Julia Louzada
ANIMALS RIGHTS
Ethical Responsibilities
Ethics and Critical Thinking
Professor Vincent Peluce
What are animal rights?
Animal rights are moral principles grounded in the belief that non-human animals deserve the ability to
live as they wish, without being subjected to the desires of human beings. Animal rights come into direct
opposition with animal exploitation, which includes animals used by humans for a variety of reasons, be
it for food, as experimental objects, or even pets.
Key principles of animal rights include:
Freedom from exploitation (banning animal testing and factory farming).
Protection from cruelty (anti-abuse laws and ethical treatment standards).
Recognition of intrinsic worth (animals are not just property but sentient beings).
Promotion of humane alternatives (such as plant-based diets and cruelty-free
products).
Why is it an ethical issue?
The ethical issue arises because different cultures, religions, and
philosophies have different views on the value of animal life.
Some believe humans are superior and have the right to use animals,
while others argue that animals deserve equal consideration.
This leads to debates over laws, business practices, and personal
choices, such as whether zoos, factory farming, or animal testing
should be allowed.
These companies own the majority of the
brands we commonly find in most retailer
stores and drugstores, and they’re making
no real efforts to change their unethical
policies. Approximately 85% to 89% of top
brands still fund animal testing.
Argument in standard form:
Premise 1: All beings that experience pain and suffering have moral value and should not be
subjected to unnecessary harm.
Premise 2: Scientific research has shown that animals possess the capacity to feel pain,
suffer, and exhibit behaviors indicating distress.
Conclusion: Therefore, animals have moral value and should not be subjected to
unnecessary harm.
Argument against Premise 2:
Premise 1: Many animals, especially smaller or simpler ones, do not have the kind of brain needed to
fully feel pain like humans do.
Premise 2: Just because an animal reacts to harm (like moving away or making noise) does not mean
it actually feels pain it could just be a reflex.
Conclusion: Therefore, we cannot be sure that all animals truly feel pain and suffering in a way that
matters morally.
Situation Example: The Case of Medical Research on Animals
Imagine a pharmaceutical company is developing a new life-saving treatment for cancer.
The drug must be tested for safety and effectiveness before human trials. The fastest and
most reliable way to conduct these tests is on lab animals, such as mice and monkeys.
However, this process will cause pain and potentially death to hundreds of animals.
The company argues that sacrificing these animals is justified because the research could
save millions of human lives. Animal rights activists, however, argue that testing on sentient
beings who cannot consent is unethical, and alternatives like computer simulations should
be prioritized, even if they are more expensive and take years.
Is it ethical to experiment on Does animal suffering obligate
animals for human health us to rethink factory farming
benefits? and testing?
Should animals have the same
moral rights as humans, or
should their rights be limited?
CITATION:
rzechowski, Karol. "The Animal Rights Movement: History and Facts About Animal Rights." Faunalytics, 9 Apr.
O
1 2020, [Link]
2 ussbaum, Martha C. "They Can Think, Feel Pain, Love. Isn't It Time Animals Had Rights?" Harvard Gazette, 24
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Jan. 2023, Orzechowski, Karol. "The Animal Rights Movement: History and Facts About Animal Rights."
Faunalytics, 9 Apr. 2020, [Link]
animal-rights/..
3 Clarke, Neil. "Animal Rights Around the World: Definition, Arguments & Prospects." [Link], 4 Dec. 2023,
[Link]
4 BBC. "Animal Rights." BBC - Ethics Guide, [Link]/ethics/animals/rights/rights_1.shtml.
THANK YOU!