Animal Rights

Animal Rights

Humans and animals have coexisted relatively peacefully for thousands of years. As time has progressed, the guidelines by which humans and animals live by allows each species to coexist with each other. Yet, there are still disputes as to how certain groups of animals are to be treated and handled by humans. These disputes bring about discussion and debate of both animal and human rights. To make things even more complicated, animals must rely on their human supporters to speak on their behalf when opponents of animal rights lash out against the animals themselves. This in turn causes a rift not between the animals and their enemies, but rather the enemies and animal activists. The responsibility for both groups is to come to an agreement as to how each side’s wants and needs are meet, and how do they go about meeting them.

Each animal is placed into different categories, both in scientifically and relatively speaking. For example, dogs are classified in scientific terms according to their biological composition. But in relative terms, dogs are known as common, household pets. So what is it that separates a dog from a deer? The answer lies within the fact that a dog can be domesticated, while the deer is a wild animal and is not considered a “common” pet. Yet, there have been a few reported instances of deer being trained to become pets, and it is common for dogs in many parts of the world to be considered wild animals. The responsibility to decide what animals are placed in the “wild animal” and “pet” category belongs to humans. To do this, humans should rely on history and scientific evidence to determine how an animal will be classified. Humans must also rely on their conscience and facts to determine the class for which a certain animal is placed in.

“Obligations have no moral meaning without conscience” states Ann Causey in her essay “Is Hunting Ethical?” Each human’s conscience is different from each other. Yet, it is the human race’s obligation to fairly treat animals in an ethical matter that agrees with the “collective conscience” of humans. Take for instance the poem “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford. In his poem, Stafford tells a story about a man who has an encounter with a dead deer in the road. The man faces a decision of either moving the deer to the side of the road or rolling it into the canyon like many other have on that stretch of road. But, he sees that the deer is carrying a fawn, and the fawn is in fact still alive. The man is faced with a tough decision to either try to save the fawn or push the mother and fawn into the canyon, thereby possibly saving the lives of future travelers who go down that road. The man decides to push the dead deer and breathing baby fawn over the edge and into the canyon, killing the fawn. Surely he saw it as his obligation to move