to such individuals.
We have no space to deal with all of them. Instead, we briefly address a few.
One attempt involves appealing to the interests of true rights holders. For example, I don't eat your
baby because you have an interest in it and I wouldn't want you violating such an interest of mine. But
what if no-one cared about a given infant? Would that make it fair game for any use or abuse?
Certainly not. Another problem here is that many people express an interest in the protection of all
animals. That would seem to require others to refrain from using or abusing animals. While this result
is attractive to the AR community, it certainly weakens the argument that contractarianism justifies our
use of animals.
Others want to let individuals "ride" until they are capable of respecting the contract. But what of
those that will never be capable of doing so, e.g., senile people? And why can we not let animals ride?
Some argue a "reduced-rights" case. Children get a reduced rights set designed to protect them from
themselves, etc. The problem here is that with animals the rights reduction is way out of proportion.
We accept that we cannot experiment on infants or kill and eat them due to their reduced rights set.
Why then are such extreme uses acceptable for nonhumans?
20
Some argue that it is irrelevant whether a given individual can enter into a contract; what is
important is their theoretical capacity to do so. But, future generations have the capacity but clearly
cannot interact reciprocally with us, so the basis of contractarianism is gutted (unless we assert that we
have no moral obligations to leave a habitable world for future generations). Peter Singer asks "Why
limit morality to those who have the capacity to enter into agreements, if in fact there is no possibility
of their ever doing so?"
There are practical problems with contractarianism as well. For example, what can be our
response if an individual renounces participation in any implied moral contracts, and states that he is
therefore justified in engaging in what others would call immoral acts? Is there any way for us to
reproach him? And what are we to do about violations of the contract? If an individual steals from us,
he has broken the contract and we should therefore be released from it. Are we then morally justified in
stealing from him? Or worse?
In summary, contractarianism fails because a) it fails to accurately account for our actual,
real-world moral acts and motives, b) it sanctions contractual arrangements that most people would see
as unjust, c) it fails to account for the considerations we accord to individuals unable to enter into
contracts, and d) it has some impractical consequences. Finally, there is a better foundation for
ethics--the harm principle. It is simple, universalizable, devoid of ad hoc devices, and matches our real
moral thinking. TA/DG
SEE ALSO: #11, #17, #19, #96
21
III --- Practical Issues, questions # 26-32 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
III. PRACTICAL ISSUES
#26 Surely there are more pressing practical problems than AR,
such as homelessness; haven't you got better things to do?
Inherent in this question is an assumption that it is more important to help humans than to help
nonhumans. Some would dismiss this as a speciesist position (see question #1). It is possible, however,
to invoke the scale-of-life notion and argue that there is greater suffering and loss associated with
cruelty and neglect of humans than with animals. This might appear to constitute a prima-facie case for
expending one's energies for humans rather than nonhumans. However, even if we accept the
scale-of-life notion, there are sound reasons for expending time and energy on the issue of rights for
nonhuman animals. Many of the consequences of carrying out the AR agenda are highly beneficial to
humans. For example, stopping the production and consumption of animal products would result in a
significant improvement of the general health of the human population, and destruction of the
environment would be greatly reduced. Fostering compassion for animals is likely to pay dividends in
terms of a general increase of compassion in human affairs.
Tom Regan puts it this way: the animal rights movement is a part of, not antagonistic to, the
human rights movement. The theory that rationally grounds the rights of animals also grounds the
rights of humans. Thus those involved in the animal rights movement are partners in the struggle to
secure respect for human rights--the rights of women, for example, or minorities, or workers. The
animal rights movement is cut from the same moral cloth as these.
Finally, the behavior asked for by the AR agenda involves little expenditure of energy. We are
asking people to NOT do things: don't eat meat, don't exploit animals for entertainment, don't wear furs.
These negative actions don't interfere with our ability to care for humans. In some cases, they may
actually make more time available for doing so (e.g., time spent hunting or visiting zoos and circuses).
DG
Living cruelty-free is not a full-time job; rather, it's a way of life. When I shop, I check ingredients
and I consider if the product is tested on animals. These things only consume a few minutes of the day.
There is ample time left for helping both humans and nonhumans. JLS
I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.
Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. President)
To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.
Our task must be to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. Albert Einstein (physicist, Nobel 1921)
SEE ALSO: #1, #87, #95
22
#27 If everyone became vegetarian and gave up keeping pets, what

would happen to all the animals?
As vegetarianism grows, the number of animals bred for food gradually will decline, since the
market will no longer exist for them. Similarly, a gradual decrease would accompany the lessening
demand for the breeding of companion animals. In both cases, those animals that remain will be better
cared for by a more compassionate society. LK
SEE ALSO: #75
#28 Grazing animals on land not suited for agriculture increases

the food supply; how can that be considered wrong?
There are areas in the world where grazing of livestock is possible but agriculture is not. If
conditions are such that people living in these areas cannot trade for crops and must raise livestock to
survive, few would question the practice. However, such areas are very small in comparison to the
fertile and semi-arid regions currently utilized for intensive grazing, and they do not appreciably
contribute to the world food supply. (Some would argue that it is morally preferable not to live in such
areas.)
The real issue is the intensive grazing in the fertile and semi-arid regions. The use of such areas
for livestock raising reduces the world food supply. Keith Acker writes as follows in his "A Vegetarian
Source book": Land, energy, and water resources for livestock agriculture range anywhere from 10 to
1000 times greater than those necessary to produce an equivalent amount of plant foods. And livestock
agriculture does not merely use these resources, it depletes them. This is a matter of historical record.
Most of the world's soil, erosion, groundwater depletion, and deforestation--factors now threatening the
very basis of our food system--are the result of this particularly destructive form of food production.
Livestock agriculture is also the single greatest cause of world-wide deforestation both historically
and currently (between 1967 and 1975, two-thirds of 70 million acres of lost forest went to grazing).
Between 1950 and 1975 the area of human-created pasture land in Central America more than doubled,
almost all of it at the expense of rain forests. Although this trend has slowed down, it still continues at
an alarming and inexorable pace.
Grazing requires large tracts of land and the consequences of overgrazing and soil erosion are
very serious ecological problems. By conservative estimates, 60 percent of all U.S. grasslands are
overgrazed, resulting in billions of tons of soil lost each year. The amount of U.S. topsoil lost to date is
about 75 percent, and 85 percent of that is directly associated with livestock grazing. Overgrazing has
been the single largest cause of human-made deserts.
One could argue that grazing is being replaced by the "feedlot paradigm". These systems graze the
livestock prior to transport to a feedlot for final "fattening" with grains grown on crop lands. Although
this does reduce grazing somewhat, it is not eliminated, and the feedlot part of the paradigm still
23
constitutes a highly inefficient use of crops (to feed a human with livestock requires 16 times the grain
that would be necessary if the grain was consumed directly). It has been estimated that in the U.S., 80
percent of the corn and 95 percent of the oats grown are fed to livestock. TA
I grew up in cattle country--that's why I became a vegetarian. Meat stinks, for the animals, the
environment, and your health. k.d. lang (musician)
#29 If we try to eliminate all animals products, we'll be moving

back to the Stone Age; who wants that?
On the contrary! It is a dependency upon animal products that could be seen as returning us to the
technologies and mind set of the Stone Age. For example, Stone Age people had to wear furs in
Northern climates to avoid freezing. That is no longer the case, thanks to central heating and the ready
availability of plenty of good plant and human-made fabrics. If we are to characterize the modern age,
it could be in terms of the greater freedoms and options made possible by technological advance and
social progress. The Stone Age people had few options and so were forced to rely upon animals for
food, clothing, and materials for their implements. Today, we have an abundance of choices for better
foods, warmer clothing, and more efficient materials, none of which need depend upon the killing of
animals. TA
It seems to me that the only Stone Age we are in any danger of entering is that constituted by the
continuous destruction of animals' habitats in favor of the Portland-cement concrete jungle! DG
SEE ALSO: #60, #62, #95
#30 It's virtually impossible to eliminate all animal products from

one's consumption; what's the point if you still cause animal death
without knowing it?
Yes, it is very difficult to eliminate all animal products from one's consumption, just as it is
impossible to eliminate all accidental killing and infliction of harm that results from our activities. But
this cannot justify making it "open season" for any kind of abuse of animals. The reasonable goal,
given the realities, is to minimize the harms one causes. The point, then, is that a great deal of suffering
is prevented. DG
SEE ALSO: #57-#58
#31 Wouldn't many customs and traditions, as well as jobs, be lost

if we stopped using animals?
24
Consider first the issue of customs and traditions. The plain truth is that some customs and
traditions deserve to die out. Examples abound throughout history: slavery, Roman gladiatorial contests,
torture, public executions, witch burning, racism. To these the AR supporter adds animal exploitation
and enslavement.
The human animal is an almost infinitely adaptable organism. The loss of the customs listed above
has not resulted in any lasting harm to humankind. The same can be confidently predicted for the
elimination of animal exploitation. In fact, humankind would likely benefit from a quantum leap of
compassion in human affairs.
As far as jobs are concerned, the economic aspects are discussed in question #32. It remains to
point out that for a human, what is at stake is a job, which can be replaced with one less morally
dubious. What is at stake for an animal is the elimination of torture and exploitation, and the possibility
for a life of happiness, free from human oppression and brutality. DG
People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing
the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people,
since this has also been done since the earliest of times. Isaac Bashevis Singer (author, Nobel 1978)
SEE ALSO: #32
#32 The animal product industries are big business; wouldn't the
economy be crippled if they all stopped?
One cannot justify an action based on its profitability. Many crimes and practices that we view as
repugnant have been or continue to be profitable: the slave trade, sale of child brides, drug dealing,
scams of all sorts, prostitution, child pornography.
A good example of this, and one that points up another key consideration, is the tobacco industry.
It is a multibillion-dollar industry, yet vigorous efforts are proceeding on many fronts to put it out of
business. The main problem with it lies in its side-effects, i.e., the massive health consequences and
deaths that it produces, which easily outweigh the immediate profitability. There are side effects to
animal exploitation also. Among the most significant are the pollution and deforestation associated
with large-scale animal farming. As we see in question #28, these current practices constitute a
nonsustainable use of the planet's resources. It is more likely true that the economy will be crippled if
the practices continue!
Finally, the profits associated with the animal industries stem from market demand and affluence.
There is no reason to suppose that this demand cannot be gradually redirected into other industries.
Instead of prime beef, we can have prime artichokes, or prime pasta, etc. Humanity's demand for
gourmet food will not vanish with the meat. Similarly, the jobs associated with the animal industries
can be gradually redirected into the industries that would spring up to replace the animal industries.
(Vice President Gore made a similar point in reference to complaints concerning loss of jobs if logging
25
was halted. He commented that the environmental movement would open up a huge area for jobs that
had heretofore been unavailable.) DG
It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human
temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.
Albert Einstein (physicist, Nobel 1921)
SEE ALSO: #28, #31
26
IV --- Arguments from Biology, questions # 33-38 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
IV. ARGUMENTS FROM BIOLOGY
#33 Humans are at the pinnacle of evolution; doesn't that give them
the right to use animals as they wish?
This is one of many arguments that attempt to draw ethical conclusions from scientific
observations. In this case, the science is shaky, and the ethical conclusion is dubious. Let us first
examine the science.
The questioner's view is that evolution has created a linear ranking of general fitness, a ladder if
you will, with insects and other "lower" species at the bottom, and humans (of course!) at the top. This
idea originated as part of a wider, now discredited evolutionary system called Lamarckism. Charles
Darwin's discovery of natural selection overturned this system. Darwin's picture, instead, is of a
"radiating bush" of species, with each evolving to adapt more closely to its environment, along its
own radius. Under this view, the idea of a pinnacle becomes unclear: yes, humans have adapted well to
their niche (though many would dispute this, asserting the nonsustainable nature of our use of the
planet's resources), but so have bacteria adapted well to their niche. Can we really say that humans are
better adapted to their niche than bacteria, and would it mean anything when the niches are so
different?
Probably, what the questioner has in mind in using the word "pinnacle" is that humans excel in
some particular trait, and that a scale can be created relative to this trait. For example, on a scale of
mental capability, humans stand well above bacteria. But a different choice of traits can lead to very
different results. Bacteria stand "at the pinnacle" when one looks at reproductive fecundity. Birds stand
"at the pinnacle" when one looks at flight.
Now let us examine the ethics. Leaving aside the dubious idea of a pinnacle of evolution, let us
accept that humans are ranked at the top on a scale of intelligence. Does this give us the right to do as
we please with animals, simply on account of their being less brainy? If we say yes, we open a
Pandora's box of problems for ourselves. Does this mean that more intelligent humans can also exploit
less intelligent humans as they wish (shall we all be slaves to the Einsteins of the world)? Considering
a different trait, can the physically superior abuse the weak? Only a morally callous person would agree
with this general principle. AECW
SEE ALSO: #34, #37
#34 Humans are at the top of the food chain; aren't they therefore
justified in killing and eating anything?
27
No; otherwise, potential cannibals in our society could claim the same defense for their practice.
That we can do something does not mean that it is right to do so. We have a lot of power over other
creatures, but with great powers come even greater responsibilities, as any parent will testify.
Humans are at the top of the food chain because they CHOOSE to eat nonhuman animals. There is
thus a suggestion of tautology in the questioner's position. If we chose not to eat animals, we would not
be at the top of the food chain.
The idea that superiority in a trait confers rights over the inferior is disposed of in question #33.
AECW
SEE ALSO: #33
#35 Animals are just machines; why worry about them?
Centuries ago, the philosopher Rene Descartes developed the idea that all nonhuman animals are
automatons that cannot feel pain. Followers of Descartes believed that if an animal cried out this was
just a reflex, the sort of reaction one might get from a mechanical doll. Consequently, they saw no
reason not to experiment on animals without anesthetics. Horrified observers were admonished to pay
no attention to the screams of the animal subjects.
This idea is now refuted by modern science. Animals are no more "mere machines" than are
human beings. Everything science has learned about other species points out the biological similarities
between humans and nonhumans. As Charles Darwin wrote, the differences between humans and other
animals are differences of degree, not differences of kind. Since both humans and nonhumans evolved
over millions of years and share similar nervous systems and other organs, there is no reason to think
we do not share a similar mental and emotional life with other animal species (especially mammals).
LK
#36 In Nature, animals kill and eat each other; so why should it be
wrong for humans?
Predatory animals must kill to eat. Humans, in contrast, have a choice; they need not eat meat to
survive.
Humans differ from nonhuman animals in being capable of conceiving of, and acting in
accordance with, a system of morals; therefore, we cannot seek moral guidance or precedent from
nonhuman animals. The AR philosophy asserts that it is just as wrong for a human to kill and eat a
sentient nonhuman as it is to kill and eat a sentient human.
To demonstrate the absurdity of seeking moral precedents from nonhuman animals, consider the
following variants of the question:
28
"In Nature, animals steal food from each other; so why should it be wrong for humans [to steal]?"
"In Nature, animals kill and eat humans; so why should it be wrong for humans [to kill and eat
humans]?"
DG
SEE ALSO: #23, #34, #64
#37 Natural selection and Darwinism are at work in the world;

doesn't that mean it's unrealistic to try to overcome such forces?
Assuming that Animal Rights concepts somehow clash with Darwinian forces, the questioner
must stand accused of selective moral fatalism: our sense of morality is clearly not modeled on the laws
of natural selection. Why, then, feel helpless before some of its effects and not before others?
Male-dominance, xenophobia, and war-mongering are present in many human societies. Should
we venture that some mysterious, universal forces must be at work behind them, and that all attempts at
quelling such tendencies should be abandoned? Or, more directly, when people become sick, do we
abandon them because "survival of the fittest" demands it? We do not abandon them; and we do not
agonize about trying to overcome natural selection.
There is no reason to believe that the practical implications of the Animal Rights philosophy are
maladaptive for humans. On the contrary, and for reasons explained elsewhere in this FAQ, respecting
the rights of animals would yield beneficial side-effects for humans, such as more-sustainable
agricultural practices, and better environmental and health-care policies. AECW
The advent of Darwinism led to a substitution of the idea of individual organisms for the old idea
of immutable species. The moral individualism implied by AR philosophy substitutes the idea that
organisms should be treated according to their individual capacities for the (old) idea that it is the
species of the animal that counts. Thus, moral individualism actually fits well with evolutionary theory.
DG
SEE ALSO: #63-62
#38 Isn't AR opposed to environmental philosophy (as described,

for example, in "Deep Ecology")?
No. It should be clear from many of the answers included in this FAQ, and from perusal of many
of the books referenced in question #92, that the philosophy and goals of AR are complementary to the
goals of the mainstream environmental movement. Michael W. Fox sees AR and environmentalism as
two aspects of a dialectic that reconciles concerns for the rights of individuals (human and nonhuman)
with concerns for the integrity of the biosphere.
29
Some argue that a morality based on individual rights is necessarily opposed to one based on
holistic environmental views, e.g., the sanctity of the biosphere. However, an environmental ethic that
attributes some form of rights to all individuals, including inanimate ones, can be developed. Such an
ethic, by showing respect for the individuals that make up the biosphere, would also show respect for
the biosphere as a whole, thus achieving the aims of holistic environmentalism. It is clear that a rights
view is not necessarily in conflict with a holistic view.
In reference to the concept of deep ecology and the claim that it bears negatively on AR, Fox
believes such claims to be unfounded. The following text is excerpted from "Inhumane Society", by
Michael W. Fox. DG
Deep ecologists support the philosophy of preserving the natural abundance and diversity of plants
and animals in natural ecosystems. The deep ecologists should oppose the industrialized,
nonsubsistence exploitation of wildlife because...it is fundamentally unsound ecologically, because by
favoring some species over others, population imbalances and extinctions of undesired species would
be inevitable.
In their book "Deep Ecology", authors Bill Devall and George Sessions...take to task animal rights
philosopher Tom Regan, who with others of like mind "expressed concern that a holistic ecological
ethic...results in a kind of totalitarianism or ecological fascism"...In an appendix, however, George
Sessions does suggest that philosophers need to work toward nontotalitarian solutions...and that "in all
likelihood, this will require some kind of holistic ecological ethic in which the integrity of all
individuals (human and nonhuman) is respected".
Ironically, while the authors are so critical of the animal rights movement, they quote Arne Naess
(...arguably the founder of the deep ecology movement)...For instance, Naess states: "The intuition of
biocentric equality is that all things in the biosphere have an equal right to live and blossom and to
reach their own forms of unfolding and self-realization..."
Michael W. Fox (Vice President of HSUS)
SEE ALSO: #28, #59
30
V --- Insects and Plants, questions # 39-47 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
V. INSECTS AND PLANTS
#39 What about insects? Do they have rights too?
Before considering the issue of rights, let us first address the question "What about insects?".
Strictly speaking, insects are small invertebrate animals of the class Insecta, having an adult stage
characterized by three pairs of legs, a segmented body with three major divisions, and usually two pairs
of wings. We'll adopt the looser definition, which includes similar invertebrate animals such as spiders,
centipedes, and ticks.
Insects have a ganglionic nervous system, in contrast to the central nervous system of vertebrates.
Such a system is characterized by local aggregates of neurons, called ganglia, that are associated with,
and specialized for, the body segment with which they are co-located. There are interconnections
between ganglia but these connections function not so much as a global integrating pathway, but rather
for local segmental coordination. For example, the waves of leg motion that propagate along the body
of a centipede are mediated by the intersegmental connections.
In some species the cephalic ganglia are large and complex enough to support very complex
behavior (e.g., the lobster and octopus). The cuttlefish (not an insect but another invertebrate with a
ganglionic nervous system) is claimed by some to be about as intelligent as a dog.
Insects are capable of primitive learning and do exhibit what many would characterize as
intelligence. Spiders are known for their skills and craftiness(詭詐); whether this can all be dismissed as
instinct is arguable. Certainly, bees can learn in a limited way. When offered a reward from a perch of
a certain color, they return first to perches of that color. They also learn the location of food and
transmit that information to their colleagues. The learning, however, tends to be highly specialized and
applicable to only limited domains.
In addition to a primitive mental life as described above, there is some evidence that insects can
experience pain and suffering. The earthworm nervous system, for example, secretes an opiate
substance when the earthworm is injured. Similar responses are seen in vertebrates and are generally
accepted to be a mechanism for the attenuation of pain. On the other hand, the opiates are also
implicated in functions not associated with analgesia, such as thermoregulation and appetite control.
Nevertheless, the association of secretion with tissue injury is highly suggestive.
Earthworms also wriggle quite vigorously when impaled on a hook. In possible opposition to this
are other observations. For example, the abdomen of a feeding wasp can be clipped off and the head
may go on sucking (presumably in no distress?).
Singer quotes (引用) three criteria for deciding if an organism has the capacity to suffer from pain:
1) there are behavioral indications, 2) there is an appropriate nervous system, and 3) there is an
evolutionary usefulness for the experience of pain. These criteria seem to satisfied for insects, if only in
a primitive way.
31
Now we are equipped to tackle (處理) the issue of insect rights. First, one might argue that the
issue is not so compelling (強迫) as for other animals because industries are not built around the
exploitation of insects. But this is untrue; large industries are built around honey production, silk
production, and cochineal/carmine production, and, of course, mass insect death results from our use of
insecticides. Even if the argument were true, it should not prevent us from attempting to be consistent
in the application of our principles to all animals.
Insects are a part of the Animal Kingdom and some special arguments would be required to
exclude them from the general AR argument. Some would draw a line at some level of complexity of
the nervous system, e.g., only animals capable of operant conditioning need be enfranchised. Others
may quarrel(爭執) with this line and place it elsewhere. Some may postulate a scale of life with an
ascending capacity to feel pain and suffer. They might also mark a cut-off on the scale, below which
rights are not actively asserted. Is the cut-off above insects and the lower invertebrates? Or should there
be no cut-off? This is one of the issues still being actively debated in the AR community.
People who strive to live without cruelty will attempt to push the line back as far as possible,
giving the benefit of the doubt where there is doubt. Certainly, one can avoid unnecessary cruelty to
insects.
The practical issues involved in enfranchising insects are dealt with in the following two
questions.
DG
I want to realize brotherhood or identity not merely with the beings called human, but I want to
realize identity with all life, even with such things as crawl upon earth.
What is it that should trace the insuperable (不能克服的) line? ...The question is not, Can they
reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?
Jeremy Bentham (philosopher)
SEE ALSO: #22, #40-#41, #47
#40 Do I have to be careful not to walk on ants?
The Jains of India would say yes! Some of their more devout members wear gauze masks to avoid
inhaling and killing small insects and microbes.
Regardless of how careful we are, we will cause some suffering as a side-effect of living. The goal
is to avoid unnecessary suffering and to minimize the suffering we cause. This is a far cry from wanton,
intentional infliction of cruelty. I refer here to the habit of some of pulling off insects' wings for fun, or
of torching a congregation of ants for pleasure.
32
This question is an issue for the individual conscience to decide. Perhaps one need not walk
around looking out for ants on the ground, but should one be seen and it is easy to alter one's stride to
avoid it, where is the harm in doing so?
DG
SEE ALSO: #39, #41
#41 There is some evidence of consciousness in insects; aren't you

descending to absurdity to tell people not to kill insects?
Enfranchising (解放) insects does not mean it is never justifiable to kill them. As with all threats
to a being, the rule of self-defense applies. If insects are threatening one's well-being in a nontrivial (特
殊的) way, AR philosophy would not assert that it is wrong to eliminate them.
Pesticides and herbicides are often used for mass destruction of insect populations. While this
might be defended (為…辯護) on the self-defense principle, one should be aware of the significant
adverse impact on the environment, on other non-threatening animals, and indeed on our own health.
(Refer to question #59 for more on the use of insecticides.)
It is not absurd to attempt to minimize the amount of suffering that we inflict (使遭損害) or cause.
<DG>
We should begin to feel for the flies and other insects struggling to be free from sticky fly paper.
There are humane alternatives. Michael W. Fox (Vice President of HSUS)
SEE ALSO: #39-#40, #59
#42 Isn't it hypocritical to kill and eat plants?
It would be hypocritical IF the same criteria or morally relevant attributes that are used to justify
animal rights also applied to plants. The criteria cited by the AR movement are "pain and suffering"
and being "subjects-of-a-life". An assessment of how plants measure up to these criteria leads to the
following conclusions.
First, our best science to date shows that plants lack any semblance(外觀) of a central nervous
system or any other system design for such complex capacities as that of conscious suffering from felt
pain.
Second, plants simply have no evolutionary need to feel pain. Animals being mobile would
benefit from the ability to sense pain; plants would not. Nature does not gratuitously(無端的) create
such complex capacities as that of feeling pain unless there is some benefit for the organism's survival.
The first point is dealt with in more detail in questions #43 and #44. The general hypocrisy
argument is discussed in question #4.
33
TA
SEE ALSO: #4, #39-#44
#43 But how can you prove that plants don't feel pain?
Lest we forget the ultimate point of what follows, let us not forget the central thesis of AR. Simply
stated: to the extent other animals share with us certain morally relevant attributes, then to that extent
we confer upon them due regard and concern. The two attributes that are arguably relevant are: a) our
capacity for pain and suffering, and b) the capacity for being the "subject-of-a-life", i.e., being such that
it matters to one whether one's life fares (過活) well or ill.
Both of these qualities require the existence of mental states. Also note that in order to speak of
"mental states" proper, we would denote, as common usage would dictate, that such states are marked
by consciousness. It is insufficient to mark off mental states by only the apparent presence of
purposefulness or intentionality since, as we shall see below, many material objects possess
purposeful-looking behaviors.
So then, how do we properly attribute the existence of mental states to other animals, or even to
ourselves for that matter? We cannot infer the presence of felt pain simply by the presence of a class of
behaviors that are functional for an organism's amelioration or avoidance of noxious stimuli.
Thermostats obviously react to thermal changes in the environment and respond in a functionally
appropriate manner to restore an initial "preferred" state. We would be foolish, however, to attribute to
thermostats a capability to "sense" or "feel" some kind of thermal "pain". Even placing quotes around
our terms doesn't protect us from absurdity.
Clearly, the behavioral criterion of even functional avoidance/defense reactions is simply not
sufficient nor even necessary for the proper attribution of pain as a felt mental state.
Science, including the biological sciences, are committed to the working assumption of scientific
materialism or physicalism (see "The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science", E. A. Burtt,
1924). We must then start with the generally accepted scientific assumption that matter is the only
existent or real primordial constituent of the universe.
Let it be said at the outset that scientific materialism as such does not preclude the existence of
emergent or functional qualities like that of mind, consciousness, and feeling (or even, dare I say it,
free will), but all such qualities are dependent upon the existence of organized matter. If there is no
hardware, there is nothing for the software to run on. If there is no intact, living brain, there is no mind.
It should also be said that even contemporary versions of dualism or mind-stuff theories will also make
embodiment of mental states dependent on the presence of sufficiently organized matter.
To briefly state the case, cognitive functions like consciousness and mind are seen as emergent
properties of sufficiently organized matter. Just as breathing is a function of a complex system of
organs referred to as the respiratory system, so too is consciousness a function of the immensely
34
complex information-processing capabilities of a central nervous system. It is possible, in theory, that

future computers, given a sufficiently complex and orderly organization of hardware and clever
software, could exhibit the requisite emergent qualities. While such computers do not exist, we DO
know that certain living organisms on this planet possess the requisite complexity of specialized and
highly organized structure for the emergence of mental states.
In theory, plants could possess a mental state like pain, but if, and only if, there were a requisite
complexity of organized plant tissue that could serve to instantiate the higher order mental states of
consciousness and felt pain.
There is no morphological evidence that such a complexity of tissue exists in plants. Plants lack
the specialized structures required for emergence of mental states. This is not to say that they cannot
exhibit complex reactions, but we are simply over-interpreting such reactions if we designate them as
"felt pain".
With respect to all mammals, birds, and reptiles, we know that they possess a sufficiently complex
neural structure to enable felt pain plus an evolutionary need for such consciously felt states. They
possess complex and specialized sense organs, they possess complex and specialized structures for
processing information and for centrally orchestrating appropriate behaviors in accordance with mental
representations, integrations, and reorganizations of that information. The proper attribution of felt pain
in these animals is well justified. It is not for plants, by any stretch of the imagination.
TA
The absurdity 荒謬 (and often disingenuity 不真誠) of the plant-pain promoters can be easily
exposed by asking them the following two questions:
1) Do you agree that animals like dogs and cats should receive pain-killing drugs prior to surgery?
2) Do you believe that plants should receive pain-killing drugs prior to pruning 修剪?
DG
SEE ALSO: #42, #44
#44 Aren't there studies that show that plants can scream, etc.?
How can something without vocal apparatus scream? Perhaps the questioner intends to suggest
that plants somehow express feelings or emotions. This notion is popularized in the book "The Secret
Life of Plants", by Tompkins and Bird, 1972. The book describes "experiments" in which plants are
claimed to respond to injury and even to the thoughts and emotions of nearby humans. The responses
consist of changes in the electrical conductivity of their leaves. The truth is, however, that nothing but a
dismal 沮喪的 failure has resulted from attempts to replicate these experiments. For some definitive
reviews, see Science, 1975, 189:478 and The Skeptical Inquirer, 1978, 2(2):57.
But what about plant responses to insect invasion? Does this suggest that plants "feel" pain? No
published book or paper in a scientific journal has been cited as indeed making this claim that "plants
35
feel pain". There is interesting data suggesting that plants react to local tissue damage and even emit
signaling molecules serving to stimulate chemical defenses of nearby plants. But how is this relevant to
the claim that plants feel and suffer from pain? Where are the replicated experiments and
peer-reviewed citations for this putative 想像的 fact? There are none.
Let us, for the sake of argument, consider the form of logic employed by the plant-pain promoters:
premise 1: Plants are responsive to "sense" impressions.
premise 2: As defined in the dictionary, anything responsive to sense impressions is sentient.
conclusion 1: Plants are sentient.
premise 3: Sentient beings are conscious of sense impressions.
conclusion 2: Plants are conscious of sense impressions.
premise 4: To be conscious of a noxious stimuli is unpleasant.
conclusion 3: Noxious stimuli to plants are unpleasant, i.e., painful.
There is a major logical sleight-of-hand (花招) here. The meaning of the term "sentient" changes
between premise 2 ("responsive to sense impressions") and premise 3 ("conscious of sense
impressions"). Thus, equivocation 模稜兩可 on the usage of "sentient" is used to bootleg 非法運輸
the false conclusion 3. There is also an equivocation on the meaning of "painful" ("unpleasant" versus
the commonly understood meaning).
TA
If we can bring ourselves to momentarily (短暫的) assume (falsely) that plants feel pain, then we
can easily argue that by eliminating animal farming, we reduce the total pain inflicted (打擊) on plants,
leading to the ironic conclusion that plant pain supports the AR position. This is discussed in more
detail in question #46. DG
SEE ALSO: #42-#43, #46
#45 But even if plants don't feel pain, aren't you depriving them of
their life? Why isn't that enough to accord moral status to plants?
The philosophy of Animal Rights is generally regarded as encompassing only sentient creatures.
Plants are just one of many non-sentient, living creatures. To remain consistent, granting moral status
to plants would lead one to grant it to all life. It may be thought that a philosophy encompassing all life
would be best, but granting moral status to all living creatures leads to rather implausible (難以置信的)
views.
For example, concern for life would lead one to oppose the distribution of spermicides, even to
overpopulated Third world countries. The morality of any sexual intercourse could be questioned as
well, since thousands of sperm cells die in each act. Also, the sheer (陡峭的) variety of life forms
36
creates difficulties; for example, arguments have been made to show that some computer
programs--such as computer viruses--may well be called alive. Should one grant them moral status?
There are questions even in the case of plants. The use of weed-killers in a garden would need
defending. And if killing plants is wrong, why isn't merely damaging them in some other way also
wrong? Is trimming hedgerows (灌木) wrong? The problems raised above are not attempts to
discourage efforts to develop an ethics of the environment. They simply point out that according moral
status to all living creatures is fraught (伴隨) with difficulties.
Nevertheless, some people do, indeed, argue that the taking of life 殺生 should be minimized
where possible; this constitutes a kind of moral status for life. Interestingly, such a view, far from
undermining (暗中破壞) the AR view, actually supports it. To see why, refer to question #46.
AECW
SEE ALSO: #46, #59
#46 Isn't it better to eat animals, because that way you kill the least
number of living beings.
There are at least two problems with this question. First, there is the assumption that killing is the
factor sought to be minimized, but as explained in question #18, killing is not the central concern of
AR; rather, it is pain and suffering, neither of which can be attributed to plants.
Second, the questioner overlooks that livestock must be raised on a diet of plant foods, so
consumption of animals is actually a once-removed consumption of plants. The twist, of course, is that
passing plants through animals is a very inefficient process; losses of up to 80-90 percent are typical.
Thus, it could be argued that, if one's concern is for killing, per se, then the vegetarian diet is preferable
(at least for today's predominant feedlot paradigm). DG
SEE ALSO: #18, #28, #45
#47 Nature is a continuum; doesn't that mean you cannot draw a

line, and where you draw yours is no better than where I draw mine?
Most people will accept that the diversity of Nature is such that one is effectively faced with a
continuum. Charles Darwin was right to state that differences are of degree, not of kind.
One should take issue, however, with the belief that this means that a line cannot be drawn for the
purpose of granting rights. For example, while there is a continuum in the use of force, from the gentle
nudge of the adoring mother to the hellish treatment visited upon concentration camp prisoners, clearly,
human rights are violated in one case and not the other. People accept that the ethical buck stops
somewhere between the two extremes.
37
Similarly, while it is true that the qualities relevant to the attribution of rights are found to varying
extents in members of the animal kingdom, one is entitled to draw the line somewhere. After all,
society does it as well; today, it draws the line just below humans.
Now, such a line (below humans) cannot be logically defensible, since some creatures are
excluded that possess the relevant qualities to a greater degree than current rights-holders (for example,
a normal adult chimpanzee has a "higher" mental life than a human in a coma, yet we still protect only
the human from medical experimentation). Therefore, any line that is drawn must allow some
nonhuman animals to qualify as rights-holders.
Moreover, the difficulty of drawing a line does not by itself justify drawing one at the wrong place.
On the contrary, this difficulty means that from an ethical point of view, the line should be drawn a)
carefully, and b) conservatively. Because the speciesist line held by AR opponents violates moral
precepts (律) held as critical for the viability (可行性) of any ethical system, and because some mature
nonhumans possess morally relevant characteristics comparable to some human rights-bearers, one
must come to the conclusion that the status quo fails on both counts, and that the arrow of progress
points toward a moral outlook that encompasses nonhuman as well as human creatures.
In addition, it should be noted that when a new line is drawn that is more in step with 緊跟 ethical
truth (something quite easy to do), in no way should one feel that the wanton 惡意的 destruction of
non rights-holders is thereby encouraged. It is desirable that a moral climate be created that gives due
consideration to the interests and welfare of all creatures, whether they are rights-holders or not.
AECW
The idea that a continuum makes drawing a line impossible or that one line is therefore no better
than another is easily refuted (駁斥). For example, the alcohol concentration in the blood is a
continuum, but society draws a line at 0.10 percent for drunk driving, and clearly that is a better line
than one drawn at, say, 0.00000001 percent. DG
SEE ALSO: #22, #39-#41
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VI --- Farming, questions # 48-59 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
VI. FARMING
#48 The animals are killed so fast that they don't feel any pain or
even know they're being killed; what's wrong with that?
This view can only be maintained by those unfamiliar with modern meat production methods.
Great stress occurs during transport in which millions die miserably each year. And the conveyor-belt
approach to the slaughtering process causes the animals to struggle for their lives as they experience
the agony of the fear of death. Only people who have never watched the process can believe that they
don't feel any pain or aren't aware that they're being killed.
One point that many people are unaware of is that poultry is exempted (排除) from the
requirements of the Humane Slaughter Act. Egg-laying hens are typically not stunned before slaughter.
Also exempt from the act are animals killed under Kosher conditions (see question #49).
But even if no suffering were involved, the killing of sensitive, intelligent animals on a vast scale
(over six billion each year in the U.S. alone) cannot be regarded as morally correct, especially since
today it is demonstrably clear that eating animal flesh is not only unnecessary but even harmful for
people. Fellow-mammals are not like corn or carrots. To treat them as if they were is to perpetuate (不
朽) an impoverished (使赤貧) morality which is based not on rationality but merely tradition.
DVH
Even the climactic (高潮的) killing process itself is not so clean as one is led to believe. Every
method carries strong doubts about its "humaneness". For example, consider electrocution (電刑處死).
We routinely give anesthetics to people receiving electro-shock therapy due to its painful effects.
Consider the pole-axe. It requires great skill to deliver a perfect, instantly fatal blow. Few possess the
skill, and many animals suffer from the ineptness (笨拙) with which the process is administered.
Consider Kosher slaughter, where an animal is hoisted and bled to death without prior stunning. Often
joints are ruptured during the hoisting, and the death is a slow, conscious one. The idea of a clean,
painless kill is a fantasy promulgated by those with a vested interest in the continuance of the practices.
DG
#49 What is factory farming, and what is wrong with it?
Factory farming is an industrial process that applies the philosophy and practices of mass
production to animal farming. Animals are considered not as individual sentient beings, but rather as a
means to an end--eggs, meat, leather, etc. The objective is to maximize output and profit. The animals
are manipulated through breeding, feeding, confinement, and chemicals to lay eggs faster, fatten more
39
quickly, or make leaner meat. Costs are minimized by recycling carcasses through feed, minimizing
unit space, not providing bedding (which gets soiled and needs cleaning), and other practices.
Battery-hen egg production is perhaps the most publicized form. Hens are "maintained" in cages
of minimal size, allowing for little or no movement and no expression of natural behavior patterns.
Hens are painfully debeaked and sometimes declawed to protect others in the cramped cage. There are
no floors to the cages, so that excrement can fall through onto a tray--the hens therefore are standing on
wire. Cages are stacked on top of each other in long rows, and are kept inside a climate-controlled barn.
The hens are then used as a mechanism for turning feed into eggs. After a short, miserable life they are
processed as broiler chickens or recycled.
Other typical factory farming techniques are used in pig production, where animals are kept in
concrete pens with no straw or earth, unable to move more than a few inches, to ensure the "best" pork.
When sows litter, piglets are kept so the only contact between the sow and piglets is access to the teats.
The production of veal calves is a similar restraining process. The calves are kept in narrow crates
which prevent them from turning; they can only stand or lie down. They are kept in the dark with no
contact with other animals. Factory farming distresses people because of the treatment of the animals;
they are kept in unnatural conditions in terms of space, possible behaviors, and interactions with other
animals. Keeping animals in these circumstances is not only cruel to the animals, but diminishes the
humanity of those involved, from production to consumption.
In addition, the use of chemicals and hormones to maximize yields, reduce health problems in the
animals, and speed production may also be harmful to human consumers. JK
SEE ALSO: #12, #14, #32, #48, #50
#50 But cattle can't be factory-farmed, so I can eat them, right?
At this time, cattle farming has not progressed to the extremes inflicted on some other
animals--cows still have to graze. However, the proponents of factory farming are always considering
the possibilities of extending their techniques, as the old-style small farm becomes a faded memory and
farming becomes a larger and more complex industry, competing for finance from consumers and
lenders 貸方. Cattle farming practices such as increasing cattle densities on feedlots, diet
supplementation, and controlled breeding are already being implemented. Other developments will be
introduced.
However, as discussed in question #49, it is not only the method of farming that is of concern.
Transport to the slaughterhouse, often a long journey in crowded conditions without access to food and
water, and the wait at the slaughterhouse followed by the slaughtering process are themselves brutal
and harmful. And the actual killing process is itself not necessarily clean or painless (see question #48).
JK
40
We can challenge the claim(挑戰下述主張) that “cattle cannot be factory-farmed; it just isn't
true.” We can also challenge the claim that “if it were true, it would justify killing and eating cattle.”
A broad view of factory farming includes practices that force adaptations (often through breeding)
that increase the "productivity" of animal farming. Such increases in productivity are invariably
achieved at the expense of increased suffering of the animals concerned. This broader view definitely
includes cattle, both that raised for meat and for dairy production.
Veal production is paradigmatic factory farming. David Cowles-Hamar describes it as follows:
"Veal calves are kept in isolation in 5'x2' crates in which they are unable even to turn around. They are
kept in darkness much of the time. They are given no bedding (in case they try to eat it) and are fed
only a liquid diet devoid of iron and fiber to keep their flesh anemic and pale. After 3-5 months they
are slaughtered."
Dairy farming also qualifies as factory-farming. Here are some salient 顯著的 facts:
* Calves are taken away at 1-3 days causing terrible distress to both the cows and the calves;
many calves go for veal production.
* Over 170,000 calves die each year due to poor husbandry and appalling 可怕的 treatment at
markets.
* Cows are milked for 10 months and produce 10 times the milk a calf would take naturally.
Mastitis (udder inflammation) frequently results.
* Cows are fed a high-protein diet to increase yield; often even this is not enough and the cow is
forced to break down body tissues, leading to acidosis and consequent lameness. About 25 percent of
cows are afflicted 折磨.
* At about 5 years of age, the cow is spent and exhausted and is slaughtered. The normal life span
is about 20 years.
Finally, we cannot accept that even if it were not possible to factory-farm cattle, that therefore it is
morally acceptable to kill and eat them. David Cowles-Hamar puts it this way: "The suggestion that
animals should pay for their freedom with their lives is moral nonsense." DG
SEE ALSO: #14, #48-#49
#51 But isn't it true that cows won't produce milk (or chickens lay
eggs) if they are not content?
41
This is simply untrue. Lactation is a physiological response that follows giving birth. The cow
cannot avoid giving milk any more than she can avoid producing urine. The same is true of chickens
and egg-laying; the egg output is manipulated to a high level by selective breeding, carefully regulated
conditions that simulate a continuous summer season, and a carefully controlled diet.
To drive this point home further, consider that over the last five decades, the conditions for
egg-laying chickens have become increasingly unnatural and confining (see question #49), yet the egg
output has increased many times over. Chickens will even continue to lay when severely injured; they
simply cannot help it. <DG> SEE ALSO: #49, #52, #55
#52 Don't hens lay unfertilized eggs that would otherwise be

wasted?
Yes, but that is no justification for imposing barbaric and cruel regimes on them designed to
artificially boost their egg production. If the questioner is wondering if it is OK to use eggs left by
free-range chickens "to go cold", then the answer from the AR side is that free-range egg production is
not so idyllic 田園詩歌的 as one might like to think (see question #55). Also, such a source of eggs
can satisfy only a tiny fraction of the demand. DG SEE ALSO: #49, #51, #55
#53 But isn't it true that the animals have never known anything
better?
If someone bred a race of humans for slavery, would you accept their excuse that the slaves have
never known anything better? The point is that there IS something better, and they are being deprived
of it. DG
Not having known anything better does not alleviate the suffering of the animal. Its fundamental
desires remain and it is the frustration of those desires that is a great part of its suffering. There are so
many examples: the dairy cow who is never allowed to raise her young, the battery hen who can never
walk or stretch her wings, the sow who can never build a nest or root for food in the forest litter, etc.
Eventually we frustrate the animal's most fundamental desire of all--to live. David Cowles-Hamar
#54 Don't farmers know better than city-dwelling people about how
to treat animals?
This view is often put forward by farmers (and their family members). Typically they claim that,
by virtue of proximity 接近 to their farmed animals, they possess some special knowledge. When
pressed to present this knowledge, and to show how it can justify their exploitation of animals or
discount the animals' pain and suffering, only the tired arguments addressed in this FAQ come forth 出
現. In short, there is no "special knowledge".
42
One should also remember that those farmers who exploit animals have a strong vested interest 既
得利益 in the continuance of their practices. Would one assert that a logger knows best about how the
forests should be treated?
Technically, this argument is an instance of the "genetic fallacy 謬誤". Ideas should be evaluated
on their own terms, not by reference to the originators. DG
#55 Can't we just eat free-range products?
The term "free-range" is used to indicate a production method in which the animals are (allegedly
據稱) not factory-farmed but, instead, are provided with conditions that allow them to fully express
their natural behavior. Some people feel that free-range products are thus ethically acceptable. There
are two cases to be considered: first, the case where the free-range animal itself is slaughtered for use,
and second, the case where the free-range animal provides a product (typically, hens providing eggs, or
cows providing milk).
Common to both cases is a problem with misrepresentation of conditions as "free-range". Much of
what passes for free-range is hardly any better than standard factory-farming; a visit to a large
"free-range egg farm" makes that obvious (and see MT's comments below).
Nutritionally, free-range products are no better than their factory-farmed equivalents, which are
wholly or partly responsible for a list of diseases as long as your arm.
For the case of free-range animals slaughtered for use, we must ask why should a free-range
animal be any more deserving of an unnecessary death than any other animal? Throughout this FAQ,
we have argued that animals have a right to live free from human brutality. Our brutality cannot be
excused by our provision of a short happy life. David Cowles-Hamar puts it this way: "The suggestion
that animals should pay for their freedom with their lives is moral nonsense." Another thing to think
about is the couple described at the end of question #13. Their babies are free-range, so it's OK to eat
them, right?
For the case of products from free-range animals, we can identify at least four problems: 1) it
remains an inefficient use of food resources, 2) it is still environmentally damaging, 3) animals are
killed off as soon as they become "unproductive", and 4) the animals must be replaced; the
nonproductive males are killed or go to factory farms (the worst instance of this is the fate of male
calves born to dairy cows; many go for veal production). BRO
What's wrong with free-range eggs? To get laying hens you must have fertile eggs and half of the
eggs will hatch into male chicks. These are killed at once (by gassing, crushing, suffocation,
decompression, or drowning), or raised as "table birds" (usually in broiler houses) and slaughtered as
soon as they reach an economic weight. So, for every free-range hen scratching around the garden or
farm (who, if she were able to bargain, might pay rent with her daily infertile egg), a corresponding
male from her batch is enduring life in a broiler house or has already been subjected to slaughter or
43
thrown away to die. Every year in Britain alone, more than 35 million day-old male chicks are killed.
They are mainly used for fertilizer or dumped in landfill sites.
The hens are slaughtered as soon as their production drops (usually after two years; their natural
life span is 5-7 years). Also, be aware that many sites classified as free-range aren't really free-range;
they are just massive barns with access to the outside. Since the food and light are inside, the hens
rarely venture outside. MT
SEE ALSO: #13, #49-#50, #52
#56 Anything wrong with honey?
Bees are often killed in the production of honey, in the worst case the whole hive may be
destroyed if the keeper doesn't wish to protect them over the winter. Not all beekeepers do this, but the
general practice is one that embodies the attitude that living things are mere material and have no
intrinsic value of their own other than what commercial value we can wrench from them. Artificial
insemination involving death of the male is now also the norm for generation of new queen bees. The
favored method of obtaining bee sperm is by pulling off the insect's head (decapitation sends an
electrical impulse to the nervous system which causes sexual arousal). The lower half of the headless
bee is then squeezed to make it ejaculate. The resulting liquid is collected in a hypodermic syringe.
<MT> SEE ALSO: #22, #39-#41
#57 Don't crop harvest techniques and transportation, etc., lead to

the death of animals?
The questioner's probable follow-up is to assert that since we perform actions that result in the
death of animals for producing crops, a form of food, we should therefore not condemn actions (i.e.,
raising and slaughter) that result in the death of animals for producing meat, another form of food. How
do we confront this argument?
It is clear that incidental (or accidental, unintended) deaths of animals result from crop agriculture.
It is equally clear that intentional deaths of animals result from animal agriculture. Our acceptance of
acts that lead to incidental deaths does not require the acceptance of acts that lead to intentional deaths.
(A possible measure of intentionality is to ask if the success of the enterprise is measured by the extent
of the result. In our case, the success of crop agriculture is not measured by the number of accidental
deaths; in animal agriculture, conversely, the success of the enterprise is directly measured by the
number of animals produced for slaughter and consumption.)
Having shown that the movement from incidental to intentional is not justified, we can still ask
what justifies even incidental deaths. We must realize that the question does not bear on Animal Rights
specifically, but applies to morality generally. The answer, stripped to its essentials, is that the rights of
44
innocents can be overridden in certain circumstances. If rights are genuinely in conflict, a reasonable
principle is to violate the rights of the fewest.
Nevertheless, when such an overriding of the rights of innocents is done, there is a responsibility
to ensure that the harm is minimized. Certainly, crop agriculture is preferable to animal agriculture in
this regard. In the latter case, we have the added incidental harm due to the much greater amount of
crops needed to produce animals (versus feeding the crops directly to people), AND the intentional
deaths of the produced animals themselves.
Finally, many argue for organic and more labor-intensive methods of crop agriculture that reduce
incidental deaths. As one wag puts it, we have a responsibility to survive, but we can also survive
responsibly! DG
SEE ALSO: #58-#59
#58 Modern agriculture requires us to push animals off land to

convert it to crops; isn't this a violation of the animals' rights?
Pushing animals off their habitats to pursue agriculture is a less serious instance of the actions
discussed in question #57, which deals with animal death as a result of agriculture. Refer to that
question for relevant discussion.
An abiding theme is that vegetarianism versus meat eating, and crop agriculture versus animal
agriculture, tend to minimize the amount of suffering. For example, more acreage is required to support
animal production than to support crop production (for the same nutritional capability). Thus, animal
production encroaches 侵占 more on wildlife than does crop agriculture. We cannot eliminate our
adverse effects, but we can try to minimize them. DG
SEE ALSO: #57, #59
#59 Don't farmers have to kill pests?
We could simply say that less pests are killed on a vegetarian diet and that killing is not even
necessary for pest management, but because the issue is interesting, we answer more fully!
This question is similar to question #57 in that the questioner's likely follow-up is to ask why it is
acceptable to kill pests for food but not to kill animals for food. It differs from question #57 in that the
defense that the killing is incidental is not available because pests are killed intentionally. We can
respond to this argument in two ways. First, we can argue that the killing is justifiable, and second, we
can argue that it is not necessary and should be avoided. Let's look at these in turn.
Our moral systems typically allow for exceptions to the requirement that we not harm others. One
major exception is for self-defense. If we are threatened, we have the right to use force to resist the
45
threat. To the extent that pests are a threat to our food supplies, our habitats, or our health, we are
justified in defending ourselves. We have the responsibility to use appropriate force, but sometimes this
requires action fatal to the threatening creatures.
Even if the killing of pests is seen as wrong despite the self-defense argument, we can argue that
crop agriculture should be preferred over animal agriculture because it involves the minimization of the
required killing of pests (for reasons described in question #57).
Possibly overshadowing these moral arguments, however, is the argument that the use of
pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and herbicides is not only not necessary but extremely damaging to the
planet, and should therefore be avoided. Let us first look at the issue of necessity, followed by the issue
of environmental damage.
David Cowles-Hamar writes: "For thousands of years, peoples all over the world have used
farming methods based on natural ecosystems where potential pest populations are self-regulating.
These ideas are now being explored in organic farming and permaculture." Michael W. Fox writes:
"Integrated pest management and better conservation of wilderness areas around crop lands in order to
provide natural predators for crop pests are more ecologically sensible alternatives to the continuous
use of pesticides." The point is that there are effective alternatives to the agrichemical treadmill.
In addition to the agricultural methods described above, many pest problems can be prevented,
certainly the most effective approach. For example, some major pest threats are the result of accidental
or intentional human introduction of animals into a habitat. We need to be more careful in this regard.
Another example is the use of rodenticides. More effective and less harmful to the environment would
be an approach that relies on maintenance of clean conditions, plugging of entry holes, and nonlethal
trapping followed by release into the wild.
The effects of the intensive use of agrichemicals on the environment are very serious. It results in
nation-wide ground water pollution. It results in the deaths of beneficial non-target species. The
development of resistant strains requires the use of stronger chemicals with resulting more serious
effects on the environment. Agrichemicals are generally more highly concentrated in animal products
than in vegetables. It is thus enlightened self-interest to eschew animal consumption!
Organic farming and related methods eschew agrichemicals in favor of natural, sustainable
methods. DG
SEE ALSO: #57-#58

Genetic determinism, psychic determinism, environmental determinism. Genetic drift,
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VII --- Leather, Fur, and Fashion, questions # 60-62 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
VII. LEATHER, FUR, AND FASHION
#60 What is wrong with leather and how can we do without it?
Most leather goods are made from the byproducts of the slaughterhouse, and some is
purpose-made, i.e., the animal is grown and slaughtered purely for its skin. So, by buying leather
products, you will be contributing to the profits of these establishments and augmenting 擴大 the
economic demand for slaughter.
The Nov/Dec 1991 issue of the Vegetarian Journal has this to say about leather: "Environmentally
turning animal hides 皮膚(革) into leather is an energy intensive and polluting practice. Production of
leather basically involves soaking (beamhouse), tanning, dyeing, drying, and finishing. Over 95 percent
of all leather produced in the U.S. is chrome-tanned. The effluent that must be treated is primarily
related to the beamhouse and tanning operations. The most difficult to treat is effluent from the tanning
process. All wastes containing chromium are considered hazardous by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Many other pollutants involved in the processing of leather are associated
with environmental and health risks. In terms of disposal, one would think that leather products would
be biodegradable, but the primary function for a tanning agent is to stabilize the collagen or protein
fibers so that they are no longer biodegradable." MT
For alternatives to leather, consult the excellent Leather Alternatives FAQ maintained by Tom
Swiss (tms@tis.com). DG
#61 I can accept that trapping is inhumane, but what about fur
ranches?
Leaving aside the raw fact that the animals must sacrifice their lives for human vanity 虛榮心, we
are left with many objections to fur ranching.
A common misconception about fur "ranches" is that the animals do not suffer. This is entirely
untrue. These animals suffer a life of misery and frustration, deprived of their most basic needs. They
are kept in wire-mesh cages that are tiny, overcrowded, and filthy 邪惡污穢. Here they are
malnourished, suffer contagious diseases, and endure severe stress.
On these farms, the animals are forced to forfeit(因犯錯)喪失 their natural instincts. Beavers,
who live in water in the wild, must exist on cement floors. Minks 水貂 in the wild, too, spend much of
their time in water, which keeps their salivation, respiration, and body temperature stable. They are
also, by nature, solitary 獨居 animals. However, on these farms, they are forced to live in close contact
with other animals. This often leads to self-destructive behavior, such as pelt 攻擊 and tail biting. They
often resort to cannibalism.
47
The methods used on these farms reflect not the interests and welfare of the animals but the
furriers'皮商 primary interest--profit. The end of the suffering of these animals comes only with
death, which, in order to preserve the quality of the fur, is inflicted with extreme cruelty and brutality.
Engine exhaust is often pumped into a box of animals. This exhaust is not always lethal, and the
animals sometimes writhe 痛苦的扭動身體 in pain as they are skinned alive. Another common
execution practice, often used on larger animals, is anal electrocution. The farmers attach clamps to an
animal's lips and insert metal rods into its anus. The animal is then electrocuted. Decompression
chambers, neck snapping 快速折斷, and poison are also used.
The raising of animals by humans to serve a specific purpose cannot discount or excuse the
lifetime of pain and suffering that these animals endure. JLS
Cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without 不需要.

Rue McClanahan (actress)
The recklessness 不顧後果/魯莽 with which we sacrifice our sense of decency 合宜/禮度 to
maximize profit in the factory farming process sets a pattern for cruelty to our own kind.
Jonathan Kozol (author)
SEE ALSO: #12, #14, #48-#49
#62 Anything wrong with wool, silk, down?
What's wrong with wool? Scientists over the years have bred a Merino sheep which is
exaggeratedly wrinkled. The more wrinkles, the more wool. Unfortunately, greater profits are rarely in
the sheep's best interests. In Australia, more wrinkles mean more perspiration 汗水/賣力 and greater
susceptibility to fly-strike (wool strike fly), a ghastly 像是死人一樣的 condition resulting from
maggot infestation in the sweaty folds of the sheep's over-wrinkled skin. To counteract this, farmers
perform an operation without anesthetic called "mulesing", in which sections of flesh around the anus
are sliced away, leaving a painful, bloody wound.
Without human interference, sheep would grow just enough wool to protect them from the
weather, but scientific breeding techniques have ensured that these animals have become
wool-producing monstrosities 怪物.
Their unnatural overload of wool (often half their body weight) brings added misery during
summer months when they often die from heat exhaustion. Also, one million sheep die in Australia
alone each year from exposure to cold after shearing 剪羊毛.
Every year, in Australia alone, about ten million lambs die before they are more than a few days
old. This is due largely to unmanageable numbers of sheep and inadequate stockpersons. Of UK wool,
27 percent is "skin wool", pulled from the skins of slaughtered sheep and lambs.
48
What's wrong with silk? It is the practice to boil the cocoons that still contain the living moth
larvae in order to obtain the silk. This produces longer silk threads than if the moth was allowed to
emerge. The silkworm can certainly feel pain and will recoil and writhe when injured.
What's wrong with down? The process of live-plucking(拔拉摘扯) is widespread. The terrified
birds are lifted by their necks, with their legs tied, and then have all their body feathers ripped out. The
struggling geese sustain injuries and after their ordeal are thrown back to join their fellow victims until
their turn comes round again. This torture, which has been described as "extremely cruel" by veterinary
surgeons, and even geese breeders, begins when the geese are only eight weeks old. It is then repeated
at eight-week intervals for two or three more sessions. The birds are then slaughtered.
The "lucky" birds are plucked dead, i.e., they are killed first and then plucked.
MT
49
VIII --- Hunting and Fishing, questions # 63-68 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
VIII. HUNTING AND FISHING
#63 Humans are natural hunter/gatherers; aren't you trying to

repress natural human behavior?
Yes. Failing to repress certain "natural behaviors" would create an uncivilized society. Consider
this: It would be an expression of natural behavior to hunt anything that moves (e.g., my neighbor's
dogs or horses) and to gather anything I desire (e.g., my employer's money or furniture). It would even
be natural behavior to indulge in unrestrained sexual appetites or to injure a person in a fit of rage 盛怒
or jealousy.
In a civilized society, we restrain our natural impulses by two codes: the written law of the land,
and the unwritten law of morality. And this also applies to hunting. It is unlawful in many places and at
many times, and the majority of Americans regard sport hunting as immoral.
DVH
Many would question the supposition that humans are natural hunters. In many societies, the
people live quite happily without hunting. In our own society, the majority do not hunt, not because
they are repressing 抑制 their nature--they simply have no desire to do so. Those that do hunt often
show internal conflicts about it, as evidenced by the myths and rituals that serve to legitimize hunting,
cleanse the hunter, etc. This suggests that hunting is not natural, but actually goes against a deeper part
of our nature, a desire not to do harm.
BL
The squirrel that you kill in jest 取樂, dies in earnest 認真.
Henry David Thoreau (essayist and poet)
SEE ALSO: #37, #64-#67
#64 The world is made up of predators and prey; aren't we just

another predator?
No. Our behavior is far worse than that of "just another predator". We kill others not just for
nourishment but also for sport (recreation!), for the satisfaction of our curiosity, for fashion, for
entertainment, for comfort, and for convenience. We also kill each other by the millions for territory,
wealth, and power. We often torture and torment others before killing them. We conduct wholesale
slaughter of vast proportions, on land and in the oceans. No other species behaves in a comparable
manner, and only humans are destroying the balance of nature.
50
At the same time, our killing of nonhuman animals is unnecessary, whereas nonhuman predators
kill and consume only what is necessary for their survival. They have no choice: kill or starve.
The one thing that really separates us from the other animals is our moral capacity, and that has
the potential to elevate us above the status of "just another predator". Nonhumans lack this capacity, so
we shouldn't look to them for moral inspiration and guidance.
DVH
SEE ALSO: #37, #63, #67
#65 Doesn't hunting control wildlife populations that would

otherwise get out of hand?
Hunters often assert 斷言 that their practices benefit their victims. A variation on the theme is
their common assertion that their actions keep populations in check so that animals do not die of
starvation ("a clean bullet in the brain is preferable to a slow death by starvation"). Following are some
facts and questions about hunting and "wildlife management" that reveal what is really happening.
Game animals, such as deer, are physiologically adapted to cope with seasonal food shortages. It
is the young that bear the brunt of starvation. Among adults, elderly and sick animals also starve. But
the hunters do not seek out and kill only these animals at risk of starvation; rather, they seek the
strongest and most beautiful animals (for maximum meat or trophy potential). The hunters thus recruit
the forces of natural selection against the species that they claim to be defending.
The hunters restrict their activities to only those species that are attractive for their meat or trophy
potential. If the hunters were truly concerned with protecting species from starvation, why do they not
perform their "service" for the skunk, or the field mouse? And why is hunting not limited to times
when starvation occurs, if hunting has as a goal the prevention of starvation? (The reason that deer
aren't hunted in early spring or late winter--when starvation occurs--is that the carcasses would contain
less fat, and hence, be far less desirable to meat consumers. Also, hunting then would be unpopular to
hunters due to the snow, mud, and insects.)
So-called "game management" policies are actually programs designed to eliminate predators of
the game species and to artificially provide additional habitat and resources for the game species. Why
are these predator species eliminated when they would provide a natural and ecologically sound
mechanism for controlling the population of game species? Why are such activities as burning,
clear-cutting, chemical defoliation, flooding, and bulldozing employed to increase the populations of
game animals, if hunting has as its goal the reduction of populations to prevent starvation? The truth is
that the management agencies actually try to attain a maximum sustainable yield, or harvest, of game
animals.
The wildlife managers and hunters preferentially kill male animals, a policy designed to keep
populations high. If overpopulation were really a concern, they would preferentially kill females.
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Another common practice that belies the claim that wildlife management has as a goal the
reduction of populations to prevent starvation is the practice of game stocking. For example, in the
state of New York the Department of Environmental Conservation obtains pheasants raised in captivity
and then releases them in areas frequented by hunters. For every animal killed by a hunter, two are
seriously injured and left to die a slow death. Given these statistics, it is clear that hunting fails even in
its proclaimed goal--the reduction of suffering.
The species targeted by hunters, both the game animals and their predators, have survived in
balance for millions of years, yet now wildlife managers and hunters insist they need to be "managed".
The legitimate task of wildlife management should be to preserve viable, natural wildlife populations
and ecosystems. In addition to the animal toll, hunters kill hundreds of human beings every year.
Finally, there is an ethical argument to consider. Thousands of human beings die from starvation
each and every day. Should we assume that the reader will one day be one of them, and dispatch him
straight away? Definitely not. AR ethics asserts that this same consideration should be accorded to the
deer. DG
Unless hunting is part of a controlled culling process, it is unlikely to be of benefit in any

population maintenance. The number and distribution of animals slaughtered is unrelated to any
perceived maldistribution of species, but is more closely related to the predilections of the hunters.
Indeed, hunting, whether for "pleasure" or profit, has a history more closely associated with
bringing animals close to, or into, extinction, rather than protecting from overpopulation. Examples
include the buffalo and the passenger pigeon. With the advent of modern "wildlife management", we
see a transition to systems designed to artificially increase the populations of certain species to sustain
a yield or harvest for hunters.
The need for population control of animals generally arises either from the introduction of species
that have become pests or from indigenous animals that are competing for resources (such as the
kangaroo, which competes with sheep and cattle). These imbalances usually have a human base. It is
more appropriate to examine our resource uses and requirements, and to act more responsibly in our
relationship with the environment, than to seek a "solution" to self-created problems through the
morally dubious practice of hunting. JK
….the American public is footing the bill for predator-control programs that cause the systematic
slaughter of refuge animals. Raccoons and red fox, squirrel and skunks are but a few of the many
egg-eating predators trapped and destroyed in the name of "wildlife management programs". Sea gulls
are shot, fox pups poisoned, and coyotes killed by aerial gunners in low-flying aircraft. This wholesale
destruction is taking place on the only Federal lands set aside to protect America's wildlife!
Humane Society of the United States
The creed of maximum sustainable yield unmasks the rhetoric about "humane service" to animals.
It must be a perverse distortion of the ideal of humane service to accept or engage in practices the
52
explicit goal of which is to insure that there will be a larger, rather than a smaller, number of animals to
kill! With "humane friends" like that, wild animals certainly do not need any enemies.
Tom Regan (philosopher and AR activist)
The real cure for our environmental problems is to understand that our job
is to salvage Mother Nature...We are facing a formidable enemy in this
field. It is the hunters...and to convince them to leave their guns on the
wall is going to be very difficult.
Jacques Cousteau (oceanographer)
SEE ALSO: #66
#66 Aren't hunting fees the major source of revenue for wildlife
management and habitat restoration?
We have seen in question #65 that practices described as "wildlife management" are actually
designed to increase the populations of game species desirable to hunters. Viewed in this light, the
connection between hunting fees and the wildlife agencies looks more like an incestuous relationship
than a constructive one designed to protect the general public's interests. Following are some more
facts of interest in this regard.
Only 7 percent of the population hunt, yet all pay via taxation for hunting programs and services.
Licenses account for only a fraction of the cost of hunting programs at the national level. For example,
the US Fish and Wildlife Service programs get up to 90 percent of their revenues from general tax
revenues. At the state level, hunting fees make up the largest part, and a significant part is obtained
from Federal funds obtained from excise taxes on guns and ammunition. These funds are distributed to
the states based on the number of hunters in the state! It is easy to see, then, how the programs are
designed to appease and satisfy hunters.
It is important to remember that state game officials are appointed, not elected, and their salaries
are paid through the purchase of hunting fees. This ensures that these officials regard the hunters as
their constituents. David Favre, Professor of Wildlife Law at the Detroit College of Law, describes the
situation as follows:
The primary question asked by many within these special [state] agencies
would be something like, "How do we provide the best hunting experience
for the hunters of our state?" The literature is replete with surveys of
hunter desires and preferences in an attempt to serve these constituents.
...Three factors support the status quo within the agency. First, as with
most bureaucracies, individuals are hesitant to question their own
53
on-going programs...Second, besides the normal bureaucratics, most state

game agencies have a substantial group of individuals who are strong
advocates for the hunters of the state. They are not neutral but very
supportive of the hunting ethic and would not be expected to raise broader
questions. Finally, and in many ways most importantly, is the funding
mechanism...Since a large proportion of the funds which run the department
and pay the salaries are from hunters and fishermen, there is a strong
tendency for the agency to consider itself not as representing and working
for the general public but that they need only serve their financial
sponsors, the hunters and fishermen of the state. If your financial
support is dependent on the activity of hunting, obviously very few are
going to question the ecological or ethical problems therewith.
Many would argue that these funding arrangements constitute a prostitution of the public lands for
the benefit of the few. We can envision possible alternatives to these arrangements. Other users of
parks and natural resources, such as hikers, bird watchers, wildlife enthusiasts, eco-tourists, etc., can
provide access to funds necessary for real habitat restoration and wildlife management, not the
perverted brand that caters to the desires of hunters. As far as acquisition and protection of land is
concerned, organizations such as the Nature Conservancy play an important role. They can do much
more with even a fraction of the funding currently earmarked to subsidize hunting ($500 million per
year). DG/JK
SEE ALSO: #65
#67 Isn't hunting OK as long as we eat what we kill?
Some vegetarians accept that where farmers or small landholders breed, maintain, and then kill
their own livestock there is an argument for their eating that meat. There would need, at all stages, to
be a humane life and death involved. Hunting seems not to fit within this argument because the kill is
often not "clean", and the hunter has not had any involvement in the birth and growth of the animal.
As the arguments in the FAQ demonstrate, however, there is a wider context in which these
actions have to be considered. Animals are sentient creatures who share many of our characteristics.
The question is not only whether it is acceptable to eat an animal (which we perhaps hunted and killed),
but if it is an appropriate action to take--stalking and murdering another animal, or eating the product
of someone else's killing. Is it a proper action for a supposedly rational and ethical man or woman?
JK
This question reminds one of question #12, where it is suggested that killing and eating an animal
is justified because the animal is raised for that purpose. The process leading up to the eating is used to
54
justify the eating. In this question, the eating is used to justify the process leading up to it. Both
attempts are totally illogical. Imagine telling the police not to worry that you have just stalked and
killed a person because you ate the person!
DG
SEE ALSO: #12, #21, #63-#64
#68 Fish are dumb like insects; what's wrong with fishing?
Fish are not "dumb" except in the sense that they are unable to speak. They have a complex
nervous system based around a brain and spinal cord similar to other vertebrates. They are not as
intelligent as humans in terms of functioning in our social and physical environment, but they are
very successful and effective in their own environment. Behavioral studies indicate that they exhibit
complex forms of learning, such as operant conditioning, serial reversal learning, probability learning,
and avoidance learning. Many authorities doubt that there is a significant qualitative difference
between learning in fishes and that in rats.
Many people who fish talk about the challenge of fishing, and the contest between themselves and
the fish (on a one-to-one basis, not in relation to trawling or other net fishing). This implies an
awareness and intelligence in the hunted of a level at least sufficient to challenge the hunter.
The death inflicted by fishing--a slow asphyxiation either in a net or after an extended period
fighting against a barbed hook wedged somewhere in their head--is painful and distressing to a sentient
animal. Those that doubt that fish feel pain must explain why it is that their brains contain endogenous
opiates and receptors for them; these are accepted as mechanisms for the attenuation of pain in other
vertebrates. JK
Some people believe that it is OK to catch fish as long as they are returned to the water. But, when
you think about it, it's as if one is playing with the fish. Also, handling the fish wipes off an important
disease-fighting coating on their scales. The hook can be swallowed, leading to serious complications,
and even if it isn't, pulling it out of their mouth leaves a lesion that is open to infection.
JSD
SEE ALSO: #22, #39
55
IX --- Animals for Entertainment, questions # 69-74 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
IX. ANIMALS FOR ENTERTAINMENT
#69 Don't zoos contribute to the saving of species from extinction?
Zoos often claim that they are "arks", which can preserve species whose habitat has been
destroyed, or which were wiped out in the wild for other reasons (such as hunting). They suggest that
they can maintain the species in captivity until the cause of the creature's extirpation is remedied, and
then successfully reintroduce the animals to the wild, resulting in a healthy, self-sustaining population.
Zoos often defend their existence against challenges from the AR movement on these grounds.
There are several problems with this argument, however. First, the number of animals required to
maintain a viable gene pool can be quite high, and is never known for certain. If the captive gene pool
is too small, then inbreeding can result in increased susceptibility to disease, birth defects, and
mutations; the species can be so weakened that it would never be viable in the wild.
Some species are extremely difficult to breed in captivity: marine mammals, many bird species,
and so on. Pandas, which have been the sustained focus of captive breeding efforts for several decades
in zoos around the world, are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity. With such species, the zoos, by
taking animals from the wild to supply their breeding programs, constitute a net drain on wild
populations.
The whole concept of habitat restoration is mired in serious difficulties. Animals threatened by
poaching (elephants, rhinos, pandas, bears and more) will never be safe in the wild as long as firearms,
material needs, and a willingness to consume animal parts coincide. Species threatened by chemical
contamination (such as bird species vulnerable to pesticides and lead shot) will not be candidates for
release until we stop using the offending substances, and enough time has passed for the toxins to be
processed out of the environment. Since heavy metals and some pesticides are both persistent and
bioaccumulative, this could mean decades or centuries before it is safe to reintroduce the animals.
Even if these problems can be overcome, there are still difficulties with the process of
reintroduction. Problems such as human imprinting, the need to teach animals to fly, hunt, build dens,
and raise their young are serious obstacles, and must be solved individually for each species.
There is a small limit to the number of species the global network of zoos can preserve under even
the most optimistic assumptions. Profound constraints are imposed by the lack of space in zoos, their
limited financial resources, and the requirement that viable gene pools of each species be preserved.
Few zoos, for instance, ever keep more than two individuals of large mammal species. The need to
preserve scores or hundreds of a particular species would be beyond the resources of even the largest
zoos, and even the whole world zoo community would be hard-pressed to preserve even a few dozen
species in this manner.
Contrast this with the efficiency of large habitat preserves, which can maintain viable populations
of whole complexes of species with minimal human intervention. Large preserves maintain every
56
species in the ecosystem in a predominantly self-sufficient manner, while keeping the creatures in the
natural habitat unmolested. If the financial resources (both government and charitable), and the
biological expertise currently consumed by zoos, were redirected to habitat preservation and
management, we would have far fewer worries about habitat restoration or preserving species whose
habitat is gone.
Choosing zoos as a means for species preservation, in addition to being expensive and of dubious
effectiveness, has serious ethical problems. Keeping animals in zoos harms them, by denying them
freedom of movement and association, which is important to social animals, and frustrates many of
their natural behavioral patterns, leaving them at least bored, and at worst seriously neurotic. While
humans may feel there is some justifying benefit to their captivity (that the species is being preserved,
and may someday be reintroduced into the wild), this is no compensating benefit to the individual
animals. Attempts to preserve species by means of captivity have been described as sacrificing the
individual gorilla to the abstract Gorilla (i.e., to the abstract conception of the gorilla). JE
#70 Don't animals live longer in zoos than they would in the wild?
In some cases, this is true. But it is irrelevant. Suppose a zoo decides to exhibit human beings.
They snatch a peasant from a less-developed country and put her on display. Due to the regular
feedings and health care that the zoo provides, the peasant will live longer in captivity. Is this practice
acceptable?
A tradeoff of quantity of life versus quality of life is not always decided in favor of quantity.
DG
#71 How will people see wild animals and learn about them without
zoos?
To gain true and complete knowledge of wild animals, one must observe them in their natural
habitats. The conditions under which animals are kept in zoos typically distorts their behavior
significantly.
There are several practical alternatives to zoos for educational purposes. There are many nature
documentaries shown regularly on television as well as available on video cassettes. Specials on public
television networks, as well as several cable channels, such as The Discovery Channel, provide
accurate information on animals in their natural habitats. Magazines such as National Geographic
provide superb illustrated articles, as well. And, of course, public libraries are a gold-mine of
information.
Zoos often mistreat animals, keeping them in small pens or cages. This is unfair and cruel. The
natural instincts and behavior of these animals are suppressed by force. How can anyone observe wild
animals under such circumstances and believe that one has been educated? JLS
57
All good things are wild, and free.

SEE ALSO: #69-#70
#72 What is wrong with circuses and rodeos?
To treat animals as objects for our amusement is to treat them without the respect they deserve.
When we degrade the most intelligent fellow mammals in this way, we act as our ancestors acted in
former centuries. They knew nothing about the animals' intelligence, sensitivities, emotions, and social
needs; they saw only brute beasts. To continue such ancient traditions, even if no cruelty were involved,
means that we insist on remaining ignorant and insensitive.
But the cruelty does exist and is inherent in these spectacles. In rodeos, there is no show unless the
animal is frightened or in pain. In circuses, animals suffer most before and after the show. They endure
punishment during training and are subjected to physical and emotional hardships during transportation.
They are forced to travel tens of thousands of miles each year, often in extreme heat or cold, with tigers
living in cramped cages and elephants chained in filthy railroad cars. To the entrepreneurs, animals are
merely stock in trade, to be replaced when they are used up. DVH
David Cowles-Hamar writes about circuses as follows in his "The Manual of Animal Rights":
Not surprisingly, a considerable amount of "persuasion" is required

to achieve these performances, and to this end, circuses employ
various techniques. These include deprivation of food, deprivation
of company, intimidation, muzzling, drugs, punishment and reward
systems, shackling, whips, electronic goads, sticks, and the noise
of guns...Circus animals suffer similar mental and physical problems
to zoo animals, displaying stereotypical behavior...Physical symptoms
include shackle sores, herpes, liver failure, kidney disease, and
sometimes death...Many of the animals become both physically and
mentally ill.
DG
The American rodeo consists of roping, bucking, and steer wrestling events. While the public
witnesses only the 8 seconds or so that the animals perform, there are hundreds of hours of
unsupervised practice sessions. Also, the stress of constant travel, often in improperly ventilated
vehicles, and poor enforcement of proper unloading, feeding, and watering of animals during travel
contribute to a life of misery for these animals.
58
As half a rider's score is based on the performance of the bucking horse or bull, riders encourage a
wild ride by tugging on a bucking strap that is squeezed tightly around the animal's loins. Electric prods
and raking spurs are also used to stimulate wild behavior. Injuries range from bruises and broken bones
to paralysis, severed tracheas, and death. Spinal cords of calves can be severed when forced to an
abrupt stop while traveling at 30 mph. The practice of slamming these animals to the ground during
these events has caused the rupture of internal organs, leading to a slow, agonizing death.
Dr. C. G. Haber, a veterinarian with thirty years experience as a meat inspector for the USDA,
says: "The rodeo folks send their animals to the packing houses where...I have seen cattle so
extensively bruised that the only areas in which the skin was attached was the head, neck, legs, and
belly. I have seen animals with six to eight ribs broken from the spine and at times puncturing the lungs.
I have seen as much as two and three gallons of free blood accumulated under the detached skin."
JSD
#73 But isn't it true that animals are well cared for and wouldn't
perform if they weren't happy?
Refer to questions #72 and #74 to see that entertainment animals are generally not well cared for.
For centuries people have known that punishment can induce animals to perform. The criminal
justice system is based on the human rationality in connecting the act of a crime or wrongdoing with a
punishment. Many religions are also based, among other aspects, on a fear of punishment. Fear leads
most of us to act correctly, on the whole.
The same is true for other animals. Many years of unnecessary and repetitive psychology
experiments with Skinner boxes (among other gadgets) have demonstrated that animals will learn to do
things, or act in certain ways (that is, be conditioned) to avoid electric shocks or other punishment.
Animals do need to have their basic food requirements met, otherwise they sicken and die, but
they don't need to be "happy" to perform certain acts; fear or desire for a reward (such as food) will
make them do it. JK
SEE ALSO: #14, #51, #72, #74
#74 What about horse or greyhound racing?
Racing is an example of human abuse of animals merely for entertainment and pleasure,
regardless of the needs or condition of the animals. The pleasure derives primarily from gambling on
the outcome of the race. While some punters express an interest in the animal side of the equation,
most people interested in racing are not interested in the animals but in betting; attendance at race
meetings has fallen dramatically as off-course betting options became available.
59
While some of the top dogs and horses may be kept in good conditions, for the majority of
animals, this is not the case. While minimum living standards have to be met, other factors are
introduced to gain the best performances (or in some cases to fix a race by ensuring a loss): drugs,
electrical stimuli, whips, etc. While many of these practices are outlawed (including dog blooding),
there are regular reports of various illegal techniques being used. Logic would suggest that where the
volume of money being moved around is as large as it is in racing, there are huge temptations to
massage the outcomes.
For horses, especially, the track itself poses dangers; falls and fractures are common in both flat
and jump races. Often, lame horses are doped to allow them to continue to race, with the risk of serious
injury.
And at the end of it all, if the animal is not a success, or does not perform as brilliantly as hoped, it
is disposed of. Horses are lucky in that they occasionally go to a home where they are well treated and
respected, but the knackery is a common option (a knackery is a purveyor of products derived from
worn-out and old livestock). (Recently, a new practice has come to light: owners of race horses
sometimes murder horses that do not reach their "potential", or which are past their "prime", and then
file fraudulent insurance claims.) The likely homes for a greyhound are few and far between. JK
Race horses are prone to a disease called exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). It is
characterized by the presence of blood in the lungs and windpipe of the horse following intense
exercise. An Australian study found 42 percent of 1,180 horses to be suffering from EIPH.
A large percentage of race horses suffer from lameness. Fractures of the knee are common, as are
ligament sprain, joint sprain, and shin soreness.
Steeple chasing is designed to make the horses fall which sometimes results in the death of the
horse either though a broken neck or an "incurable" injury for which the horse is killed by a
veterinarian. David Cowles-Hamar
SEE ALSO: #72-#73
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X --- Companion Animals, questions # 75-76 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
X. COMPANION ANIMALS
#75 What about keeping pets?
In a perfect world, all of our efforts would go toward protecting the habitats of other species on
the planet and we would be able to maintain a "hands off" approach in which we did not take other
species into our family units, but allowed them to develop on their own in the wild. However, we are
far from such a Utopia and as responsible humans must deal with the results of the domestication of
animals. Since many animals domesticated to be pets have been bred but have no homes, most AR
supporters see nothing wrong with having them as companion animals. As a matter of fact, the AR
supporter may well provide homes for more unwanted companion animals than does the average
person! Similarly, animals domesticated for agricultural purposes should be cared for.
However, animals in the wild should be left there and not brought into homes as companions. A
cage in someone's house is an unnatural environment for an exotic bird, fish, or mammal. When the
novelty 新鮮感 wears off 消失, wild pets usually end up at shelters, zoos, or research labs. Wild
animals have the right to be treated with respect, and that includes leaving them in their natural
surroundings.
LK
A loving relationship with a proper companion animal, a relationship that adequately provides for
the animal's physical and psychological needs, is not at all inconsistent with the principles and
advocacy of animal rights. Indeed, animal rights advocates have been leaders in drawing attention to
some of the abuses and neglects of our "beloved" pets. Many of the taken for granted practices do need
to be reexamined and changed. The questions that animal rights raises about companion animals are
important questions:
* Can we maintain animals as companions and still properly address their needs? Obviously, we can't
do this for all animals. For example, keeping birds in cages denies those creatures their capacity and
inherent need to fly.
* Is manipulating companion animals for our needs in the best interests of the nonhuman animal as
well?
Tail docking would thus be a practice to condemn in this regard.
* Might some of our taken-for-granted practices of pet keeping be really a form of exploitation?
Animals in circuses or panhandlers using animals on the street to get money from passersby would
arguably be cases of exploitation.
61
X --- Companion Animals, questions # 75-76 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
* Which attitudes of human caretakers are truly expressions of our respect and love towards these
animals, and which might not be?
Exotic breeding is one example of this kind of abuse, especially when the breeding results in animals
that are at a greater risk for certain diseases or biological defects.
All that animal rights is really asking is that we consider more deeply and authentically the
practice at hand and whether or not it truly meets the benchmark 標準 that BOTH the needs of human
AND nonhuman animals be considered. TA
The following points should be considered when selecting a companion animal.

Get a companion animal appropriate to your situation--don't keep a big dog in a flat or small
garden. Don't get an animal that will be kept unnecessarily confined--birds, fish, etc. However, it is a
good policy to try to keep cats inside as much as possible, especially at night, to protect both the cat
and local wildlife. Get your dog or cat from a local pound or animal group; thousands of animals are
destroyed each year by groups such as the RSPCA. The majority are animals who are lost or dumped.
Vicious animals are not adopted out. By getting an animal from such a source you will be saving its life
and reducing the reliance on breeders.
Finally, get your companion neutered. There is no behavioral or biological benefit from being
fertile or from having a litter. And every pup or kitten that is produced will need to find a home.
JK
SEE ALSO: #76
#76 What about spaying and neutering?
Ingrid Newkirk writes:
"What's happening to our best friends should never happen even to our worst enemies. With an
estimated 80 to 100 million cats and dogs in this country already, 3,000 to 5,000 more puppies and
kittens are born every hour in the United States--far more than can ever find good homes. Unwanted
animals are dumped at the local pound or abandoned in woods and on city streets, where they suffer
from starvation, lack of shelter and veterinary care, and abuse. Most die from disease, starvation, and
mistreatment, or, if they're lucky are 'put to sleep' forever at an animal shelter."
The point is that the practice of neutering and spaying prevents far more suffering and harm than it
imposes on the neutered or spayed animals. The net harm is minimized. DG
SEE ALSO: #75
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XI --- Laboratory Animals, questions# 77-86 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
XI. LABORATORY ANIMALS
#77 What is wrong with experimentation on animals?
The claimed large gains from using animals in research makes the practice the most significant
challenge to AR philosophy. While it is easy to dismiss meat production as a trivial indulgence of the
taste buds, such a dismissal is not so easily accomplished for animal research.
First, a definition. We refer to as "vivisection" any use of animals in science or research that
exploits and harms them. This definition acknowledges that there is some research using animals that is
morally acceptable under AR philosophy (see question #80).
The case against vivisection is built upon three planks. They are:
PLANK A. Vivisection is immoral and should be abolished.

PLANK B. Abolition of vivisection is not antiscience or antiresearch.
PLANK C. The consequences of abolition are acceptable.
It is easy to misunderstand the AR philosophy regarding vivisection. Often, scientists will debate
endlessly about the scientific validity of research, and sometimes AR people engage in those debates.
Such issues are part of PLANK C, which asserts that much research is misleading, wrong, or misguided.
However, the key to the AR position is PLANK A, which asserts an objection to vivisection on ethical
grounds. We seek to reassure people about the effects abolition will have on future medical progress
via PLANKS B and C.
In the material that follows, each piece of text is identified with a preceding tag such as [PLANK
A]. The idea is to show how the text fragments fit into the overall case. There is some overlap between
PLANKs B and C, so the assignment may look arbitrary in a few cases. DG
[PLANK A]
Over 100 million animals are used in experiments worldwide every year. A few of the more
egregious examples of vivisection may be enlightening for the uninformed (taken from R. Ryder's
"Victims of Science"):
*Psychologists gave electric shocks to the feet of 1042 mice. They then caused convulsions by giving
more intense shocks through cup-shaped electrodes applied to the animals' eyes or through spring clips
attached to their ears.
*In Japan, starved rats with electrodes in their necks and electrodes in their eyeballs were forced to run
in treadmills for four hours at a time.
63
*A group of 64 monkeys was addicted to drugs by automatic injection in their jugular veins. When the
supply of drugs was abruptly withdrawn, some of the monkeys were observed to die in convulsions.
Before dying, some monkeys plucked out all their hair or bit off their own fingers and toes.
Basic ethical objections to this type of "science" are presented here and in questions #79 and #85.
Some technical objections are found in questions #78 and #80. Question #92 contains a list of books on
vivisection; refer to them for further examples of the excesses of vivisection, as well as more detailed
discussion of its technical merits.
VIVISECTION TREATS ANIMALS AS TOOLS. Vivisection effectively reduces sentient beings to

the status of disposable tools, to be used and discarded for the benefit of others. This forgets that each
animal has an inherent value, a value that does not rise and fall depending on the interests of others.
Those doubting this should ponder the implications of their views for humans: would they support the
breeding of human slaves for the exclusive use of experimenters?
VIVISECTION IS SPECIESIST. Most animal experimenters would not use nonconsenting humans in
invasive research. In making this concession, they reveal the importance they attach to species
membership, a biological line that is as morally relevant as that of race or gender, that is, not relevant at
all.
VIVISECTION DEMEANS SCIENCE. Its barbaric practices are an insult to those who feel that
science should provide humans with the opportunity to rise above the harsher laws of nature.
The words of Tom Regan summarize the feelings of many AR activists: "The laudatory
achievements of science, including the many genuine benefits obtained for both humans and animals,
do not justify the unjust means used to secure them. As in other cases, so in the present one, the rights
view does not call for the cessation of scientific research. Such research should go on--but not at the
expense of laboratory animals." AECW
Atrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research.
George Bernard Shaw (playwright, Nobel 1925)
Vivisection is the blackest of all the black crimes that a man is at present committing against God
and his fair creation. Mahatma Gandhi (statesman and philosopher)
What I think about vivisection is that if people admit that they have the right to take or endanger
the life of living beings for the benefit of many, there will be no limit for their cruelty.
Leo Tolstoy (author)
64
I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human
race or doesn't...The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward
it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further. Mark Twain (author)
SEE ALSO: #78-#82, #85-#86
#78 Do AR people accept that vivisection has led to valuable

medical advances?
[PLANK A]
AR advocates generally believe that vivisection has played a contributing, if not necessarily
essential, role in some valuable medical advances. However, AR philosophy asserts that the end does
not justify the means, and that therefore the answer cannot decide the legitimacy of the stance against
vivisection.
[PLANK C]
That said, many people, including former vivisectors and medical historians, will readily state that
there is ample scientific and historical evidence showing that most vivisection is futile, and often
harmful to those it pretends to serve.
On statistical grounds, vivisection does not deliver: despite the use of 144,000,000 animals in
Britain since 1950, life-expectancy in Britain for the middle-aged has not changed since this date.
Some 85 percent of the lab animals killed between the 1890s and the 1990s died after 1950, but the fall
in death rate during these 100 years was 92 percent complete by 1950. Consider, for a specific example,
these figures for cancer:
CANCER DEATH RATE PER MILLION MEN IN BRITAIN [FOR THOSE > 100 PER MILLION]
Cancer type 1971-1975 1976-1980 % change
Bladder 118 123 + 4.2
Pancreas 118 125 + 5.9
Prostate 177 199 + 12.4
Stomach 298 278 - 6.7
Colorectal 311 320 + 2.9
Lung Trachea Bronchus 1091 1125 + 3.1
[data for women excised 除去 for space reasons]
Gains 收穫 in the war against cancer are sadly lacking, despite the vast numbers of animals
sacrificed for cancer research. When such analyses are performed across the spectrum of health issues,
it becomes clear that, at best, the contribution of vivisection to our health must be considered quite
65
modest. The dramatic declines in death rates for old killer diseases, such as, tuberculosis, pneumonia,
typhoid, whooping cough, and cholera, came from improvements in housing, in working conditions, in
the quantity and quality of food and water supplies, and in hygiene. Chemotherapy and immunization
cannot logically be given much credit here, since they only became available, chronologically, after
most of the declines were achieved.
Consider the particular example of penicillin: it was discovered accidentally by Fleming in 1928.
He tested on rabbits, and when they failed to react (we now know that they excrete penicillin rapidly),
he lost interest in his substance. Still, two scientists followed up on his work, successfully tried on mice
and stated:
"...mice were tried in the initial toxicity tests because of their small size, but what a lucky chance it was,
for in this respect man is like the mouse and not the guinea pig. If we had used guinea pigs exclusively
we should have said that the penicillin was toxic, and we probably should not have proceeded to try to
overcome the difficulties of producing the substance for trial in man."
Vivisection generally fails because:

* Human medicine cannot be based on veterinary medicine. This is because animals are different
histologically, anatomically, genetically, immunologically, and physiologically.
* Animals and humans react differently to substances. For example, some drugs are carcinogenic in
humans but not in animals, or vice-versa.
* Naturally occurring diseases (e.g., in patients) and artificially induced diseases (e.g., in lab animals)
often differ substantially.
All this manifests itself in examples such as the one below:
SPECIES DIFFERENCE IN TESTS FOR BIRTH DEFECTS

chemical Teratogen (i.e., causes Birth defects)
yes no
aspirin rats mice cats dogs guinea pigs humans
monkeys
aminopterin humans monkeys
azathioprine rabbits rats
caffeine rats mice rabbits
cortisone mice rabbits rats
thalidomide Humans rats, mice, hamsters
triamcilanone mice humans
66
There are countless examples, old and recent, of the misleading effects of vivisection, and there
are countless statements from reputable scientists who see vivisection for what it is: bad science.
Following are just a few of them. AECW
The uselessness of most of the animal models is less well-known. For example, the discovery of
chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of human cancer is widely heralded as a triumph due to use
of animal model systems. However, here again, these exaggerated claims are coming from or are
endorsed by the same people who get the federal dollars for animal research. There is little, if any,
factual evidence that would support these claims. Indeed while conflicting animal results have often
delayed and hampered advances in the war on cancer, they have never produced a single substantial
advance in the prevention or treatment of human cancer. For instance, practically all of the
chemotherapeutic agents which are of value in the treatment of human cancerwere found in a clinical
context rather than in animal studies. Dr. Irwin Bross 1981 Congressional testimony
Indeed even while these [clinical] studies were starting, warning voices
were suggesting that data from research on animals could not be used to
develop a treatment for human tumors.
British Medical Journal, 1982
Vivisection is barbaric, useless, and a hindrance to scientific progress.

Dr. Werner Hartinger
Chief Surgeon, West Germany, 1988
...many vivisectors still claim that what they do helps save human lives.
They are lying. The truth is that animal experiments kill people, and animal
researchers are responsible for the deaths of thousands of men, women and
children every year.
Dr. Vernon Coleman
Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, UK
#79 How can you justify losing medical advances that would save
human lives by stopping vivisection?
[PLANK A]
The same way we justify not performing forcible 強制性 research on unwilling humans! A lot of
even more relevant information is currently foregone 放棄 owing to our strictures 苛責(嚴厲批評)
against human experimentation. If life-saving medical advances are to be sought at all cost, why should
67
nonhuman animals be singled out for ill-treatment 虐待? We must accept that there is such a thing as
"ill-gotten gains 不正當獲得", and that the potential fruits of vivisection qualify as such.
This question might be regarded as a veiled insult to the creativity and resourcefulness of
scientists. Although humans have never set foot on Pluto, scientists have still garnered a lot of valuable
scientific information concerning it. Why couldn't such feats of ingenuity be repeated in other fields?
AECW
[PLANK B]
Forcible experimentation on humans is not the only alternative. Many humans would be glad to
participate in experiments that offer the hope of a cure for their afflictions, or for the afflictions of
others. If individual choice were allowed, there might be no need for animal experimentation. The
stumbling block is government regulations that forbid these choices. Similarly, government regulations
are the reason many animals are sacrificed for product testing, often unnecessarily. PM
SEE ALSO: #77-#78, #80-#82, #85-#86
#80 Aren't there instances where there are no alternatives to the

use of animals?
[PLANK A]
The reply to the question here is succinct: "If so, so what?". Let us recall that we are happy
enough (today) to forego knowledge that would be acquired at the expense of commandeering humans
into service, and that we include children, the mentally diminished and even people suffering from
types of disease for which animal models are unsatisfactory (such as AIDS). That is, a prior ethical
decision was made that rules them out from experimentation, and that foregoes any potential
knowledge so derived.
Now the Animal Rights argument is consistent: since no morally relevant difference can be
produced that separates humans spared experimentation from test animals (those that are
subjects-of-a-life), vivisection is exposed as immoral, and the practice must be abandoned.
Just as the insights offered by the Nazis' experiments on concentration camp prisoners were
morally illicit, so are any and all benefits traceable to vivisection. As Tom Regan put it:
"Since, whatever our gains, they are ill-gotten, we must bring an end to
[such] research, whatever our losses."
[PLANK B]
The argument above makes the search for alternatives morally imperative, and if it is objected that
this "just isn't possible", one should reply that belittling the ingenuity of scientists will not do. There
68
have been cases where alternatives to vivisection had to be sought, and--of course--they were found.
For example, Sharpe writes in The Human Cost of Animal Experimentation:
"Historically, a classic example is the conquest of yellow fever. In 1900, no animal was known to be
susceptible, prompting studies with human volunteers which proved that mosquitoes did indeed
transmit the disease. These observations led to improved sanitation and quarantine measures in Havana
where yellow fever, once rife, was eradicated."
[PLANK C]
We now cite a few alternatives to animal models of human diseases. Two traditional types are: a)
Clinical studies: these are essential for a thorough understanding of any disease. Anesthetics, artificial
respiration, the stethoscope, electrocardiographs, blood pressure measurements, etc., resulted from
careful clinical studies. b) Epidemiology studies: i.e., the study of diseases of whole populations. They,
and not animal tests, have identified most of the substances known to cause cancer in humans. Typical
example: Why is cancer of the colon so frequent in Europe and North America, infrequent in Japan, but
common in Japanese immigrants to North America?
More recent technological advances now allow a host of other investigative methods to be applied,
including:
* Tissue cultures: Human cells and tissues can be kept alive in cultures and used for biomedical
research. Since human material is used, extrapolation problems are short-circuited. Such cultures have
been used in cancer research by FDA scientists, for example, and according to them: "[they] offer the
possibility of studying not only the biology of cancer cell growth and invasion into normal human
tissue, but also provide a method for evaluating the effects of a variety of potentially important
antitumor agents."
* Physico-chemical methods: For example, liquid chromatographs and mass spectrophotometers allow
researchers to identify substances in biological substances. For example, a bioassay for vitamin D used
to involve inducing rickets in rats and feeding them vitamin-D-rich substances. Now, liquid
chromatography allows such bioassays to be conducted quicker and at reduced cost.
* Computer simulations: According to Dr. Walker at the University of Texas: "... computer simulations
offer a wide range of advantages over live animal experiments in the physiology and pharmacology
laboratory. These include: savings in animal procurement and housing costs; nearly unlimited
availability to meet student schedules; the opportunity to correct errors and repeat parts of the
experiment performed incorrectly or misinterpreted; speed of operation and efficient use of students'
time and consistency with knowledge learned elsewhere."
69
* Computer-aided drug design: Such methods have been used in cancer and sickle-cell anemia drug
research, for example. Here, 3D computer graphics and the theoretical field of quantum pharmacology
are combined to help in designing drugs according to required specifications.
* Mechanical models: For example, an artificial neck has been developed by General Motors for use in
car-crash simulations. Indeed, the well-known "crash dummies" are much more accurate and effective
than the primates previously employed.
This list is by no means exhaustive.
[PLANK B]
There are instances where the benefits of experimentation accrue directly to the individual
concerned; for example, the trial of a new plastic heart may be proposed to someone suffering from
heart disease, or a new surgical technique may be attempted to save a nonhuman animal. This may
qualify, in the mind of the questioner, as an instance of use of animals. The position here is simple: The
Animal Rights position does not condemn experimentation where it is conducted for the benefit of the
individual patient. Clinical trials of new drugs, for example, often fall in this category, and so does
some veterinary research, such as the clinical study of already sick animals. Another example of
acceptable animal research is ethology, i.e. the study of animals in their natural habitat. AECW
[PLANK B]
Following is a list of alternatives to much, if not all, vivisection:
* Cell, tissue, and organ cultures

* Clinical observation
* Human volunteers (sick and well)
* Autopsies
* Material from natural deaths
* Noninvasive imaging in clinical settings
* Post-market surveillance
* Statistical inference
* Computer models
* Substitution with plants
These alternatives, and others not yet conceived, will ensure that scientific research will not come
to a halt upon abolition of vivisection. DG
70
#81 But what if animals also benefit, e.g., through advance of

veterinary science?
[PLANK A]
The Animal Rights philosophy is species-neutral, so the arguments developed elsewhere in this
section apply with equal force. The immorality of rights-violative practices is not attenuated by
claiming that the victims and beneficiaries are of the same species. AECW
#82 Should people refuse medical treatments obtained through

vivisection?
[PLANK A]
This is a favorite question for the defenders of vivisection. The implication is that the AR position
is inconsistent 前後矛盾 or irrational because AR people partake 共享 of some fruits of vivisection.
As a first answer, we can point out that for existing treatments derived from vivisection, the
damage has already been done. Nothing is gained by refusing the treatment. Vivisectors counter that
the situation is analogous to our refusal to eat meat sold at the grocery; the damage has been done, so
why not eat the meat? But there is a crucial difference. Knowledge is a permanent commodity; unlike
meat, it is abstract, it doesn't rot 腐敗. Consider a piece of knowledge obtained through vivisection. If
vivisection were abolished, the knowledge could be used repeatedly without endorsing or further
supporting vivisection. With meat consumption, the practice of slaughter must continue if the fruits are
to continue to be enjoyed. Another point is that, had the vivisection not occurred, the knowledge might
well have been obtained through alternative, moral methods.
Are we to permanently foreclose 取消債權 the use of an abstract piece of knowledge due to the
past folly 愚蠢 of a vivisector? The same cannot be said of meat; it cannot be obtained without
slaughter.
If the reader finds this unpersuasive 沒有說服力的, she should consider that the AR movement
sincerely wants to abolish vivisection, eliminating ill-gotten fruits. If this is achieved, the original
question becomes moot 有討論空間的, because there will be no such fruits. DG
[PLANK A]
This is another "where should I draw the line" question, with the added twist that one's personal
health may be on the line. As such, the right answer is likely to depend a good deal on personal
circumstances and judgment. It is certainly beyond the call of duty to make an absolute pledge, since
the principle of self-defense may ultimately apply (particularly in life-or death cases). Still, many
people will be prepared to make statements against animal oppression, even at considerable cost to
their well-being. For these, the following issues might be worth considering.
71
[PLANK C]
WHAT IS THE TRUE CONTRIBUTION OF ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE TREATMENT? Most treatments owe nothing to animal experimentation at
all, or were developed in spite of animal experimentation rather than thanks to it.
Insulin is one good example. The really important discoveries did not proceed from the celebrated
experiments of Banting and Best on dogs but from clinical discoveries: According to Dr. Sharpe: "The
link between diabetes and the pancreas was first demonstrated by Thomas Cawley in 1788 when he
examined a patient who had died from the disease. Further autopsies confirmed that diabetes is indeed
linked with degeneration of the pancreas but, partly because physiologists, including the notorious
Claude Bernard, had failed to produce a diabetic state in animals...the idea was not accepted for many
years." One had to wait until 1889 for the link to be accepted, the date at which two researchers,
Mering and Minkowski, managed to induce a form of diabetes in dogs by removing their entire
pancreas. Autopsies further revealed that some parts of the pancreas of diabetics were damaged, giving
birth to the idea that administering pancreatic extracts to patients might help.
Other examples of treatments owing nothing to vivisection include the heart drug digitalis, quinine
(used against malaria), morphine (a pain killer), ether (an anesthetic), sulfanilimide (a diuretic),
cortisone (used to relieve arthritic pains, for example), aspirin, fluoride (in toothpastes), etc.
Incidentally, some of these indisputably useful drugs would find it hard to pass these so-called
animal safety tests. Insulin causes birth defects in chickens, rabbits, and mice but not in man; morphine
sedates man but stimulates cats; doses of aspirin used in human therapeutics poison cats (and do
nothing for fever in horses); the widespread use of digitalis was slowed down by confounding results
from animal studies (and legitimized by clinical studies, as ever), and so on.
IS THE TREATMENT REALLY SAFE? The nefarious effects of many newly-developed, "safe"
compounds often take some time to be acknowledged. For example, even serious side-effects can
sometimes go under-reported. In the UK, only a dozen of the 3500 deaths eventually linked to the use
of isoprenaline aerosol inhalers were reported by doctors. Similarly, it took 4 years for the side-effects
of the heart drug Eraldine (which included eye damage) to be acknowledged. The use of these drugs
were, evidently, approved following extensive animal testing.
WILL THE TREATMENT REALLY HELP? This question is not as incongruous as it may appear. A
1967 official enquiry suggested that one third of the most prescribed drugs in the UK were "undesirable
preparations". Many new drugs provide no advantage over existing compounds: in 1977, the US FDA
released a study of 1,935 drugs introduced up to April 1977 which suggested that 79.4 percent of them
provided "little or no [therapeutic] gain". About 80 percent of new introductions in the UK are
reformulations, or duplications of existing drugs. A 1980 survey by the Medicines Division of UK
Department for Health and Social Security states : "[new drugs] have largely been introduced into
therapeutic areas already heavily oversubscribed and...for conditions which are common, largely
72
chronic and occur principally in the affluent Western society. Innovation is therefore largely directed
toward commercial returns rather than therapeutic needs."
[PLANK B]
ARE THERE ALTERNATIVES TO THE TREATMENT? A better appreciation of the benefits of
"alternative" practices has developed in recent years. Often, dietary or lifestyle changes can be effective
treatments on their own. Adult-onset diabetes has been linked to obesity, for instance, and can often be
cured simply by weight-loss and sensible dieting. Other types of alternative medicine, such as
acupuncture, have proven useful in stress relief, and against insomnia and back pains. AECW
[PLANK A]
In modern society, I think it would be almost impossible NOT to use medical information gained
through animal research at some stage--drug testing being the most obvious consideration--without
opting out of health care altogether. It is important, therefore, that we emphasize the need to stop now.
The past is irretrievable. JK
#83 Farmers have to kill pests to protect our food supply. Given
that, what's wrong with killing a few more rats for medical research?
[PLANK A]
First, we object to the casual attitude of the questioner to the killing of rights holders. A
nonspeciesist philosophy, such as that of Animal Rights, sees that as no different from suggesting:
Humans are killed legitimately every day. Given that, what's wrong with
killing a few more humans for medical research?
Hopefully, the reply is now obvious: in the original question, the fate of pests is an irrelevant
consideration (here), and the case for the liberation of laboratory animals must be evaluated on its own.
Seeking to dilute a number of immoral killings into a greater number of arguably defensible ones is a
creative but illogical attempt at ethical reasoning. AECW
SEE ALSO: #59
#84 What about dissection; isn't it necessary for a complete

education?
[PLANK A]
73
Dissection refers to the practice of performing exploratory surgery on animals (both killed and
live) in an educational context. The average person's experience of this practice consists of dissecting a
frog in a high-school biology class, but fetal chipmunks, mice, rabbits, dogs, cats, pigs, and other
animals are also used.
Dissection accounts for the death of about 7 million animals per year. Many of these animals are
bred in factory-farm conditions. Others are taken from their natural habitats. Often, strayed companion
animals end up in the hands of dissectors. These animals suffer from inhumane confinement and
transport, and are finally killed by means of gassing, neck-snapping, and other "inexpensive" methods.
The practice of dissection is repulsive to many students and high-schoolers have begun to speak
out against it. Some have even engaged in litigation (and won!) to assert a right to not participate in
such unnecessary cruelty. California has a law giving students (through high school) the right to refuse
dissection. The law requires an alternative to be offered and that the student suffer no sanctions for
exercising this right.
Having dealt with the sub-question "What is dissection?", let's consider whether it is necessary for
a complete education.
[PLANK B]
There are several very effective alternatives to dissection. In some cases, these alternatives are
more effective than dissection itself. Larger-than-life models, films and videos, and computer
simulations are all viable methods of teaching biological principles. The latter option, computer
simulation, has the advantage of offering an additional interactive facility that has shown great value in
other educational contexts. These alternative methods are often cheaper than the traditional practice of
dissection. A computer program can be used indefinitely for a one-time purchase cost; the practice of
dissection presents an ongoing expense.
In view of these effective alternatives, and the economic gains associated therewith, the practice
of dissection begins to look more and more like a rite of passage into the world of animal abuse, almost
a fraternity initiation for future vivisectors. This practice desensitizes students to animal suffering and
teaches them that animals can be used and discarded without respect for their lives. Is this the kind of
lesson we want to teach our children? JLS/DG
[PLANK C]
Dissecting animals is often described as necessary for the complete education of surgeons. This is
nonsense. Numerous surgeons have stated that practicing on animals does not provide adequate skills
for human surgery. For example, dogs are the favorite test animal of surgery students, yet their body
shape is different, the internal arrangement of their organs is different, the elasticity of their tissues
under the scalpel is different, and postoperative effects are different (they are less prone to infection,
for one thing). Also, many surgeons have suggested that practicing on animals may induce in the mind
of the student a casual attitude to suffering.
74
Following are the thoughts of several prestigious surgeons on this issue.

AECW
...wounds of animals are so different from those of [humans] that the

conclusions of vivisection are absolutely worthless. They have done far
more harm than good in surgery.
Lawson Tait
…Any person who had to endure certain experiments carried out on animals which perish slowly
in the laboratories would regard death by burning at the stake as a happy deliverance. Like every one
else in my profession, I used to be of the opinion that we owe nearly all our knowledge of medical and
surgical science to animal experiments. Today I know that precisely the opposite is the case. In surgery
especially, they are of no help to the practitioner, indeed he is often led astray by them.
Professor Bigelow
...the aim should be to train the surgeon using human patients by moving gradually from stage to
stage of difficulty and explicitly rejecting the acquisition of skills by practicing on animals...which is
useless and dangerous in the training of a thoracic surgeon.
Professor R. J. Belcher
Practice on dogs probably makes a good veterinarian, if that is the kind of practitioner you want
for your family.
William Held
[End surgeon quotes]
Animal life, somber mystery. All nature protests against the barbarity of man, who misapprehends,
who humiliates, who tortures his inferior brethren.
Jules Michelet (historian)
Mutilating animals and calling it 'science' condemns the human species

to moral and intellectual hell...this hideous Dark Age of the mindless
torture of animals must be overcome.
Grace Slick (musician)
SEE ALSO: #77-#81, #92
#85 What is wrong with product testing on animals?
75
[PLANK A]
The practice of product testing on animals treats animals as discardable and renewable resources,
as replaceable clones with no individual lives, no interests, and no aspirations of their own. It callously
enlists hapless creatures into the service of humans. It assumes that the risks incurred by one class of
individuals can be forcibly transferred onto another.
Product testing is also unbelievably cruel. One notorious method of testing is the Draize irritancy
test, in which potentially harmful products are dripped into the eyes of test animals (usually rabbits).
The harmfulness of the product is then (subjectively) assessed depending on the size of the area injured,
the opacity of the cornea, and the degree of redness, swelling and discharge of the conjunctivae, and in
more severe cases, on the blistering or gross destruction of the cornea.
[PLANK C]
The use of animals in medicine is often challenged on scientific grounds, and product tests are no
exception. For example, one widely used test is the so-called LD50 (Lethal Dose 50 percent) test. The
toxicity level of a product is assessed by force-feeding it to a number of animals until 50 percent of
them die. Death may come after a few days or weeks, and is often preceded by convulsions, vomiting,
breathing difficulties, and more. Often, this test reveals nothing at all; animals die simply because of
the volume of product administered, through the rupture of internal organs.
How such savage practices could provide any useful data is a mystery, and not just to AR activists.
It is seen as dubious by many toxicologists, and even by some Government advisers. Animal models
often produce misleading results, or produce no useful results at all, and product testing is no exception.
One toxicologist writes: "It is surely time, therefore, that we ceased to use as an index of the toxic
action of food additives the LD50 value, which is imprecise (varying considerably with different
species, with different strains of the same species, with sex, with nutritional status, environmental
status, and even with the concentration at which the substance is administered) and which is valueless
in the planning of further studies."
[PLANK B]
The truth is that animal lives could be spared in many ways. For example, duplication of
experiments could be avoided by setting up databases of results. Also, a host of humane alternatives to
such tests are already available, and the considerable sums spent on breeding or keeping test animals
could be usefully redirected into researching new ones.
AECW
The animal rights view calls for the abolition of all animal toxicity tests. Animals are not our
tasters. We are not their kings.
Tom Regan (philosopher and AR activist)
76
SEE ALSO: #86
#86 How do I know if a product has been tested on animals?
There are two easy ways to determine whether a product uses animal products or is tested on
animals. First, most companies provide a toll-free telephone number for inquiring about their products.
This is the most reliable method for obtaining up-to-date information. Second, several excellent guides
are available that provide listings of companies and products. The section entitled "Guides, Handbooks,
and Reference" in question #92 lists several excellent guides to cruelty-free shopping. For maximum
convenience, you can obtain a wallet-sized listing from PETA. Send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope with your request for the "PETA Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide" to:
PETA: 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510, U.S.A.

Another thing to think about is the possibility of avoiding products by making safe, ecologically
sound alternative products yourself! Several of the guides described in question #92 explain how to do
this. DG
SEE ALSO: #85, #92
This is a website of PETA helping you to search the information concerning the
animal test: http://search.caringconsumer.com/
77
XII --- AR Activism, questions # 87-91 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
XII. AR ACTIVISM
#87 What are the forms of animal rights activism?
Let us first adopt a broad definition of activism as the process of acting in support of a cause, as
opposed to privately lamenting and bemoaning the current state of affairs. Given that, AR activism
spans a broad spectrum, with relatively simple and innocuous actions at one end, and difficult and
politico-legally charged actions at the other. Each individual must make a personal decision about
where to reside on the spectrum. For some, forceful or unlawful action is a moral imperative; others
may condemn it, or it may be impractical (for example, a lawyer may serve animals better through the
legislative process than by going on raids and possibly getting disbarred). Following is a brief sampling
of AR activism, beginning at the low end of the spectrum.
The spectrum of action can be divided conveniently into four zones: personal actions,
proselytizing, organizing, and civil disobedience. Consider first personal actions. Here are some of the
personal actions you can take in support of AR:
Learning -- Educate yourself about the issues involved.

Vegetarianism and Veganism -- Become one.
Cruelty-Free Shopping -- Avoid products involve testing on animals.
Cruelty-Free Fashion -- Avoid leather and fur.
Investing with Conscience -- Avoid companies that exploit animals.
Animal-Friendly Habits -- Avoid pesticides, detergents, etc.
The Golden Rule -- Apply it to all creatures and live by it.
Proselytizing is the process of "spreading the word". Here are some of the ways that it can be
done:
Tell your family and friends about your beliefs.
Write letters to lawmakers, newspapers, magazines, etc.
Write books and articles.
Create documentary films and videos.
Perform leafletting and "tabling".
Give lectures at schools and other organizations.
Speak at stockholders' meetings.
Join Animal Review Committees that oversee research on animals.
Picket, boycott, demonstrate, and protest.
78
Organizing is a form of meta-proselytizing--helping others to spread the word. Here are some of
the ways to do it:
Join an AR-related organization.

Contribute time and money to an AR-related organization.
Found an AR organization.
Get involved in politics or law and act directly for AR.
The last category of action, civil disobedience, is the most contentious and the remaining
questions in this section deal further with it. Some draw the line here; others do not. It is a personal
decision. Here are some of the methods used to more forcefully assert the rights of animals:
Sit-ins and occupations.
Obstruction and harassment of people in their animal-exploitation activities (e.g., foxhunt sabotage).
The idea is to make it more difficult and/or embarrassing for people to continue these activities.
Spying and infiltration of animal-exploitation industries and organizations. The information and
evidence gathered can be a powerful weapon for AR activists.
Destruction of property related to exploitation and abuse of animals (laboratory equipment, meat
and clothes in stores, etc.). The idea is to make it more costly and less profitable for these animal
industries.
Sabotage of the animal-exploitation industries (e.g., destruction of vehicles and buildings). The idea
is to make the activities impossible.
Raids on premises associated with animal exploitation (to gather evidence, to sabotage, to liberate
animals).
It can be seen from the foregoing material that AR activism spans a wide range of activities that
includes both actions that would be conventionally regarded as law-abiding and non-threatening, and
actions that are unlawful and threatening to the animal-exploitation industries. Most AR activism falls
into the former category and, indeed, one can support these actions while condemning the latter
category of actions. People who are thinking, with some trepidation, of going for the first time to a
meeting of an AR group need have no fear of finding themselves involved with extremists, or of being
coerced into extreme activism. They would find a group of exceedingly law-abiding computer
programmers, teachers, artists, etc. (The extreme activists are essentially unorganized and cannot afford
to meet in public groups due to the unwelcome attention of law-enforcement agencies.)
DG
One person can make all the difference in the world...For the first time in recorded human history,
we have the fate of the whole planet in our hands.
Chrissie Hynde (musician)
79
This is the true joy in life; being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, and
being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod.
George Bernard Shaw (playwright, Nobel 1925)
Nothing is more powerful than an individual acting out of his conscience, thus helping to bring the
collective conscience to life. Norman Cousins (author)
SEE ALSO: #5, #88-#93, #95
#88 Isn't liberation just a token action because there is no way to

give homes to all the animals?
If one thinks of a liberation action solely in terms of liberation goals, there is some validity in
viewing it as a token, or symbolic, action. It is true that liberation actions could not succeed applied en
masse (集體), because there aren't enough homes for all the animals, and even if there were,
distribution channels do not exist for relocating them. Having said this, however, one needs to
remember that for the few animals that are liberated, the action is far from a token one. There is a
world of difference between spending one's life in a loving home or a sanctuary and spending it
imprisoned in a cage waiting for a brutal end.
Liberation actions need to be viewed with a less literal mind set. As Peter Singer points out, raids
are effective in obtaining evidence of animal abuse that could not otherwise have come to light. For
example, a raid on Thomas Gennarelli's laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania obtained
videotapes that convinced the Secretary for Health and Human Services to stop his experiments.
One might also bear in mind that symbolic actions have been some of the most powerful ones seen
throughout history. DG
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke (statesman and author)
SEE ALSO: #89-#91
#89 Isn't AR activism terrorism because it harasses people,

destroys property, and threatens humans with injury or death?
The answer to question #87 should make it clear that most AR activism cannot be described as
extreme and, furthermore, that not even all acts described as extreme could be thought of as "terrorism".
For example, a peaceful sit-in is highly unlikely to put others in a state of intense fear. Thus, it is not
correct to characterize AR activism generally as terrorism.
80
One of the fundamental guidelines of the extreme activists is that great care must be taken not to
inflict 強加 harm in carrying out the acts. This has been borne out 證實 in practice. On the very rare
occasions when harm has occurred, the mainstream AR groups have condemned the acts. In some cases,
the authors 發起人 of the acts have been suspected to be those allied against the AR movement; their
motives would not require deep thought to decipher 破解.
The dictionary defines "terrorism" as the systematic use of violence or acts that instill intense fear
to achieve an end. Certainly, harassment of fur wearers, or shouting "meat is murder" outside a butcher
shop, could not be considered to be terrorism. Even destruction of property would not qualify under the
definition if it is done without harming others. Certainly, the Boston Tea Party raiders did not consider
themselves terrorists.
The real terrorists are the people and industries that inflict pain and suffering on millions of
innocent animals for trivial purposes each and every day.
DG
If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behavior.

I am in earnest--I will not equivocate--I will not excuse--I will not

retreat a single inch and I will be heard.
William Lloyd Garrison (author)
SEE ALSO: #87-#88, #90-#91
#90 Isn't extreme activism involving breaking the law (e.g.,

destruction of property) wrong?
Great men and women have demonstrated throughout history that laws can be immoral, and that
we can be justified in breaking them. Those who object to law-breaking under all circumstances would
have to condemn:
The Tiananmen Square demonstrators.

The Boston Tea Party participants.
Mahatma Gandhi and his followers.
World War II resistance fighters.
The Polish Solidarity Movement.
Vietnam War draft card burners.
The list could be continued almost indefinitely.
81
Conversely, laws sometimes don't reflect our moral beliefs. After World War II, the allies had to
hastily write new laws to fully prosecute the Nazi war criminals at Nuremburg. Dave Foreman points
out that there is a distinction to be made between morality and the statutes of a government in power.
It could be argued that the principle we are talking about does not apply. Specifically, the law
against destruction of property is not immoral, and we therefore should not break it. However, a related
principle can be asserted. If a law is invoked to defend immoral practices, or to attempt to limit or
interfere with our ability to fight an immoral situation, then justification might be claimed for breaking
that law.
In the final analysis, this is a personal decision for each person to make in consultation with their
own conscience. DG
Certainly one of the highest duties of the citizen is a scrupulous obedience to the laws of the
nation. But it is not the highest duty.
Thomas Jefferson (3rd U.S. President)
I say, break the law.

SEE ALSO: #89, #91
#91 Doesn't extreme activism give the AR movement a bad name?
This is a significant argument that must be thoughtfully considered. In essence, the argument says
that if your actions can be characterized as extremist, then you are besmirching the actions of those
who are moderate, and you are creating a backlash that can negate the advances made by more
moderate voices.
The appeal to the "backlash" has historical precedent. Martin Luther King heard such warnings
when he organized civil-disobedience protests against segregation. Had Dr. King yielded to this appeal,
would the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts have been passed?
Dave Foreman, writing in "Confessions of an Eco-Warrior", points out that radicals in the
anti-Vietnam War movement were blamed for prolonging the war and for damaging the "respectable"
opposition. Yet the fear of increasingly militant demonstrations kept President Nixon from escalating
the war effort, and the stridency eventually wore down the pro-war establishment.
The backlash argument is a standard one that will always be trotted out by the opponents of a
movement. Backlash can be expected whenever the status quo is challenged, regardless of whether
extreme actions are employed. The real question to ask is: Does the added backlash outweigh the gains
achieved through extreme action? The answer here is not clear and we'll leave it to the informed reader
82
to make a judgement. Two books that might help in assessing this are "Free the Animals" by Ingrid
Newkirk, and "In Defense of Animals" by Peter Singer.
The following argument is paraphrased from Dave Foreman: Extreme action is a sophisticated
political tactic that dramatizes issues and places them before the public when they otherwise would be
ignored in the media, applies pressure to corporations and government agencies that otherwise are able
to resist "legitimate" pressure from law-abiding organizations, and broadens the spectrum of activism
so that lobbying by mainstream groups is not considered "extremist".
DG
My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing,
we make ourselves sharers in the guilt. Anna Sewell (author)
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favour freedom, and yet
deprecate agitation, are people who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean
without the roar of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it
never will. Frederick Douglass (abolitionist)
SEE ALSO: #87-#90
83
XIII --- AR Information and Organisations, questions # 92-95 from: http://www.animal-rights.com
XIII. AR INFORMATION AND

ORGANIZATIONS
#92 What are appropriate books and periodicals to read for more
information on AR issues?
There are hundreds of books that could be recommended. We provide only a sampling of books
and periodicals below. Please refer to question #94 for further book references and reviews. Space
limitations forced us to avoid children's books. Refer to the guide books listed for full bibliographies.
TA/DG/JLS/AECW
Animal Production and Factory Farming
"Animal Factories", Jim Mason and Peter Singer, AAVS, 801 Old York Rd, Suite 204, Jenkintown, PA
19046-1685, $12.95. Facts and photos on farms that mass produce animals for meat, milk, and eggs.
[1980, 1990]
"Factory Farming: The Experiment That Failed", Animal Welfare Institute, P.O. Box 3650,
Washington, DC 20007. Fact-packed indictment of factory-farming on welfare and economic grounds.
[1988]
"Waste of the West: Public Lands Ranching", Lynn Jacobs, P.O. Box 5784, Tucson, AZ 85703.
"Do Hens Suffer in Battery Cages?", Michael Appleby, The Athene Trust, 5a Charles St, Petersfield,
Hants GU32 3EH. Scientific evidence of hen suffering. [1991]
"Alternative to Factory Farming", Paul Carnell, Earth Resources Research Publishers, London. Factory
farming challenged on economic grounds. [1983]
"Chicken and Egg: Who pays the price?", Clare Druce, Green Print Publishers, London. A criticism of
the poultry industry. [1989]
"Taking Stock: Animal Farming and The Environment", Alan Durning and Holly Brough, Worldwatch
Paper 103, WorldWatch Institute, 1776 Mass. Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20036-1904. The
environmental cost of animal farming. [1991]
"Assault and Battery", Mark Gold, Pluton Publishers, London. Effects of farming on animals, humans
and the environment. [1983]
84
"Animal Machines", Ruth Harrison, Vincent Stuart Publishers, London. The first book on factory
farming. [1964]
"Facts about Furs", G. Nilsson, et. al., Animal Welfare Institute, (op. cit.). On fur-farming and trapping.
[1980]
"Pulling the Wool", Christine Townend, Hale and Ironmonger Publishers, Sydney, Australia. The
Australian wool and sheep industry. [1985]
Animal Rights History
"All Heaven in a Rage", E. S. Turner. Provides a history of the animal protection movement up to the
1960's. [1964]
"Animal Warfare", David Henshaw, Fontana Publishers, London. The rise of direct action for Animal
Rights. [1984]
"History of the Humane Movement", Charles D. Niven, Johnson Publishers, London. From antiquity to
today. [1967]
"Animal Revolution", Richard Ryder, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford. Overview of the history of AW
and AR movements. [1985]
"The Animal Liberation Movement: Its Philosophy, Its Achievements and Its Future", Peter Singer,
Old Hammond Press Publishers, Nottingham, [1986]
"Man and the Natural World", Keith Thomas, Penguin, London. History from 1500 AD to 1800 AD.
[1991]
Animal Rights Legislation
"Animals and their Legal Rights", The Animal Welfare Institute, Washington D.C. [1990]
"Animal Rights, Human Wrongs", S. Jenkins, Lennard Publishings, Harpenden, UK. An RSPCA
officer's experiences demonstrate the lack of adequate animal legislation. [1992]
"Up against the Law", J. J. Roberts, Arc Print, London. 1986 Public Order Act and its implications for
Animal Rights protests. [1987]
85
"Animals and Cruelty and Law", Noel Sweeney, Alibi, Bristol UK. A practicing barrister argues for
Animal Rights from the legal standpoint. [1990]
Animal Rights Philosophy
"The Case for Animal Rights", Tom Regan, University of California Press. [1983]
"The Struggle for Animal Rights", Tom Regan, International Society for Animal Rights, Inc., Clarks
Summit, PA. [1987]
"Animal Liberation", Peter Singer, PETA Merchandise, P.O. Box 42400, Washington, D.C. 20015,
$3.00 post-paid. The book that popularized Animal Rights. [1975, 1990]
"In Defense of Animals", Peter Singer.
"Animals' Rights", Henry Salt, AAVS (op. cit.), $6.95. Written a century ago, a true classic, anticipates
many of today's arguments.
"No Room, Save in the Heart: Poetry and Prose on Reverence for Life--Animals, Nature and
Humankind", Ann Cottrell Free, AAVS (op. cit.), $8.95.
"The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Science", Bernard Rollin. [1989]
"Created from Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism", James Rachels. [1990]
"Morals, Reason and Animals, Steve Sapontzis. [1987]
"Political Theory and Animal Rights", Clarke and Lindzey (Eds.). This book provides interesting
excepts from thinkers since Plato to Regan on the issue of our relations and duties towards animals.
[1990]
"The Nature of the Beast: Are Animals Moral?", Stephen Clark.
"Animals, Men and Morals", Godlovitch et. al. [1971]
"Fettered Kingdoms", John Bryant, Fox Press Publishers, Winchester. Includes a well-known
indictment of pet keeping. [1990]
86
"The Moral Status of Animals", Stephen Clark, Oxford University Press Publishers, Oxford. The roots
of humans' treatment of animals in sentimental fantasy. [1977]
"The Savour of Salt--A Henry Salt Anthology", G. and W. Hendrick, Centaur Press Publishers,
Fontwell. [1989]
"Animals and Why They Matter: A Journey Around the Species Barrier", Mary Midgley, Penguin
Publishers, London. [1983]
"Beast and Man", Mary Midgley, Harvester Press Publishers, Brighton. [1979]
"Animal Rights--A Symposium", David Paterson and Richard Ryder, Centaur Press Publishers,
Fontwell. [1979]
"Inhumane Society: The American Way of Exploiting Animals", Michael W. Fox, St. Martins Press,
New York. [1990]
"The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory", Carol J. Adams. [1990]
"Rape of the Wild: Man's Violence against Animals and the Earth", Andree Collard with Joyce
Contrucci. [1989]
"The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery", Marjorie Spiegel, Mirror Books, NY. [1988]
Animal Rights Theology
"Christianity and the Rights of Animals", Andrew Linzey, Crossroad, New York. [1987]
"Animal Sacrifices -- Religious Perspectives on the Use of Animals in Science", Tom Regan (Ed.),
Temple University Press, PA. [1986]
Circuses, Rodeos, and Zoos
"The Rose-Tinted Menagerie", William Johnson, PETA (op. cit.), $16.50. Describes behind-the-scenes
action in circuses, aquariums, and zoos.
"Animals in Circuses and Zoos--Chiron's World?", Marthe Kiley-Worthington, Little Eco Farms
Publishing, Basildon, UK. Investigation into the treatment of animals by zoos and circuses. [1990]
87
"The Last Great Wild Beast Show", Bill Jordan and Stefan Ormrod, Constable Publishers, London.
How animals are snatched from the wild to be shipped to zoos worldwide. [1978]
"Beyond the Bars", Virginia McKenna, William Travers, Jonathan Wray (eds.), Thorsons Publishers,
Wellingborough, UK. The immorality of animal captivity. [1987]
Diet Ethics
"Diet for a New America", John Robbins, PETA (op. cit.), $12.50 post-paid. Examines problems with
animal-based food systems with solutions, info on the link between diet and disease.
"Compassion: The Ultimate Ethic", V. Moran, American Vegan Society, NJ, USA. Exploration of
veganism: its roots in eastern and western philosophy. [1991]
"Food: Need, Greed and Myopia", G. Yates, Earthright, Ryton UK. World food problem seen from a
vegetarian/vegan standpoint. [1986]
"Radical Vegetarianism", Mark Braunstein, Panjandrum Books, Los Angeles. [1983]
Guides, Handbooks, and Reference
"Save the Animals! 101 Easy Things You Can Do", Ingrid Newkirk, PETA (op. cit.), $4.95.
"67 Ways to Save the Animals", Anna Sequoia, Harper Perennial, $4.95. [1990]
"The Animal Rights Handbook -- Everyday Ways to Save Animal Lives", Berkley Books, New York,
$4.50. [1993]
"PETA's Shopping Guide for Caring Consumers", PETA (op. cit.), $4.95. A must have! Lists names
and addresses of cruelty-free companies.
"Keyguide to Information Sources in Animal Rights", Charles R.Magel, AAVS (op. cit.), $24.95.
"A Shopper's Guide to Cruelty-Free Products", Lori Cook, Bantam Books, New York, $4.99. [1991]
"Animal Rights: A Beginner's Guide", Amy Achor, Writeware Inc., Yellow Springs, OH, $14.95.
[1992]
88
"The PETA Guide to Action for Animals", PETA (op. cit.), $4.00.
"The Extended Circle: A Commonplace Book of Animal Rights", Wynne-Tyson (Ed.). Provides
hundreds of quotes and short excepts from thinkers throughout history. [1989]
"The Animal-Free Shopper", R. Farhall, R. Lucas, and A. Rofe A. (Eds.), The Vegan Society, 7 Battle
Road, St. Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN37 7AA, UK. [1991]
"The Animal Welfare Handbook", C. Clough and B. Kew, 4th Estate, London, UK [1993]
Laboratory Animals and Product Testing
"Vivisection and Dissection in the Classroom: A Guide to Conscientious Objection", Gary L.

Francione and Anna E. Charlton, AAVS (op. cit.), $7.95. Legal citings, sample pleadings, and letters.
"Animals in Education: The Facts, Issues and Implications", Lisa Ann Hepner, Richmond Publishers,
Albuquerque NM. [1994]
"Entering the Gates of Hell: Laboratory Cruelty You Were Not Meant to See", Brian Gunn, AAVS (op.
cit.), $10.00.
"Animal Experimentation: The Consensus Changes", Gill Langley (Ed.), MacMillan Publishers,
London. Collection of essays outlining the change in morality. [1991]
"Slaughter of the Innocent", Hans Ruesch, Civitas Publications, Swaine, NY. [1983]
"Naked Empress: The Great Medical Fraud", Hans Ruesch, CIVIS, Klosters, Switzerland. Why
vivisection is a major cause of human disease. [1982]
"Victims of Science: The Use of Animals in Research", Richard Ryder, National Anti-Vivisection
Society, Centaur Press Publishers, Fontwell. Classic denunciation of vivisection. [1983]
"The Cruel Deception: The Use of Animals in Medical Research", Robert Sharpe, Thorsons Publishers,
Wellingborough, UK. Detailed study of the barbarity and uselessness of vivisection. [1989]
"Free the Animals!", Ingrid Newkirk, PETA (op. cit.), $14.00. Story of the Animal Liberation Front in
America.
89
Periodicals
"Animals Magazine", 350 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130.
"The Animals' Agenda", P.O. Box 6809, Syracuse, NY 13217-9953.
"Animal People", P.O. Box 205, Shushan, NY 12873.
"The Animals' Voice", P.O. Box 341-347, Los Angeles, CA 90034.
"Between the Species", P.O. Box 254, Berkeley, CA 94701.
"Bunny Hugger's Gazette", P.O. Box 601, Temple, TX 76503-0601.
Wildife
"The Politics of Extinction", L. Regenstein, Collier-Macmillan, London. Classic denunciation of the

wildlife carnage. [1975]
"Wildlife and the Atom", L. Veal, London Greenpeace, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, UK. The
use of animals by the nuclear industry. [1983]
SEE ALSO: #1, #94
#93 What organizations can I join to support AR?
There are hundreds of AR-related organizations scattered around the globe. In addition, there are
many vegetarian and vegan groups. This FAQ is already too long to list all of these groups. This FAQ
gives only AR-related groups in the United States and the United Kingdom. Later editions of the FAQ
may cover other countries. For a full listing of vegetarian and vegan groups worldwide, refer to the
excellent FAQs maintained by Michael Traub (Internet address traub@btcs.bt.co.uk).
The following data on US organizations comes from the book "The Animal Rights Handbook",
Berkley Books, New York, 1993, ISBN 0-425-13762-7. DG/AECW
UNITED STATES
Multi-Issue
90
Alliance for Animals, P.O. Box 909, Boston, MA 02103
American Humane Association, 63 Inverness Drive East, Englewood, CO 80112-5117
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 424 E. 92nd St., New York, NY
10128
Animal Allies, P.O. Box 35063, Los Angeles, CA 90035
Animal Liberation Network, P.O. Box 983, Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Animal Protection Institute of America, P.O. Box 22505, Sacramento, CA 95822
Animal Rights Mobilization, P.O. Box 1553, Williamsport, PA 17703
Animal Welfare Institute, P.O. Box 3650, Washington, DC 20007
Citizens to End Animal Suffering and Exploitation (CEASE), P.O. Box 27, Cambridge, MA 02238
Defenders of Animals, P. O. Box 5634, Weybosset Hill Station, Providence, RI 02903, (401)
738-3710
Doris Day Animal League (DDAL), 227 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20002
Focus on Animals, P.O. Box 150, Trumbull, CT 06611
Friends of Animals, P.O. Box 1244, Norwalk, CT 06856
The Fund for Animals, 200 West 57th St., New York, NY 10019
Humane Society of the United States, 2100 L St., NW, Washington, DC 20037
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510
World Society for the Protection of Animals, 29 Perkins St., P.O. Box 190, Boston, MA 02130
Companion Animals
91
The Anti-Cruelty Society, 157 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60616
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), 350 S. Huntington Ave.,
Boston, MA 02130
Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), 15305 44th Ave. W, P.O. Box 1037, Lynnwood, WA
98046
San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SFSPCA), 2500 16th St., San
Francisco, CA 94103
Sports and Entertainment
Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting, P.O. Box 44, Tomkins Cove, NY 10986
Performing Animal Welfare Society, 11435 Simmerhorn Rd., Galt, CA 95632
Farm Animals
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), P.O. Box 14599, Chicago, IL 60614
Farm Animals Reform Movement (FARM), 10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda, MD 20817
Farm Sanctuary, PO Box 150, Watkins Glen, NY 14891
Humane Farming Association, 1550 California Street, Suite 6, San Francisco, CA 94109
United Animal Defenders, Inc., P.O. Box 33086, Cleveland, OH 44133
United Poultry Concerns, PO Box 59367, Potomac, MD 20889
Laboratory Animals
Alternatives to Animals, P.O. Box 7177, San Jose, CA 95150
92
American Anti-Vivisection Society, 801 Old York Rd., Suite 204, Jenkintown, PA 19046
In Defense of Animals, 21 Tamal Vista Blvd., No. 140, Corte Madera, CA 94925
Last Chance for Animals, 18653 Venture Blvd., No. 356, Tarzana, CA 91356
National Anti-Vivisection Society, 53 W.Jackson Blvd., Suite 1550, Chicago, IL 60604
New England Anti-Vivisection Society, 333 Washinton St., Boston, MA 02135
Professional Organizations
Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), 1363 Lincoln Ave., San Raphael, CA 94901
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, 15 Dutch St., Suite 500-A, New York, NY 10038
National Association of Nurses Against Vivisection, P.O. Box 42110, Washington, DC 20015
Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, P.O. Box 6322, Washington, DC 20015
Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, P.O. Box 1297, Washington Grove, MD
20880-1297
Scientists Center for Animal Welfare, 4805 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814
Scientists Group for Reform of Animal Experimentation, 147-01 3rd Ave., Whitestone, NY 11357
Legislative Organizations
Committee for Humane Legislation, 30 Haviland, South Norwalk, CT 06856
The National Alliance for Animal Legislation, P.O. Box 75116, Washington, DC 20013-5116
United Action for Animals, 205 E. 42nd St., New York, NY 10017
93
Marine Life Preservation
American Cetacean Society, P.O. Box 2639, San Pedro, CA 90731
Center for Marine Conservation, 1725 DeSales St., NW, Washington, DC 20036
Greenpeace, P.O. Box 3720, 1436 U St., NW, Washinton, DC 20007
Marine Mammal Fund, Fort Mason Center, Bldg. E, San Francisco, CA 94123
Wildlife
Defenders of Wildlife, 1244 19th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036
Earth Island Institute, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, CA 94133
International Fund for Animal Welfare, P.O. Box 193, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
Rainforest Action Network, 301 Broadway, Suite A, San Francisco, CA 94133
Wildlife Information Center, Inc., 629 Green St., Allentown, PA 18102
Specific Animals
American Horse Protection Association, 1000 29th St., NW, Suite T100, Washington DC 20007
Bat Conservation International, P.O., Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716
The Beaver Defenders, Unexpected Wildlife Refuge, Inc., Newfield, NJ 08344
Friends of the Sea Otter, P.O. Box 221220, Carmel, CA 93922
Greyhound Friends, 167 Saddle Hill Rd., Hopkinton, MA 01748
International Primate Protection League, P.O. Box 766, Summerville, SC 29484
94
Mountain Lion Preservation Foundation, P.O. Box 1896, Sacramento, CA 95809
Primarily Primates, P.O. Box 15306, San Antonio, TX 78212
Save the Manatee Club, 500 N. Maitland Ave., Suite 210, Maitland, FL 32751
Special Interest
Feminists for Animal Rights. P.O. Box 16425, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
International Network for Religion and Animals, P.O. Box 1335, North Wales, PA 19454
Jews for Animal Rights, 255 Humphrey St., Marblehead, MA 01945
Student Action Corps for Animals (SACA), P.O. Box 15588, Washington, DC 20003-0588
UNITED KINGDOM
Animal Aid, 7 Castle Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BH, UK
Animal Concern, 62 Old Dumbarton road, Glasgow G3 8RE, UK
Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group, BM 1160, London WC1N 3XX, UK
Animal Research Kills, P.O. Box 82, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 1YF, UK
Athene Trust, 5a Charles Street, Petersfield, Hants GU32 3EH, UK
Beauty Without Cruelty, 57 King Henry's Walk, London N1 4NH, UK
Blue Cross Field Centre, Home Close Farm, Shilton Road, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4PF, UK
Born Free Foundation, Cherry Tree Cottage, Coldharbour, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6HA, UK
British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Knowbury House, Knowbury, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 3LQ,
UK
95
British Trust For Ornithology, The Nunnery, Nunnery Place, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, 16a Crane Grove, Islington, London N7 8LB, UK
Campaign for the Abolition of Angling, P.O. Box 130, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5NR, UK
Campaign for the Advancement of Ruesch's Expose, 23 Dunster Gardens, London NW6 7NG, UK
Campaign to End Fraudulent Medical Research, P.O. Box 302, London N8 9HD, UK
Cat's Protection League, 17 King's Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 5PN, UK
CIVIS, P.O. Box 338, London E8 2AL, UK
Disabled Against Animal Research and Exploitation, P.O. Box 8, Daventry, Northamptonshire NN11
4QR, UK
Donkey Sanctuary, Slade House Farm, Salcombe Regis, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NU
Dr. Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, 6c Brand Street, Hitchin, Hertfortshire SG5 1HX, UK
Earthkind, Humane Education Centre, Bounds Green Road, London N22 4EU, UK
Elefriends, Cherry Tree Cottage, Coldharbour, NR Dorking, Surrey RH5 6HA, UK
Environmental Investigation Agency, 2 Pear Tree Court, London EC1R 0DS, UK
Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments, Eastgate House, 34 Stoney Street,
Nottingham NG1 1NB, UK
Green Party Animal Rights Working Party, 23 Highfield South, Rock Ferry, Wirral L42 4NA, UK
Horses and Ponies Protection Association, Happa House, 64 Station Road, Padiham, N. Burnley,
Lancashire BB12 8EF, UK
Humane Research Trust, Brook House, 29 Bramhall Lane South, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7
2DN, UK
96
Hunt Saboteurs Association, P.O. Box 1, Carlton, Nottingham NG4 2JY, UK
International Association Against Painful Experiments on Animals, P.O. Box 215, St Albans, Herts
AL3 4PU, UK
International Primate Protection League, 116 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NS, UK
League Against Cruel Sports, 83-87 Union Street, London SE1 1SG, UK
International League of Doctors for the Abolition of Vivisection, UK Office, Lynmouth, Devon EX35
6EE, UK
National Anti-Vivisection Society, Ravenside, 261 Goldhawk Road, London W12 9PE, UK
National Canine Defence League, 1 Pratt Mews, London NW1 0AD, UK
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, P.O. Box 3169, London NW6 2QF, UK
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Causeway, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1HG,
UK
Student Campaign For Animal Rights, P.O. Box 155, Manchester M60 1FT, UK
Teachers For Animal Rights, 29 Lynwood Road. London SW17 8SB, UK
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, 19A James Street, Bath, Avon BA1 2BT, UK
Zoocheck, Cherry Tree Cottage, Coldharbour, Dorking, Surrey CR0 2TF, UK
#94 Can you give a brief Who's Who of the AR movement?
TOM REGAN -- Professor of Philosophy at North Carolina State University.

His book "The Case For Animal Rights" is arguably the single best recent work on animal rights. It is a
demanding text but one that is well worth the effort to read and study carefully. Everybody that is
seriously interested in the issues should read this rigorously argued case for AR. It starts with some
core concepts of inherent value theory, the same concepts that played an important and significant role
97
in the progress of human civil liberties since the 17th century and which began to be extended to
nonhumans during the 19th century. The notion of inherent value continues to be vital and important
for progress in both human and animal rights. A less demanding but still informative book by Regan
is "The Struggle for Animal Rights". One might wish to first read this book before tackling Regan's
more difficult text.
PETER SINGER -- Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, Melbourne.

Singer is best known for his book "Animal Liberation", probably the most widely read book on AR
philosophy. Singer, unlike Regan, is not an abolitionist as many people incorrectly surmise. His
utilitarian position
allows for the possibility or necessity of killing animals under certain circumstances. What is often
lost sight of is that the obvious and patent abuses of animals covers so much ground that both Regan
and Singer share common views on far more issues than those on which they differ. Other
important books by Singer include "In Defense of Animals" and "Animal Factories".
MARY MIDGLEY -- Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Newcastle.

Midgley's book "Beast and Man" has not been given the attention that it deserves. She deals with the
contemporary facts of biology and ethology head-on to provide an ethical argument for the respectful
treatment of animals that takes seriously scientific discoveries and thoughts about animals. The
"Humean fork" (or so-called logical divide) between facts and values is here carefully crossed by
observing that we are foremost "animals" ourselves and that the similarities between ourselves and
other animals is more important and relevant for our ethics and self-understanding than are the often
over-inflated differences.
CAROL ADAMS -- Author.

Adams' book "The Sexual Politics of Meat" has made a valuable contribution in combining cultural and
ethical analysis by pointing out the political implications of the metaphors we unthinkingly employ.
The primary metaphors she analyses in her book relate to meat. Such metaphors have
been applied to women, but the most insidious aspect of the metaphors is the way that they hide the life
that is killed to produce meat. Instead of "cow", we have "beef" on our plates. Adams argues that the
system that kills animals is the same system that oppresses women; hence, there is an important and
striking connection between vegetarianism and feminism.
RICHARD RYDER -- Senior Clinical Psychologist at Warneford Hospital, Oxford.

Ryder is the originator of the key term "speciesism". Ryder's book "Animal Revolution" provides
both an historical perspective and a critical analysis of animal welfare and attitudes towards animals.
HENRY SALT -- 1851-1939.
98
Salt was a remarkable social reformer who championed the humane reform of schools, prisons, society,
and our treatment of animals. He also exerted a critical and important influence upon Gandhi. His book
"Animals' Rights" was the first to use that title and therein he gives voice to almost all of the essential
arguments for AR that we see being advanced and refined today. The book provides an excellent
biography of earlier European writers on animal issues during the 18th and 19th centuries.
VICTORIA MORAN -- Author.

Moran's book "Compassion the Ultimate Ethic" makes a fine contribution regarding the less discursive
but perhaps more fundamental intuitive basis for animal rights.
MARJORIE SPIEGEL -- Author.

Spiegel's book "The Dreaded Comparison" is a slim but courageous volume comparing the treatment of
African-American slaves and the treatment of nonhuman animals. In text and pictures, Spiegel
discloses remarkable similarities between the two systems. A picture of slaves packed into
a slave ship is matched with a photograph of battery hens. A picture of a woman in a muzzle is paired
with a picture of a dog in a muzzle. The parallels are striking and revealing. Few other writers have
been as open or as unequivocal as Spiegel in likening cruelty to animals to traffic in human beings.
TA
It is hard to keep a Who's-Who list at a reasonable length. Here are a few other prominent people:
STEPHEN R. L. CLARK -- Professor of Philosophy at Liverpool University.

MICHAEL W. FOX -- Vice President of Humane Society of the US, nationally
known veterinarian, and AR activist.
RONNIE LEE -- Founder of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).
JIM MASON -- Attorney and journalist.
INGRID NEWKIRK -- Co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA); prominent activist.
ALEX PACHECO -- Co-founder of PETA; exposer of the Silver Spring monkeys
abuses.
"VALERIE" -- Founder of ALF in the United States.
DG
#95 What can I do in my daily life to help animals?
Indeed, the buck must first stop here in our own daily lives with the elimination or reduction of
actions that contribute to the abuse and exploitation of animals.
99
Probably the single most important thing you can do to save animals, help the ecology of the
planet, and even improve your own health, is to BECOME A VEGETARIAN. It is said that "we are
what we eat". More accurately, "we are what we do" and what we do in order to eat has a profound
consequence on our self-definition as a compassionate person. As long as we eat meat, we share
complicity in the intentional slaughter of countless animals and destruction of the environment for
clearly trivial purposes.
Why trivial? No human has died from want of satisfying a so-called "Mac Attack", but countless
cows have died in order to satisfy our palates. On a more positive note, vegetarians report that one's
taste and enjoyment of food is actually enhanced by eliminating animal products. Indeed, a vegetarian
diet is not a diet of deprivation; far from it. Vegetarians actually eat a GREATER variety of foods than
do meat-eaters. Maybe the best kept culinary secret is that the really "boring" diet actually turns out to
be the traditional meat-centered diet.
Next, STOP BUYING ANIMAL PRODUCTS LIKE FUR OR LEATHER. There are plenty of
good plant and synthetic materials that serve as excellent materials for fabrics and shoes. Indeed, all the
major brands of high-quality running shoes are now turning to the use of human-made materials. (Why?
Because they are lighter than leather and don't warp or get stiff after getting wet.)
There are many less obvious animal products that are being used in many of our everyday
household and personal products. After first attending to those obvious and most visible products like
leather and fur, then consider what you can do to reduce or eliminate your dependency on products that
may contain needless animal ingredients or were brought to market using animal testing. Two very
good product guides are:
Shopping Guide for the Caring Consumer, PETA, 1994.

A Shopper's Guide to Cruelty-Free Products, Lori Cook, 1991.
Then GET INFORMED AND READ AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ON THE ISSUE OF ANIMAL
RIGHTS. Besides reading about animal rights from the major theorists, also read practical guides and
periodicals. Question #92 lists many appropriate books and periodicals.
Finally, you can GET INVOLVED IN A LOCAL ANIMAL RIGHTS OR ANIMAL WELFARE
ORGANIZATION. Alternatively, if you lack the time, consider giving donations to those organizations
whose good work on behalf of animals is something you appreciate and wish to materially support.
TA
SEE ALSO: #87, #92-#93
100
XIV --- Finally, questions #96 from: http://www.animal-rights.com/faqfile.html
XIV. FINALLY...
#96 I have read this FAQ and I am not convinced. Humans are
humans, animals are animals; is it so difficult to see that?
This FAQ cannot reflect the full variety of paths which have led people to support the concept of
Animal Rights. A more complete compilation would include, for instance, religious arguments. For
example, some Eastern religions stress the importance of the duties of humans toward animals. A
Christian case for Animal Rights has been presented. Also, legal arguments have been put forward, by
some barristers in the UK, for instance. Still, some people may remain skeptical about the viability of
all of these other approaches as well. For those people, here is a short quiz:
What is wrong with cannibalism?

What is wrong with slavery?
What is wrong with racial prejudice?
What is wrong with sexual discrimination?
What is wrong with killing children or the mentally ill?
What is wrong with the Nazi experiments on humans?
Animal Rights proponents can reply instantly and consistently. Can you? Do your answers involve
qualities that, if you are objective about it, can be seen to apply to animals? For example, were the Nazi
experiments wrong because the subjects were human, or because the subjects were harmed??? AECW
It is not difficult to see that humans are humans and animals are animals. What is difficult to see is
how this amounts to anything more than an empty tautology! If there are relevant differences that
justify differences in treatment, then let's hear them. AR opponents have consistently failed to support
the differences in treatment of humans versus animals with relevant differences in capacities.
Yes, an animal is an animal, but it can still suffer terribly from our brutality and lack of
compassion. DG
I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.
Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. President)
[The day should come when] all of the forms of life...will stand before the court--the pileated
woodpecker as well as the coyote and bear, the lemmings as well as the trout in the streams.
William O. Douglas (late U.S. Supreme Court Justice)
101

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Thoughts of Animal Rights

Animal Ethics Dilemma

The Contractarian View

“Morality is based on agreement”

Examples of statements typically made on the basis of this view:

The Utilitarian View

“Morality is about maximising human and animal well-being”

Killing animals (e.g. for food) may be justified if the

Examples of statements typically made on the basis of this

“Modern animal production is problematic because there is

“Some animal research may be justified by its vital

“It is sometimes better for stray cats to be euthanased, as

The Relational View

Examples of statements typically made on the basis of this view:

The Animal Rights View

“Good results cannot justify evil means”

Examples of statements typically made on the basis of this view:

“Animals are not our slaves.”

“Animals have inherent value, and this should be respected.”

“Experiments on animals are unacceptable, regardless of the potential benefits involved.”

The Respect for Nature view

Examples of statements typically made on the basis of this view:

“We should leave animals the way evolution made them.”

“Endangered species have to be protected from extinction.”

“Nature must take its course.”

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Further information: Consequentialism, Deontological ethics, and Teleological ethics

Utilitarian approach: Peter Singer

Further information: Act utilitarianism, Animal language, Animal Liberation

Equal consideration of interests

Moral absolutism and moral objectivism

Moral absolutism and religion

Compare moral relativism, aesthetic relativism, social constructionism, cultural relativism,

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Development and analysis

Distinction between moral agency and eligibility for moral

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Mill defines the harm principle in Chapter One as follows:

– John Stuart Mill, [1]

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TA Ted Altar taltar@beaufort.sfu.ca

The Case for Animal Rights, Tom Regan (ISBN 0-520-05460-1)

One is concerned about human starvation and malnutrition.

#2 Is the Animal Rights movement different from the Animal

SEE ALSO: #1, #3, #87-#88

Henry Salt wrote:

#4 Isn't AR hypocritical, e.g., because you don't give rights to

#5 What right do AR people have to impose their beliefs on others?

#6 Isn't AR just another facet of political correctness?

#7 Isn't AR just another religion?

#8 Doesn't it demean (貶抑

A tongue-in-cheek, though valid, answer to this question is given by David Cowles-Hamar: