Animal rights is defined as rights believed to belong to animals to live free from humans using animals for their own benefit. I believe animal rights is also how the animal should be treated. Animal welfare is how well the animals should be treated. Michael C. Appleby explains animal welfare as, “Ethical concern over the quality of life of animals” (19). If one believes in animal welfare then does one believe in animal rights also? Animals get mistreated in different settings whether circuses, zoos or factories. According to the “Animal Rights Debate” Rich …show more content…
Animals, instead, are actual living things with feelings and emotions just like humans. You can tell when an animal is sad or happy by how they are acting. Dogs for example, they wag their tale when they are excited and happy. Animals are meant to be in the wild where they can live freely and not be harmed. Animals are also supposed to be loved in the family households. Pet owners that do not take care of their pet can be fined and even go to jail. Owners have been known to not feed and water their pets. Dogfighting is a big issue because dogs are forced to get abused by each other. If people keep killing animals, torturing them, we will not have any left on the planet to cherish. “In England, France, Germany, the United States, and many other nations, anticruelty laws go well beyond prohibiting beating, injuring, and the like, and impose affirmative duties on people with animals in their care” (Nussbaum 6). The Animal Welfare Act of 1966 was passed to regulate animal abuse (Wagner). There are also many organizations that try to help limit animal abuse and mistreatment. Some organizations such as American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, go as far as publicizing their efforts to decrease animal abuse and mistreatment (Wagner). People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals founder Ingrid Newkirk has said, “When it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness, and fear, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Each one values his or her life and fights the knife.” By this she means in the end animals try not to die and so do we. Anything that is living wants to live, based on this