Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare

Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare

Objectives: • Define terms associated with animal rights. • Compare “animal rights” & “animal welfare” • Identify important people in the animal rights movement.

Objectives (cont.): • Discuss acts of legislation associated with animal welfare. • Compare the issues concerning animal rights and animal welfare.

1. Define the following terms: • Confinement Systems • Factory Farming • Humanize • Intensive Operations

Define the following terms (cont.) • Specieism • Unethical • Vivisection

2. Compare “Animal Rights” &“Animal Welfare” • Animal Welfare is the position that animals should be treated humanely. This includes proper housing, nutrition, disease prevention & treatment, responsible care, handling & humane euthanasia or slaughter.

2. “Animal Welfare” (cont.) • Animal welfare people believe that animals can be used for human purposes, but that they should be treated so that discomfort is kept to a minimum.

2. “Animal Rights” • Animal rights is the position that animals should not be exploited. Animal rights people believe that animals should not be used for food, clothing, entertainment, medical research, or product testing.

2. “Animal Rights” (cont.) • This also includes the use of animals in rodeos, zoos, circuses, & even as pets. They believe it is ethically, morally, & inherently wrong to use animals for humane purposes under any condition.

3. Identify Important People: • Ruth Harrison - published a book in 1964 entitled Animal Machines: The New Factory Farming Industry.

3. Ruth Harrison (cont.) • The main emphasis of the book centered on 2 areas: the use of antibiotics, hormones & additives in animal feeds & modern factory farming.

3. Important People (cont.) • Peter Singer – published Animal Liberation in the latter 1970’s. He is considered the founder of the modern animal rights movement.

3. Peter Singer (cont.) • His publication condemned the use of animals produced for food & their use in research.

4. Acts of Legislation & Organizations Concerned with Animal Welfare • The 1st anti-cruelty law was passed by the New York Legislature in 1828. • In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was formed in New York.

4. ASPCA continued: • This organization was formed to look after the welfare of disabled horses & mules and save them from abandonment. This was America’s 1st humane society & was founded by Henry Bergh.

4. Acts/Organizations (cont.) • In 1906, the Animal Transportation Act was passed to protect animals traveling long distances by rail. Also, it was passed to provide humane care & treatment of animals destined for slaughter.

4. Acts/Organizations (cont.) • In 1958, the Humane Slaughter Act was passed. This act also included the humane handling of animals prior to and during slaughter.

4. Acts/Organizations (cont.) • In 1966, Congress enacted Public Law 89-544, known as the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

4. Public Law 89-544 (cont.) • This law regulated dealers who handled dogs & cats, as well as laboratories that use dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits & primates in research.

4. Acts/Organizations (cont.) • The Horse Protection Act protects & regulates the horse show business.

5. Compare issues concerning “animal rights” & “animal welfare”… • Answer & discuss the following questions in a 30 minute writing assignment. The length of the assignment should be no less than ½ - ¾ of a page.

5. Writing Assignment… • Should animals be used for food? Why or why not? • Should animals be used in experiments? • Should animals be hunted for food/sport? • Should animals be kept as pet?

Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare