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Animal Rights Are Defined

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Animal Rights Are Defined
Animal Rights Animal rights are defined as “Rights believed to belong to animals to live free from use in medical research, hunting, and other services to humans” (Dictionary). The United States as a whole has a tendency to put the rights of mankind above all else, including that of animals. “Sixty-three percent of all the animals in the United States are household pets”, (Pet), while the rest are divided up amongst wild animals and those in captivity. Regardless of where the animal comes from, they all bear equal rights. There are many different groups of people whose views on animal rights vary in accordance of their occupation, whether an activist, an Animal Welfare Institute, a farmer, or a food company, animals and their rights will be perceived differently. On one side of the spectrum there are activists. Activists are very vocal people who want to get their point across even if the stakes are high and against their favor. The official definition of an activist is “an especially active, vigorous advocate of a cause, mostly a political cause but can be other things” (Dictionary). There are groups like PETA, otherwise known as people for the ethical treatment of animals, whose sole purpose is to help animals in any way that they can. “PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry. We also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of beavers, birds, and other “pests” as well as cruelty to domesticated animals” (About). Groups like PETA prevent the abuse animals undergo from humans, such as research, hunting, neglect, starvation, and many more. This holds true for activists because they believe that animals, such as humans, have a soul and can feel and experience everything a human can. “Animals suffer harm in various forms during capture, breeding


Cited: "About PETA | PETA.org." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://www.peta.org/about/default.aspx>. Bekoff, Marc. Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2010. Print. Company, Advance Food. "Overview." Advance Food Company Home. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://www.advf.com/Default.aspx?tabid=80>. Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://dictionary.com>. "Facts: Hunting." Google. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3FF4IScERaIJ:www.idausa.org/facts/hunting.html>. Francione, Gary L. Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2005. Print. Henderson, John T. A Manual on Cattle; for the Use of the Farmers of Georgia. Atlanta, GA: J.P. Harrison &, Printers, 1880. Print. "Pet Statistics." ASPCA.org. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. <http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics.aspx>. Selection and Breeding of Cattle and in Asia: Strategies and Criteria for Improved Breeding : Prepared under the Framework of an RCA Project with the Technical Support of the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency, 2009. Print. "Who We Are | Animal Welfare Institute." Animal Welfare Institute. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://www.awionline.org/about-awi/who-we-are/who-we-are>.

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