Unit VI Animal Rights paper

Running head: ANIMAL RIGHTS LITERATURE REVIEW 0

Animal Rights Literature Review Revision

Animal rights movement advocates for animal’s wellbeing, free from pain, cruelty and abuse as they are living beings and they have the right to live in liberty. Abuse of animals has become a major issue worldwide therefore becoming a problem that can be solved only through obtaining a clear comprehension of what the rights entail. Animal rights as a movement challenges the society’s old view that all animals only exist for human use like in experimentation and agriculture (Sunstein, 2003). Despite the comprehension of what animal rights entail, it is crucial for individuals to understand the potential causes of animal abuse. While those who display these practices of viciousness and disregard towards animals must be dissected and, if vital, liberatingly analyzed, they should likewise be considered responsible for their activities, which is done by specific laws and controls the endeavor to forestall animal cruelty. This way, the harmful effects of animal abuse is lessened and stopped. Many individuals trust that animals do not have rights, and that the general populations who support animal rights are liberals who need to discover different channels for their persuasions while others feel it is our ethical commitment to nurture animals as they cannot act or talk for themselves. According to (Cochrane, 2012), protecting animals is, imperative for some reasons, including the help they provide for plant ecosystems, the emotional and psychological bolster they can offer to people, and the knowledge picked up from the sociological studies of them and therefore they have the right to experience their lives free from exploitation and misery. Human beings however do take speciesism to extremes, making new species through farming and domestication, invading most climates and environments, and utilizing their intelligence to expand or sort term gains at the detriment of long-term sustainability instead of seeking an end to the rigid legal and moral distinction drawn between “them” and non-human animals, an end to animal use in entertainment and science experiments. Animals have rights to live free of pain, abuse and suffering; they are not ours to experiment on, wear, eat or even use for entertainment purpose.

Literature Review

The fight against animal brutality, the advocacy of animal rights and the welfare of animals has occurred to some degree over the span of history. The ownership of animals as property to be eaten or killed is the defining core of our consciousness, and that every human being is routinely indoctrinated into the attitude of control, reductionism, avoidance, elitism, and disconnectedness required by the sustenance practices of our culture (Cochrane, 2012). Based on the existing literature in regard to animal rights, this section contains history, terminology and the pros and cons of the controversies involved in animal rights. In a research conducted by (Fraser, 2008), animal controversy is capturing community attention by storm. In his article, Fraser indicates that different individuals have diverse emphasize on animal rights. The results of Fraser’s research showed some people stress on the functional and fundamental wellbeing, particularly flexibility from injury and pain. Others stress on animals effective condition such as stress free, pleasure and pain that are experienced as either negative or positive. Others accentuate the capacity of animals to live sensibly a common life through doing regular conduct and having normal components in their surroundings. These concerns constitute diverse criteria that researchers use to survey animal welfare. Fraser argued the concerns have brought about many new activists groups who advocate for the living rights of animals. (Fraser, 2008). Even researchers are on their look out to identify other methods of experimentation without using animals like rats, mice, pigs and so on. These animals regularly confront cruel situations and hazardous infusions in their research roles.

History of Animal Rights

The beginning of animal rights focused on the issue of vivisection. The concept of animal rights was not known in times past and most of those who have been persuasive in the movement towards this idea may have just bolstered a constrained change in the way animals are viewed and treated (Korsgaard, 2012). Several people have had unintentional influence on how animals are treated. Many read the antiquated Hindu and Buddhist scripture as supporting vegans for ethical and moral reasons. This ideology has advanced constantly over centuries. However, numerous animal activists indicate the production of "Animal Liberation" in the year 1975 as the impetus for the cutting edge American animal rights development. Nevertheless, in 1979, “Animal Legal Defense Fund” was set up. The following year, “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals” (PETA) was established. PETA was a universal multi-issue animal rights association, upholding veganism and fighting against animal abuses like hunting, fur, circuses and vivisection (Waldau, 2010). Most recent in 2012, a universal convention of neuroscientists announced that non-human animals have consciousness. The author of this declaration immediately went vegan. The animal rights revolution (vegan revolution) has been coming quite a while now (Freeman, 2010). We are entering the last phases of its acknowledgment, it seems to be a transformation of consideration, creative celebration, delight, and it needs every human being to participate. As Cochrane puts it, liberating animal’s means we can free ourselves too and allow the earth to restore for every living being. (Cochrane, 2012)

In his article, Blouin inspects the disparities in dog owner’s dispositions toward treatment of, and associations with animals. The exhibits of dogs are a critical piece of many individuals' lives that often offers entertainment, companionship and social interactions. However, as per the results, Blouin says that there seems to be outstanding particular disparities in how individuals identify with dogs. (Blouin, 2013) According to research done by Ascione & Shapiro, there are numerous conceivable reasons why the individuals treat animals in a certain manner. According to Ascione & Shapiro, there exists recurring themes that frequently manifest while breaking down the conduct of animal abusers. (Ascione & Shapiro, 2009). Frequently when individuals are convicted of animal mishandle, upon further investigations concerning their past, it is mostly found that they endured abuse as kids (Fraser, 2008). In the wake of being not able safeguard themselves and feeling frail against their abusers for so long, the outrage that child abuse casualties have left over from their childhoods tends to show itself in destructive conduct coordinated at other individuals and particularly at animals.

Summary and conclusion

From the above literature, animal abuse is an issue that animal rights activists will continue to advocate against no matter the outcome. It is evident that animal rights- which include right to refrain from pain and suffering- have become a great concern in the modern world. Though it can be hard to advocate against animal abuse considering its benefits, some people have opted to go vegan, just for the sake of animal happiness. Scientists on the other hand have investigated on the relationship between childhood abuse and animal abuse and according to their outcomes, they can help to reduce or rather eradicate animal abuse and cruelty. Taken together, the general agreement in researchers about animal research is that it is totally fundamental for the movement to advance, but, even those researchers whom are frightfully stressed over the prosperity of the animals require no fear because of the expanding weights of the legislative acts, and new feasible care by including documentation of the animal's lifestyle. There is hardly any verbal confrontation left in mainstream researchers about the ramifications of animal testing, the real barriers to their further progressions are a smaller percentage groups of non-researchers. Researchers solid bolster animal testing, and pledge to make it more sheltered and less fundamental later on.

References

Ascione, F. R., & Shapiro, K. (2009). People and animals, kindness and cruelty: Research directions and policy implications. Journal of Social Issues, 65(3), 569-587.

Blouin, D. D. (2013). Are dogs’ children, companions, or just animals? Understanding variations in people's orientations toward animals. Anthrozoös, 26(2), 279-294.

Cochrane, A., (2012). Animal rights without liberation: Applied ethics and human obligations. Columbia University.

Freeman, C. P. (2010). Framing animal rights in the Go Veg campaigns of US animal rights organizations. Society & Animals, 18(2), 163-182.

Fraser, D. (2008). Understanding animal welfare. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 50(1), S1

Korsgaard, C. M. (2012). A Kantian case for animal rights. The Ethics of Killing Animals, 3-25

Sunstein, C. R. (2003). The rights of animals. The University of Chicago Law Review, 70(1), 387-401.

Waldau, P. (2010). Animal Rights: What Everyone Needs to Know? Oxford University Press.