The Sentient Divide: Understanding Animal Welfare vs. Animal Rights
While full rights for all animals remain fringe, a crack is forming. In 2016, an Argentine court ruled that a chimpanzee named Cecilia is a "non-human legal person" with the right to bodily liberty, ordering her release from a zoo to a sanctuary. Similarly, the Nonhuman Rights Project is currently suing for habeas corpus for elephants in New York. The Sentient Divide: Understanding Animal Welfare vs
If you believe that humans have a right to use animals respectfully, and your goal is to make that use painless, you are an advocate. If you believe that animals have a right not to be used at all, regardless of the pleasure or utility it brings humans, you are an animal rights advocate. Similarly, the Nonhuman Rights Project is currently suing
The conversation around animal welfare and animal rights often gets lumped together, but they represent two distinct philosophical paths. While both aim to reduce animal suffering, they differ in their ultimate goals for how humans and animals should coexist. Animal Welfare: The Pragmatic Approach Animal welfare is based on the principle of humane treatment The conversation around animal welfare and animal rights