SHOULD ANIMALS HAVE RIGHTS?

Animals surround us, they are representative of spectacle, of culture, of fun and
sometimes our friends. They are used in many therapies for some people such as the
ones with Down Syndrome, with these therapies they feel better and control their crisis.
Moreover, animals are also a great help for blind people and a great vehicle to learn and
to create comfort in children(Strickland). In many respects, they are similar to us
biologically and sociologically. Nevertheless, although they are valuable for us , we
tend not to treat them in a respectful way, as in some cases animals are: abandoned,
mistreated or malnourished . We, as humans, have rights to defend ourselves from being
mistreated, but animals do not, as they are similar to us, their rights should be promoted
and respected.
Animals share with us more properties that the ones we can expect. Bonobos, a type of
chimpanzees that live in the Congo, share the 98.4 % of their DNA with humans
(Jewell).The Katydid, a type of insect, has more or less the same structure of ears, and
the Brittle Star, a starfish, has a coordination that emulates human way of moving
(Pappas). On top of that, animals share with us more conditions than the biological
ones; they have: sense of culture, they have emotions, they use language, have sense of
humor, memory, intelligence. We find examples of those sociological factors in
innumerable animals: primates have their own traditions and rites; cats and dogs are
able to feel fear, desire, panic, affection or embarrassment ; some monkeys are a great
example of their capacity to communicate through tough signs; chimpanzees usually
laugh they tickle each other and, as a result, an atmosphere of joy is created; and crows
show causal reasoning (Mulcachy) .All these animals prove how they are similar to us;
however, their rights are not respected.
A number of organizations work arduously in order to protect animals. Two are to be
highlighted. The first one is: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA),
which is the largest animal rights organization in the world. This association has 5
million of supporters. They are focus on the areas in which animals suffer more: in the
clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry. They act through
public education, investigation, protest campaigns and events (“About PETA”). The
second one is another association which has to be highlighted for its impact on our
society: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).This
organization was the first one to be established in North America and is also one of the
largest in the world. According to Henry Bergh, the mission of this association was: “to
provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United
States”(“About us”).Their focus is to provide home to animals that were in shelters and
to improve animals´ lives. Nowadays, for the pressure of these presented organizations
and others, governments are taking measures to defend animals. Nevertheless, some
people are against those measures and defend the fact that animals should not be
protected.
Although laws and many people defend animals because it is thought that there are good
reasons for them to be defended, others think the contrary. On the one hand, there is a
part of the population that only considers some circumstances for animals to be
defended concluding that in these situations rights should be taken apart. On the other
hand, some extremist detractors of animals’ rights believe that animals should not have
rights.
The argument used by people that is not completely against the rights of animals is
culture. Throughout the years, animals have been mistreated in the name of spectacle; in
some countries they have changed the tradition in order to maintain it, not hurting the
animals. However, in some others, traditions have not changed. It is widely known the
debate about animals being used for some shows, the most known one could be
bullfights. People use the fact of culture as a reason to defend this practice and to make
it more justifiable. On top of that, there are people who thought that animals should not
be respected, no matter the circumstances. Arguments differ, but in Stelzig on “What
are some good arguments against animal rights?” and in Lin on “Top Eight Arguments
Against Animal Rights” some ideas in common are found: they point out that animals
do not have feelings or duties, and they also do not have capacity to think, so they
must not have rights.
People against animal rights use arguments that in the majority of the cases are
inconsistent and poor. It would not be misguided to say that these arguments could be
the reason of disinformation and blindness towards reality. As demonstrated above
animals do think and feel, they are able to create societies and to interact. Furthermore,
biologically they are similar to us. If we as humans, have rights for being living beings
who are able to think, feel and build a society, why should not animals have rights if
they hold all these requisites?
Works Cited
“About PETA.” PETA, PETA, www.peta.org/about-peta/. Web.5 January.2017.
“About us.” ASPCA. ASPCA, 2016. www.aspca.org/about-us. Web. 5 January. 2017.
Jewell, Wendy. “Science Hero: Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh” myhero. myhero.com, 4
Nov. 2013. www.myhero.com/hero.asp?hero=sue_savage_rumbaugh . Web. 5 January.
2017.
Lin, Doris. “Top Eight arguments against animal rights arguments and responses to
common questions.” News & Issues. About.com, 1 Sept. 2016.
www.animalrights.about.com/od/animalrights101/tp/ArgumentsAgainstAR.htm. Web. 5
January . 2017.
Mulcahy, Kate. “10 human attributes found in animals.” Animals. Listverse, 24 Feb.
2012. Web, www.listverse.com/2012/02/24/10-human-attributes-found-in-animals.
Web.6 January. 2017.
Pappas, Sthepanie. “7 Ways Animals Are Like Humans.” LiveScience, Purch, 15 Nov.
2012, www.livescience.com/24807-ways-animals-humans-alike.html. Web.5
January .2017.
Strickland, Bill. “The Benefits of Pets.” Parents.com, Parents, 11 June 2015,
www.parents.com/parenting/pets/kids/pets-good-for-kids/. Web.5 January.2017.
Stelzig, Tyle. “ What are some good arguments against animal rights?” Quora.com,
Quora.16 Apr. 2015. www.quora.com/What-are-some-good-arguments-against-animal-
rights. Web. 7 January. 2017.