EVERY day around the world, millions of defenseless animals suffer in silence at the hands of humans. We use animals for food, clothing, entertainment and experimentation with trifling afterthought. As justification for our cruelty and exploitation, we point to our "superior intelligence" and basic human necessity. We profess naivete and we feign indifference. Yet the animal rights movement is gaining momentum as more individuals recognize the importance of humane living. As young scholars, we too must broaden our understanding of animal rights issues and make changes to reduce widespread and needless animal suffering.
Animal rights is one of the more complicated issues of our generation. Collectively, animal rights activists advocate extending to animals certain considerations and protections under the law irrespective of the ways they can be put to human use. This means recognizing that animals, as sentient creatures, have basic interests within society. Within the animal rights movements, though, philosophies differ greatly about these interests and typically divide into two well defined camps.
Animal protectionists - led by Australian philosopher and Princeton Prof. Peter Singer - argue that the use of animals within society must be regulated strictly to reduce suffering and minimize environmental consequences. Abolitionists - led by Rutgers Law Prof. Gary Francione - contend that animals have the primary right not to be treated as property in any respect. Regardless of their viewpoints, all animal advocates agree that it is in an animal's interest to be viewed as a member of the world community, able to live free from pain and fear. While animal rights does not mean granting animals the right to vote, it does mean that our society must provide them with basic protections.
Currently, animals are denied essential rights despite their undeniable cognition and capacity to feel pain. Every day, the food and clothing industries kill and torture animals with few repercussions. Factory farms raise livestock in unnaturally high density settings, making any form of movement impossible and leading directly to the suffering of animals and to environmental degradation.
In the 21st century, there is also no need or justification for killing animals to make clothing. When we buy fur, leather, exotic skins and wool, we support the slaughter of animals that typically are skinned alive, electrocuted and gassed without pain killers. Many of these luxuries come from underdeveloped countries where the harshest methods of killing are employed to save money. We can fight these industries by opening our eyes, ending our support for their cruel practices and demanding stricter regulations.
Animals also are misused as entertainment. Many Americans fail to recognize their own part in this exploitation. As a golden rule, animals should never be used for entertainment purposes. By paying admission to zoos and circuses, we condone animal cruelty and directly support the treatment of animals as commodities. Zoos and aquariums often buy young animals for show and, once the animals reach a certain age, sell them off to game farms to be shot down by hunters. Circuses often train animals to do extraordinary tricks by stabbing them with pitchforks or electric prods, withholding food or using other inhumane techniques. Carriage horses and racehorses often work long hours, live in poor conditions and eventually are sold off to slaughterhouses when they no longer can perform - that is, if they do not die beforehand.
Throughout history, the American university consistently has been characterized as a marketplace for ideas. Yet today, humane education is lacking in our institutions of higher learning. In undergraduate classrooms, the topic of animal rights nearly is nonexistent. In our dining halls at the University, cruelty-free dining is forgotten while "green dining" is advocated strongly. Even in our social activities, animals are exploited for our pleasure, whether through purchasing puppies for sororities or paying money to attend horse races.
There are many pressing issues in our society and world, but granting rights to animals does not come at the expense of other causes. In fact, animal welfare should be a unifying issue in which individuals of all beliefs can find common ground in reducing pain and suffering. Also, we are connected deeply to animals and our environment. By neglecting the welfare of either, we harm ourselves.
In the 21st century, it is time for animals to be given the dignity and respect all sentient beings deserve. It is up to each of us to analyze our actions and reform the ways we interact with our world. Whether this means campaigning for animal rights, abstaining from meat or simply learning more about animal welfare, our individual actions do make a difference.
Those who support animal cruelty and exploitation will one day find themselves on the wrong side of history, and it is up to our generation to make sure this happens sooner rather than later. It is our moral imperative to recognize our role in safeguarding other species and understanding their place in our world.
Ashley Chappo's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at a.chappo@cavalierdaily.com.
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