Kiefer, Ana

Animal Welfare vs
Animal Rights
(VETE-4313-011) Animal Welfare & Ethics
Tarleton State University
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Welfare vs. Rights

The impact surrounding the philosophies of animal rights and animal welfare are well known to

those who utilize animals in different aspects such as industry, entertainment, sport or recreation.

Throughout the years our society has migrated from our agricultural roots to a more urbanized

way of living, the importance of distinguishing between animal rights and animal welfare is very

important. The Five Freedoms in the Bill of Rights, is the first amendment in 1965 British

Government proposal. As intensive farm animal production became more prevalent the five

freedoms allowed the animals to stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and stretch

their limbs. Extended and refined in 1993 by UK Farm Animal Welfare Council, the 5 freedoms

where established: Freedom from hunger & thirst. Freedom from discomfort. Freedom from

pain, injury & disease. Freedom to express normal & natural behavior. Freedom from fear &

distress. These Five Freedoms has set a goal to provide quality of care to our animals without

compromising their state of mental & physical wellness.

 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

5 Views About Humanitys Duties to Animals

- Contractarianism View: only considers human interests. Individual humans belong to a

human-only moral contract that benefits the individual human concerned, along with

other collaborating fellow humans. (Appleby, 2011).

- Utilitarianism View: we should consider not just the interests of all affected humans, but

also all affected sentient beings. (Appleby, 2011).

- Animal Rights View: animals that are sentient and have level cognitive abilities have

rights to life, liberty and respectful treatment. The rights of individuals cannot be

overridden in order to benefit others. (Appleby, 2011).

- Contextual View: a variety of factors, as well as the capacities of animals, are of moral

significance; these emotional bonds between humans & animals & the special

commitments that humans have made to particular animals. (Appleby, 2011).

- Respect for Nature View: The protection of natural species, genetic integrity and some

kinds of natural processes are thought to be of moral significance, and animas are valued

as tokens of their species. (Appleby, 2011).

Animal Welfare:

Animal Welfare, as defined by the American Veterinary Medical Association, is our

responsibility as humans to embrace all aspects of an animal well-being. These aspects include:

proper housing, management, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane

handling, and humane euthanasia when the animal welfare is compromised. Animal welfare

ideology accepts the fact animals can be used for human purposes and they should be treated so

that discomfort is kept to a minimum.

Animal Rights:
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Animal Rights is a profound view which believes animals have rights similar or the same as

humans. Animal rights advocates believes humans do not have the right to use animals at all and

they wish to ban all use of animals by humans. They also belief animals should not be used for

food, clothing, entertainment, medical research, exploited or used for product testing. This

includes the use of animals in rodeos, zoos, circuses, and even as pets. Animal right advocates

believe that is ethically, morally, and inherently wrong to use animals for human purposes under

any condition. Animals should not be used in experiments in which diseases and various therapy

methods are studied.

AVMA Animal Welfare Principles

The responsible use of animals for human purposes, such as companionship, food, fiber,

recreation, work, education, exhibition, and research conducted for the benefit of both humans

and animals, is consistent with the Veterinarian's Oath.

Decisions regarding animal care, use, and welfare shall be made by balancing scientific

knowledge and professional judgment with consideration of ethical and societal values.

Animals must be provided water, food, proper handling, health care, and an environment

appropriate to their care and use, with thoughtful consideration for their species-typical biology

and behavior.

Animals should be cared for in ways that minimize fear, pain, stress, and suffering.

Procedures related to animal housing, management, care, and use should be continuously

evaluated, and when indicated, refined or replaced.

Conservation and management of animal populations should be humane, socially responsible,

and scientifically prudent.

 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Animals shall be treated with respect and dignity throughout their lives and, when necessary,

provided a humane death.

The veterinary profession shall continually strive to improve animal health and welfare through

scientific research, education, collaboration, advocacy, and the development of legislation and

regulations (AVMA, 2017).

Animal Welfare Act

The Animal Welfare Act also known as Public Law 89-544 was signed into a law in August 24,

1966. It was established to provide quality care and handling of the animals used in research. So

far this act has been amended eight times during (1970, 1976, 1985, 1990, 2002, 2007, 2008, and

2013). Currently, is the only Federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of

animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by Class B dealers. Other laws, policies, and

guidelines may include additional species coverage or specifications for animal care and use, but

they all refer to the Animal Welfare Act as their minimum acceptable standard. The Animal

Welfare act is enforced by the USDA, APHIS, and Animal Care agency.

Animal Welfare Concerns

A moral concern about animals needs to be addressed around suffering, rights or well-being of

particular individuals, & also about the extinction of the species. In reality, legal rights are

created & exists within legal systems. Moral rights are not created by the law.

Sadly, consequences are important when making ethical decisions, and we should try to aim at

bringing about the best possible consequences for ultimately the wellbeing of the animals.
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Animal Welfare Organizations

An animal welfare groups focus their beliefs towards the health, safety and psychological

wellness of animals. These groups may include an animal rescue groups which may help

individual or many animals in distress or suffering from some epidemic.

Humane Farm Animal Care

The Humane League
Humane Research Council
Humane Society of the United States

Animal Rights

The modern animal rights movement (which began in the early 1970s) is composed largely of

people from urban areas who are vegetarians. In 1990, animal rights groups staged a March for

the Animals rally in Washington, D.C. America has the distinction of having the first laws on

the books to protect farm animals from cruel treatment. Passed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony

in 1641. The 1st anticruelty law was passed by the New York legislature in 1828.

In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was formed in

New York. In 1906, the Animal Transportation Act was passed to protect animals traveling long

distances by rail. In 1958, the Humane Slaughter Act was passed and later amended in the 1970s

to include the humane handling of animals prior to and during slaughter.

In 1966, Congress established the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which regulated

laboratories that use animals in research. The Horse Protection Act was passed in 1970 and

amended in 1976 to protect horses and regulate horse show businesses.

In 1992, the Animal Enterprise Protection Act was passed to protect facilities (like farms, zoos,

aquariums, circuses, rodeos, fairs) from intruders vandalizing such places or releasing animals

from there.
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

... individuals are subjects-of-a-life if they have beliefs and desires; perception, memory, and a

sense of the future, including their own future; an emotional life together with feelings of

pleasure and pain; preference- and welfare-interests; the ability to initiate action in pursuit of

their desires and goals; a psychophysical identity over time; and an individual welfare in the

sense that their experiential life fares well or ill for them, logically independently of their utility

for others and logically independently of their being the object of anyone else's interests

(The Case for Animal Rights, Tom Regan 1983).

Animal Ethics

Animal ethics is a term used in colleges to describe human-animal relationships and how animals

need to be treated. The points discussed includes animal rights, animal welfare, animal law,

speciesism, animal cognition, wildlife conservation, the moral status of nonhuman animals, the

concept of nonhuman personhood, human exceptionalism, the history of animal use, and theories

of justice. The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare is an animal welfare science society.

This society is a United Kingdom registered scientific and educational charity. They

commissioned a systematic study of the progress in humane techniques in the laboratory.

In 1959, Russell and Burch published a report named 'The Principles of Humane Experimental

Techniques'. The basic precept of this report was: the most humane possible treatment of

experimental animals, far from being an obstacle, is actually a prerequisite for a successful

animal experiment (Russell & Burch, 1959). The authors also proposed the principles of

Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (also known as the 3Rs). These principles are crucial

strategies which provides a standardized groundwork in order to achieve the objective of humane
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

experimental techniques. Throughout the World the principles of the 3Rs are ingrained in the

legislations which governs the use of animals in science. For example, The Animal Welfare

Institute currently follows Russell and Burchs "3R's" principles by: replacing the animals used

in their research with alternatives; decreasing the number of animals used in experiments; and

provides quality care and treatment of the animals who continue to be used in research, testing

and education.

The 3Rs Concept View:

Replacement the use of non-animal subjects wherever possible, and research into

development and validation of new non-animal research and testing models;

Reduction where replacement is not currently possible, the minimizing of the number

of animals used by, for example, better research design, appropriate statistical methods

and use of information databases.

Refinement improvement of experimental procedures and aspects of housing and

husbandry as to minimize risks to welfare (Wikipedia, 2017).

The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare objectives are:

To enlist the influence of university men and women on behalf of animals, wild and

domestic;
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

To promote, by educational and other methods, interest in the welfare of animals in Great

Britain and abroad;

To lessen, by methods appropriate to the special character of a university organization,

the pain and fear inflicted on animals by man;

To obtain and disseminate accurate information relating to animal welfare;

To further and promote legislation for the protection of animals (Wikipedia, 2017).

The Ethics of Cognition

Animal Cognition describes the mental competence of animals and the study of those

capabilities. The field was developed from comparative psychology, which includes the study of

animal conditioning and learning. The animal cognition has also been influenced by the research

in different disciplines such as ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology, and

hence the alternative name cognitive ethology is sometimes used. Many behaviors associated

with the term animal intelligence are involved within animal cognition.

The Ethics of Personhood

Personhood is the position of being a person. By trying to define personhood is a questionable

subject matter, specially in philosophy and law. This subject is strictly fixed with legal and

political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty. Per the law, only a natural person or legal

personality has rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and legal liability.

The Ethics of Wildlife Conservation

 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Conservation is the method of protecting wild plant and animal species and their habitats. The

primary objective of wildlife conservation is to ensure that nature will be around for future

generations. It will teach them to appreciate and as well to recognize the importance of wildlife

and wilderness for humans and other species alike. Currently the most major threat to wildlife is

the increasing population of human beings on Earth. More people on the globe requires more

consumption of food, water and fuel. Therefore, more waste is generated which limiting our

resources. If the population is modified so is the amount of risk to wildlife. In theory, the less is

the population, less is the disturbance to wildlife.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) was signed on December 28, 1973, and provides for

the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant

portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend. The ESA

replaced the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. Congress has amended the ESA

several times. Approximately 2,270 species are listed as endangered or threatened under the

ESA. Of these species, about 650 are foreign species, found only in areas outside of the U.S. and

the U.S. (NOAA, 2016).

A "species" is considered:

Endangered if it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its

range.

Threatened if it is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future.

(NOAA, 2016).
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

"Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life

with which our country has been blessed."

-President Nixon, upon signing the Endangered Species Act

The Ethics of Specieism:

Specieism links the allocation of different values, rights, or special consideration to individuals

solely on the basis of their group species. The term is sometimes used by animal rights

supporters, who dispute that speciesism is a prejudice similar to racism or sexism. The way

individuals are treated is predicated based on the group membership and morally irrelevant to

physical differences. Their allegation is that species membership has no moral significance.

In other words, Animal rights activists use this term to subject the belief that any use of animals

by humans reflects an inclination that humans are superior to animals. They also believe that

animals have the same rights as humans. Activists argue that humans cannot ignore the rights of

animals while advocating the rights of humans, because humans are animals. Animal rights

supporters also believe that animal experimentation is unethical and unnecessary and that

alternatives to animal experimentation should be used.

For example:

Animals are used in three areas of experimentation:

- research in biomedical & behavior sciences

- testing of products for their safety

- education where animals are used for demonstrations & dissections

 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Animals should be used only when no other alternatives exist. Many people believe that animal

experimentation and research hold the key to successful cure of AIDS, cancer, and heart disease.

Animal rights activists argue that modern farming is inhumane and that eating meat is unhealthy.

They contend that modern farming is controlled by large corporations that care only about profits

and not about the welfare of animals. Farmers have led the way in animal welfare. It has always

been in their best interest to care for animals humanely and to see that they are well-fed and free

of diseases. Farming in the US is not controlled by large corporations. Of the 2.2 million farms in

the US, 97% are family owned and operated; only 7,000 are non-family-controlled corporations.

Currently there is no studies that can validate that a vegetarian diet is healthier than a diet that

includes meat, milk, and eggs. More than 7,000 groups are involved in animal protection; 400 of

these are considered animal rights groups. Many of the groups do not consider themselves as

animal rights or animal welfare groups but are dedicated to the preservation of a specific species

of animal and its habitat.

Some animal rights supporters believe in violence, misinformation and publicity stunts as valid

uses of funding donated to their tax-exempt organizations for the purpose of helping animals.

common tactics used by underground animal rights groups are: arson, vandalism and assaults to

further the animal rights cause. Groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, had been classified

as terrorist group by the FBI, routinely use criminal tactics to further their cause.
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Animal Rights Organizations

The Animal Rights Movement has been also known as The Animal Liberation Movement,

Animal Personhood, or Animal Advocacy Movement. This movement which seeks to terminate

the rigid moral and legal distinction between human and non-human animals. Also, to end the

status of animals as property, and to terminate their use in the research, food, clothing, and

entertainment industries.

Animal Legal Defense Fund

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE)
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Humane Certification

Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) is the leading non-profit certification organization

dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals in food production from birth through

slaughter.

The goal of the program is to improve the lives of farm animals by driving consumer

demand for kinder and more responsible farm animal practices (Humane Farm Animal

Care, 2017).

Gold Standards for Humane Certification all animals must have:

Space

Lighting

Good air quality

Food

Water
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled label on a product you can be

assured that the food products have come from facilities that meet precise, objective

standards for farm animal treatment. (Humane Farm Animal Care, 2017)

In conclusion:

As custodians of our animals is our responsibility to understand the controversy of Animal

Welfare vs Animal Rights. We need to overlook at the actual state of the animal & focus on the

ethical obligation we have of caring for them. A moral concern about animals needs to be

addressed around suffering, rights or well-being of particular individuals, & also about the

extinction of the species. The reality is the fact legal rights are created & exists within legal

systems. Meanwhile moral rights are not created by the law. Sadly, consequences are important

when making ethical decisions, and we should try to aim at bringing about the best possible

consequences for ultimately the wellbeing of our animals. By speaking up and monitoring our

precious animals closely we are ensuring that we are providing the best quality & proper care

possible. Currently we have limited resources on our Earth but ethically we have a moral

responsibility to care of what we have left in our planet. If we continue with this self-destruction

we are longer have a planet in which we all could live in peace & harmony.

"Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind's capacity for empathy and for

decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness,

not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they

don't; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us." Matthew Scully

References:
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Website:

http://www.animalethics.org.au/ Retrieved 4/15/17

Website:

http://www.animalwelfarecouncil.org/?page_id=16 Retrieved 4/8/17

Book:

Animal Welfare, Appleby, M. C., Hughes, B. O., Mench, J. A. and Olsson, I. A. S. (2nd Ed.).

2011

Book:

A Users Guide to Animal Welfare Science. TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution 21(2):77-82

Dawkins M. (2006). Retrieved 3/8/17

Website:

https://awionline.org/content/wild-vs-captivity Retrieved 4/15/17

Website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/ Retrieved 4/15/17

Website:

Certified Humane

http://certifiedhumane.org/ Retrieved 3/8/17

Website:

Farm Animal Welfare Council

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121007104210/http:/www.fawc.org.uk/freedoms.ht

m Retrieved 3/6/17

Website:
 2
Animal Welfare vs Animal Rights

Five Freedoms & Speciesism Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_freedoms Retrieved 3/6/17

Website:

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2013-title7/html/USCODE-2013-title7-chap54.htm

Retrieved 3/8/17

Website:

http://kb.rspca.org.au/Five-freedoms-for-animals_318.html Retrieved 3/8/17

Website:

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/an_animal_welfare_history_lesson_on_the_five_freedoms

Retrieved 3/8/17

Website:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/esa/ Retrieved 4/17/17

Website:

VCPR: The Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship January 2017 Retrieved 3/6/17

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Reference/Pages/VCPR.aspx

Website:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universities_Federation_for_Animal_Welfare retrieved 4/15/17

Website:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speciesism Retrieved 4/10/17

Website:

http://3rs.ccac.ca/en/about/animal-welfare.html Retrieved 3/8/17