It is not the need for pork or beef that is the problem, rather it’s the way the animals live their lives and how they are treated. I am very much for animal rights. My cousin showed me what I assume was a radical undercover video from PETA about the methods that animals are killed, de-beaked, and have their horns clipped. Pigs as well as cows were strung upside down and beaten to death with baseball bats, some were skinned alive. I understand that , economically, there is a high demand for dairy products and red meat, however, this savagery is not needed. A simple way for killing is using a guillotine, its not difficult to build nor expensive, and the cleanup I’m sure is about the same as it would be if u beat the animal to a pulp. The point is, there must be a humane way to kill an animal. Civilization has had centuries of rituals and sacrificial killings that are much less painful than what we do now in our time.
If it were left up to me,all animals would be treated fairly before being sacrificed to feed me and my family. Animals should have the right to live a joyous life, during co- habitation before they are slaughtered. They shouldn't have to be susceptible to being injected with antibiotics, pesticides, or growth hormones at the hands of factory farms,just to make them larger and more plump for human consumption. Animals such as chickens,pigs,turkeys,and cowsshouldn't be held in small cages with thousands of other animals just like them, with their massive bodies squeezing the other animals together like balls,to the point where they're clawing and pecking each other to death.Animals should have rights just like humans, they should be able to roam the farm grounds freely, without any constraint, they should have plentiful amounts of greens and leaves to eat just as they would have if they were free, and they shouldn't be tortured or held in confinement at factory farms,just so they can save money.We as humans don't understand the importance of what animals go through on a day to day basis just so that we have plenty to eat. Just like leading scientists have said, "it is impossible to know when an animal is suffering,"so why don't we become their voices, and stand up for their rights, to be lively and happy animals before they're consumed by us.Why don't we let those animals that are sacrificed for us live just as happy as we do before they die to feed our families.
Animal rights is definitely a tough subject. The people who are submitting the animals to abuse are doing it for financial reasons. It is much more profitable to treat the animals as a product than a living organism. They do not see the issue with all the wrong committed to the live stock and other animals used for food. The main problem is when these practices are used on endangered species of animal (such as turtles in Asia) where they are not farmed but caught from the wild and put in horrible conditions until they are sold for food. Stricter living conditions should be forced upon our standards here in the US, while the stricter policies for Asia's wildlife should be used to preserve them for future generations. Hopefully these suggestions will become a reality and the rights of animals fully be understood and respected.
Animal rights are of vital importance because, although animals are not human they should be treated with equal respect. The reason for this is that animals are persons. As discussed in class, we came to the conclusion that being a human being was not a necessary nor a sufficient condition for being a person. An animal is considered a person because they have consciousness, autonomy [intentionality], and sentience [ability to feel emotions, such as pain]. Although I'm not a vegetarian, I do believe that animals should be given respect before being killed. For instance, they should be given an appropriate living standards before dieing.
-Rebecca Vergara p.s. Professor Triff, my earlier blog post was September 18 with the same alias, luveverg. Thanks.
Animal rights is a very important topic. Most people treat animal unfairly because they perceive animals as not being humans. I believe we should treat animals as they were humans. These creatures feel pain just like we do; when we torture them, we can see that they react just like we do when we are in pain. It’s true that they cannot speak to express their feeling, but we can understand their nonverbal communication. Back in my country, I witnessed people beating dogs and cats to death, and it is actually sad to hear those poor animals screaming with pain.I think it is not right to treat animals with such brutality. They are very useful in our society. We consume them; they are our friends; we should treat them fairly. I understand that we need them to eat; however, that is not a reason to treat them badly. We must kill an animal in order to eat it, but the savagery is not needed. Let’s treat the animals fairly before consumption; they deserve it.
Animal cruelty is a felony. Remember the recent case of Tyler Weinman, the teenager accused of killing and mutilating 19 pet cats right here in Miami. Weinman was charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty with intent to harm and kill. Actually, he faces up to 158 years in prison if convicted of all count. Many of the felines were gutted and skinned. Others were found drained of blood and missing limbs. Tyler was even charged with misdemeanor counts of improperly disposing the bodies! Now, my point is: Aren’t animals treated just like that in slaughterhouses and factory farms when they are killed aren’t animal when they are killed by humans/employees? Think thoroughly. From my point of view, Tyler Weinman is a mere child compared to the high executives who approve massive animal executions. However, the boy was judged as a killer for the way he killed the pets. But… who judges the blue-collar butchers who make millions of dollars mutilating animals for human consumption?
What’s the meaning of produce movies such as “Lassie” and “Babe the pig” if we torture animals instead of giving them an honorable death? I don’t want to sound radical but we humans are hypocrites. I agree that animals are our food. I only disagree with the way they are raised and killed. Although we (the buyers) don’t directly killed the animals for human consumption, we are accomplices for doing nothing against that crime, and for consuming products that were killed in a way that causes us great unhappiness. Let’s promote the least amount of suffering by stopping buying products who suffer at the time they die.
Animals are members of our community. Although they aren’t human being, they feel pain. They have nerves. Remember we were monkeys before. Suppose that in the next thousand of years the present-day animals evolve to superior humans beings compared to us (it could happen). Suppose now that those “superior humans being”, who were animals before (the same animals we used to abuse: cows, pigs, chickens etc), consider us inferior human being and they start to see us as food. And to complicate the issue, let say those animals who are now superior human being due to their evolution, in order to save money and feed the growing population, killed us in a painful way: 1) they skin us alive 2) They raise us in small cages where we have to be crouch down in order to fix 3) They feed us with hormones and inject us preservatives. Don’t we deserve a better life? In my opinion, until my time has come, I prefer to live a “natural” life. A less painful way of being killed would be a shot in my head or give me a lethal injection.
In my opinion, all animals should have the same rights we do and they should not be mistreated and put to suffer just so that we can have a piece of meat on our plates every now and then. The meat industry in this country over kills animals creating more supply than demand. The way these animals are killed is the most inhuman way you could ever imagine. They are hung by their feet and they slice their throat just because according to them it keeps the meat tastier and fresher. They step on baby pigs so they can’t move and then they stab them and let them scream and bleed to death. I don’t believe that this is right, why cause so much pain to a defenseless creature, they don’t realize that they are living beings who scream when they feel pain and who suffer because of the conditions they are put in. No animal should go through the pain the animal industry enforces on them.
Roger Scruton, an English conservative philosopher, suggests that because animals are unable to enter into a social contract or make moral choices, therefore they cannot be regarded as possessors of rights. In the other hand, Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher argued that humans have duties only toward other humans, and that "cruelty to animals is contrary to man's duty to himself, because it deadens in him the feeling of sympathy for their sufferings, and thus a natural tendency that is very useful to morality in relation to other humans is weakened." I believe animals have a right, just as human beings do, to be free from pain and suffering. We will always know whether an animal is suffering or not, even though they don't speak, they do communicate with one another, and even with humans through behaviors. Also, we all know in the different levels of the food chain, one will eat or be eaten; but animals deserve a better life before they are sacrifice for human consumption. It is even the best possible solution for us as consumers, because the meat of an animal that has not sufferer is will not be the same as the meat of an animal that has suffer and has grow in very bad conditions.
There are many organization groups dedicated to the rights of animal, claiming they should be viewed as persons and not properties. I believe just like many other classmates that animal should have a more moral living standard before slaughtered and consumed. As a matter of a fact, Peter Singer’s argument in which he defends the animal rights on the notion that they can feel pain, can be disputed in various perspective ways. Although animals aren’t able to speak and say “ I am in pain” doesn’t necessarily mean its not in pain because they can show it in behaviorism. Animals can show pain in many different ways just like any person could, they differ in characteristics and they way they act(ex. Lewis Pained Madman C/E). Furthermore, imagine a young child who is never exposed to these bizarre animal slaughter, what can they change when they have no clue on what is going on. Meanwhile while we are putting these subject matters aside for anyreasons(cheaper food, not enough farm space or we don’t care), nothing is being done for these animals and millions of them are dying everyday without any moral standard form of living.
Animal rights are a debated topic because it refers to the idea whether animals should have the rights as humans. In my opinion, animals have the right to live and have the right to have their home/habitat. The basic right that requires for animals is allowing them to live the way they should. Questions arise due to this topic because we try to figure out "do animals have rights"? And what do we understand when it comes to the phrase of animal rights. Animals rights is a very important concept because not to many people know what is going on when animals are being used for purposes such as food, clothing, recreation, medical purposes and experiments. Doing these things upon animals intrudes their freedom and the way of life. As for factory farming it is very unethical and unnecessary because animals are constantly suffering. Factory farming is inhumane because the treatment of animals as to where farmers slaughter and raise animals in such cruel acts and profits from the mistreatment of animals. I believe that animals should be treated fairly because they deserve it in any way possible and should not have to go through any torture.
To me animals right is a very complicated topic. The way that animals are raised and die, are generally not of interest of humanes. For what I found out to write this coment, animals soffer from the day they are born until the day when their death comes, which is in a painful, and dishumane way. It makes me feel bad to be part of this society were we do not worry about how those aniamals are treated before they come to our tables. I believe that animal rights should be seen with more attention from those who consume meat. I actually strongly agree that anyone that consumes meat, start to think before eat it. And whatever you can make a change in your grocery list, consuming more stuff that are alive, such as vegetables and fruits. I'm not trying to encourage anyone to became and vegetarian, but instead to check on what they consume, to make simple changes for their own healthy. And at the same time to help those poor inocente animals to have a better life.
I believe that animals should have rights to inhabit a proper living condition especially when used for consuming purposes because in the long run it affects the ones who eat it. The idea of the factory farming is inhumane because it’ cruel to animals. Selfishly speaking if the animal is kept in such conditions (animal waste and the potential for dead animals in a small space) it may produce an unhealthy product to consume. Although the money that is saved by cramming all these animals into small spaces much be a bundle, however the health risks of hormones injected to these animals and later into our bodies is not worth the money. Recently a message from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association American cattle producers was sent out saying “McDonald's claims that there is not enough beef in the USA to support their restaurants. Well, we know that is not so. Our opinion is they are looking to save money at our expense.” Why is this bad? All Americans that sell cows at a livestock auction barn had to sign a paper stating that we do NOT EVER feed our cows any part of another cow. South Americans are not required to do this as of yet. It is definitely crucial to announce animals should have rights to a proper living condition because it affects us closer to home than we might have ever expected.
First, I must say that I am against animal abuse. Animals share our same basic right of being treated fairly since they have all the necessary characteristics to be considered persons. Recent experiments with chimps, dolphins, and many other animals, have shown that they have self-consciousness and the ability to feel pain and other emotions. However, in that point we are only looking at the moral perspective of animal farming. In the other side we have the economical implications that have lead to their deplorable life conditions. For example, imagine a family of 4 persons, with a low income, having deciding between the comparatively expensive “organic” food and the cheap “ball of chicken”. We can be the most altruistic and humane person in the world, but feeding our children will be our first priority. Certainly, the economic implications just apply in the case of food production. Experimenting aggressively with animals, or killing them to obtain their furs, are not things necessary to our survival. Creating an idealistic policy without other important changes will lead to nothing. The improvement of the life conditions of these animals must be supported by educating people in their eating habits and their moral conceptions. The way we treat our animals is a reflection of our education and greatness. But, what can we expect from beings that treat individuals of their own kind as “animals”?
More than 30 million animals are killed each year only to use their furs. This is alarming but even worst is the way that the animals are treated in the process of getting the fur from them. In the year of 2005 there was an undercover investigation in china’s fur farms. What they found was horrible; animals were been skinned alive. From dogs and cats to foxes and minks, animals were kept in small cages. Some of them had visible wounds and were starving and dehydrated. After this, they were hang and skinned alive. There is a video were you could see the desperation of the animals to escape while their fur is being ripped out of their bodies. These animals are still alive for 5 to ten minutes after the horrible process. Do we really have the right to do this? How can people be so cruel just for the profits they get? I’m definitely against this kind of abuse, is horrible how this animals go trough this agony just for some people to look “good”.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” —Mahatma Gandhi
I’ve always seen the consumption of certain animals by human as natural as leaves falling from a tree or as animals eat each other in the wild; It’s all part of the food chain. Despite that being said, the cruelty and the inhumane conditions the animal are put under by these factory farms, is just flat out immoral. Profiteering food companies obviously don’t care about the well fare of these animals. Holding them in massive numbers, kept indoors at high densities, de-beaking the chickens, infesting them with anti-microbial agents, vitamin supplements and growth hormones that are certainly unhealthy to the animals and the consumers. Like Tom Regan said, “Animals are subjects-of-a-life.” Therefor they are bearers of rights. There ability to feel pain, fear and distress, indicates that they are aware of their torturing, therefor, they are suffering. Like Professor Triff pointed out, “if there were a species superior to us living on earth and we happened to fall prey to them, so they decided to put us in farm factories, just as food companies do to the animals, would that be right. This same scenario applying to animals is just as unethical. That’s why I oppose farm factories and feel that their treatment towards the animals is immoral.
I believe, as well as many others do, that animals should have their rights to have, and/or have led, a peaceful life. The red meat, beef, poultry, and other types of food from animals that we eat shouldn't be slaughtered as they are. I mean, I'm sure the healthier the animal goes about its life before it dies the better the taste, or at least not experimented with just so the word "scarce" wouldn't have its place for us carnivores. Dog fights, cock fights (lol), anything that has to do with getting animals to fight and hurt each other is obviously wrong. It's also as well a huge part in animal cruelty that is condemned. It's been pretty inevitable to have argued against the fact that too many believe that animal cruelty also lives behind those walls where the animals we eat are slaughtered to death and are kept in such inhumane ways to live, as if they were human, yet technically could be considered persons because of suffered pain. All in all, I'm all in favor of what the guy below me has concluded his blog with. Let's find a better way to put our precious food to rest for the sake of these 'bearers of rights' and their very much shared pain just like us humans. -Josh Castillo
I believe that animals should have better rights to living conditions and should be given the opportunity to have a quick and mostly painless death. As long as there are humans alive, there will be someone who craves meat, and there will always be someone to make sure that person has meat to eat. But the manner that is gone about in getting that meat is outright barbaric. While there are individuals in society today that do terrible things to their own species, much less an animal, we live in a civilized society and such horrid behavior, be it from an individual or an industry, shouldn’t be tolerated. The problem is that as long as there are people who will pay for cheaply priced, cheap quality meat, this issue will continue and animals will continue to be kept in these terrible conditions where they are killed in a very painful and brutal manor, dismembered, tortured and so on. I think that to improve upon these things and to get on the road of animals having better rights despite their not being able to speak up for themselves, we should first begin to change the factories themselves, but this can be a double edged sword. If we expand the land of the factories, we will be destroying environment, thereby tampering with the habitats of other wildlife. But we can make restrictions to things such as how many animals one factory is to house, the caging of these animals in reference to how many occupy one space in the cages, not cutting off their body parts while they are alive, keeping their living arrangements clean, therefore eliminating the need for things like antibiotics and hormones, because we absorb what we eat. Poisoning these animals with unnecessary hormones is arguably the same as poisoning a human. I think it would be better if we were to create a temporary neural suppressant (so that the effects will end when the life of the animal ends so that it would not spread to humans after consumption) for the animals, so that they will have a more painless death.
The controversy about animal rights is never going to end. Many organizations fight each year to stop the brutal treatments that these animals are receiving every day by humans. Tom Reagan said in his speech at The Royal Institute of Great Britain in 1989 that if we are no capable of respecting the rights of other human beings then how do we spect to respect animal's rights. I strongly agree with him and also believe that animals are not any different than us. Like us, they feel and experience love, pain, hunger and humiliation. Why can't we adopt a cruelty free life style? At the end, we are all equal, we are all earthlings, meaning that we are mortal inhabitants of planet earth. We started as a big family of sentient beings and now the ones that became more powerful (humans)are distroying the less skillful ones. To conclude, I would like to add that in my belive a stronger law should be created to protectanimals from cruel human beings and their companies that see them as comercial products, and try to manipulate them as such. The day will come, in which we are going to feel shameful for killing such an amazing community.
The controversy about animal rights is never going to end. Many organizations fight each year to stop the brutal treatments that these animals are receiving every day by humans. Tom Reagan said in his speech at The Royal Institute of Great Britain in 1989 that if we are no capable of respecting the rights of other human beings then how do we expect to respect animal's rights. I strongly agree with him and also believe that animals are not any different than us. Like us, they feel and experience love, pain, hunger and humiliation. Why can't we adopt a cruelty free life style? At the end, we are all equal, we are all earthlings, meaning that we are mortal inhabitants of planet earth. We started as a big family of sentient beings and now the ones that became more powerful (humans)are distroying the less skillful ones. To conclude, I would like to add that in my belive a stronger law should be created to protectanimals from cruel human beings and their companies that see them as comercial products, and try to manipulate them as such. The day will come, in which we are going to feel shameful for killing such an amazing community.
Jane Valdes
P.S. Prof. Triff i think i posted my comment twice, cant you please the one with no name???? Thanks
I support the fact that animals should have rights. Though it may seem hypocritical there is a catch to my statement, I also believe that each set of species of animal have their own different set of rights. I wouldn’t expect a chicken which is killed by the millions every year to have the same rights as an endangered American bald eagle in which has a specific program to protect the animal. The same goes for a domesticated animal like a dog and an animal like a cow that is almost solely used for consumption; their rights will vary depending on species. But the problem is not with the animals that are protected but with those who are not. I would expect about the same treatment through out all farm animals used for consumption, and I agree with factory farming only if they follow the “Farm Animal Welfare Council” in UK which expresses its policy in five freedoms: from hunger & thirst; from discomfort; from pain, injury or disease; to express normal behavior; from fear and distress. If all these policies are followed by in factory farms, it would fulfill my believes of animal rights. Paul Rescaglio
Dashna Compere November 2, 2009 “Animal Rights” Animals rights is one of the many subjects that distresses me each time I think about it. It really question ones mindset due to the fact that, there’s not a solid ground to both positive and negative side of the argument. I personally despise the idea of animal abuse. However, I love Griot (fried pork), poul di (chicken), ragou pye bef (sauce with Beef feet), and pwason fri (fried fish) the list goes on. Am I wrong for eating the meats stated above? Or is eating meat a requirement for survival? I personally don’t think I am wrong for eating meat; nor do I think meat is a necessary condition for survival. Some of my choices are base on my culture. By now one should come to the conclusion that I am HAITIAN! On the other hand, I don’t think it’s fair to manipulate a being just because they differ from us. Yes I said it “animals are being”! They may not have the ability to express their feelings, but the can feel. Do you know how many people are engage in an abuse relationship, and cannot express their feelings to the other person? Does that distinguish them from being a being? I give credit to those who are vegetarian, but I know I myself can’t be one. So all in all, I am not against animal being use for food purposes, but they have to go through a reasonable process before death. Also, I don’t think it’s fair to kill them for clothing purposes- I suppose that is animal abuse.
The argument that all sentient beings deserve equal consideration as human beings is convincing. We as a population should never doubt that its impossible for the tables to be turned around. What if we were a cow, chicken, pig or other farmed animal being prepared to be slaughtered? What then? Your nervous system would more than likely go in full-throttle mode, causing your heart to beat uncontrollably fast. Knowing through science that animals have nervous systems, being able to experience fear, pain and more, we should at least let them die humanly before putting them on the shelves. An alternative way to farming the animals is by increasing the space available for the animals to roam around and providing them with a clean environment. In addition, gestation crates must be eliminated. It's unethical to keep pigs in 2 by 7 crates throughout most of their 4 to 5 year lifespan. For pork producers and veterinarians to say that sows will fight if housed in pens is understandible but at least have them segregated in an area large enough to roam around. And finally, farm animals should be put to sleep prior to their fate. This will allow them a non-painful death. We do it for deathrow inmates, so why not for animals?
It is not necessary to treat animals that way; I understand that is to make the products cheaper. However, at the end is more expensive than organic food, since all the chemicals they have will cause damages to our body. I had eaten chicken and pork from my grandmother’s farm and I can tell the difference, since is much better the taste and the appearance of the meet. Some people may think that animals do not need to enjoy life before they go to our table because anyway they are going to die, but I think they should have the right to live a normal and happy life without been torture. Although persons and animals are not equal, we all were created by God and we all deserve respect. If we give animals the rights they deserve, we are not just given happiness to animal but also to ourselves. Just remember we are what we eat.
Not only the farmers but also the medicine industry has been playing with the animal rights for many years. The medicine industry may have a little reasonable point of view by helping the health of people testing in animals. However, why don’t they learn about the health in a humans testing in humans? Why they have to play with the life of an animal? Are they meant to be less when we are talking about living a good life? I believe that it still not right. No matter if this can help humans. However they society is good about it because in one or another way they are meant to be dead. Meanwhile, the roll of the farmers is the worst. They inject and make the animal get bigger and sick just to make money, not even good for the health of the society, just for money. Have you seen a little child fat because he is just eating the food injected with hormones? This is the worst scenario. They not only damage the life of the poor animals they also are ruing the life of all us and our children just because they get rich in many ways. The food that make damages and over weight in society ,the cure for the diseases made by the food and all the fat and stimulants to get slim that are for sale to the society, the best business ever. They have the problem and also the solution for a circular way of manipulating the society. And everything stars in the way they treat our poor animals. Just think about it and see if someone is winning in this circle, the medicine industry can be wrong but the farmers are just committing crimes to all of us in our face. What can you do for this?
The issues that have arisen with regards to animal rights come down how animals are treated for the benefits of humans. Animals have continued to get massacred for different reasons that don't seem fair at all. For example, recently there have been cases of horses getting slaughtered locally. This sort of behavior is inexcusable and should carry out a severe consequence. Another issue is how we kill the animal for food consumption. Since I only eat kosher food, I am strongly behind killing the animal in a dignified way. The way humans are murdering these animals is disgusting. We need to adopt new ways of putting these animals out of their misery and not letting them suffer. Animals are just like humans and they deserve respect.
26 comments:
It is not the need for pork or beef that is the problem, rather it’s the way the animals live their lives and how they are treated. I am very much for animal rights. My cousin showed me what I assume was a radical undercover video from PETA about the methods that animals are killed, de-beaked, and have their horns clipped. Pigs as well as cows were strung upside down and beaten to death with baseball bats, some were skinned alive. I understand that , economically, there is a high demand for dairy products and red meat, however, this savagery is not needed. A simple way for killing is using a guillotine, its not difficult to build nor expensive, and the cleanup I’m sure is about the same as it would be if u beat the animal to a pulp. The point is, there must be a humane way to kill an animal. Civilization has had centuries of rituals and sacrificial killings that are much less painful than what we do now in our time.
Marco Muscillo
If it were left up to me,all animals would be treated fairly before being sacrificed to feed me and my family. Animals should have the right to live a joyous life, during co- habitation before they are slaughtered. They shouldn't have to be susceptible to being injected with antibiotics, pesticides, or growth hormones at the hands of factory farms,just to make them larger and more plump for human consumption. Animals such as chickens,pigs,turkeys,and cowsshouldn't be held in small cages with thousands of other animals just like them, with their massive bodies squeezing the other animals together like balls,to the point where they're clawing and pecking each other to death.Animals should have rights just like humans, they should be able to roam the farm grounds freely, without any constraint, they should have plentiful amounts of greens and leaves to eat just as they would have if they were free, and they shouldn't be tortured or held in confinement at factory farms,just so they can save money.We as humans don't understand the importance of what animals go through on a day to day basis just so that we have plenty to eat. Just like leading scientists have said, "it is impossible to know when an animal is suffering,"so why don't we become their voices, and stand up for their rights, to be lively and happy animals before they're consumed by us.Why don't we let those animals that are sacrificed for us live just as happy as we do before they die to feed our families.
Animal rights is definitely a tough subject. The people who are submitting the animals to abuse are doing it for financial reasons. It is much more profitable to treat the animals as a product than a living organism. They do not see the issue with all the wrong committed to the live stock and other animals used for food. The main problem is when these practices are used on endangered species of animal (such as turtles in Asia) where they are not farmed but caught from the wild and put in horrible conditions until they are sold for food. Stricter living conditions should be forced upon our standards here in the US, while the stricter policies for Asia's wildlife should be used to preserve them for future generations. Hopefully these suggestions will become a reality and the rights of animals fully be understood and respected.
Animal rights are of vital importance because, although animals are not human they should be treated with equal respect. The reason for this is that animals are persons. As discussed in class, we came to the conclusion that being a human being was not a necessary nor a sufficient condition for being a person. An animal is considered a person because they have consciousness, autonomy [intentionality], and sentience [ability to feel emotions, such as pain]. Although I'm not a vegetarian, I do believe that animals should be given respect before being killed. For instance, they should be given an appropriate living standards before dieing.
-Rebecca Vergara
p.s. Professor Triff, my earlier blog post was September 18 with the same alias, luveverg. Thanks.
Animal rights is a very important topic. Most people treat animal unfairly because they perceive animals as not being humans. I believe we should treat animals as they were humans. These creatures feel pain just like we do; when we torture them, we can see that they react just like we do when we are in pain. It’s true that they cannot speak to express their feeling, but we can understand their nonverbal communication. Back in my country, I witnessed people beating dogs and cats to death, and it is actually sad to hear those poor animals screaming with pain.I think it is not right to treat animals with such brutality. They are very useful in our society. We consume them; they are our friends; we should treat them fairly. I understand that we need them to eat; however, that is not a reason to treat them badly. We must kill an animal in order to eat it, but the savagery is not needed. Let’s treat the animals fairly before consumption; they deserve it.
Olivia Braidot says
Animal cruelty is a felony. Remember the recent case of Tyler Weinman, the teenager accused of killing and mutilating 19 pet cats right here in Miami. Weinman was charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty with intent to harm and kill. Actually, he faces up to 158 years in prison if convicted of all count. Many of the felines were gutted and skinned. Others were found drained of blood and missing limbs. Tyler was even charged with misdemeanor counts of improperly disposing the bodies! Now, my point is: Aren’t animals treated just like that in slaughterhouses and factory farms when they are killed aren’t animal when they are killed by humans/employees? Think thoroughly. From my point of view, Tyler Weinman is a mere child compared to the high executives who approve massive animal executions. However, the boy was judged as a killer for the way he killed the pets. But… who judges the blue-collar butchers who make millions of dollars mutilating animals for human consumption?
What’s the meaning of produce movies such as “Lassie” and “Babe the pig” if we torture animals instead of giving them an honorable death? I don’t want to sound radical but we humans are hypocrites. I agree that animals are our food. I only disagree with the way they are raised and killed. Although we (the buyers) don’t directly killed the animals for human consumption, we are accomplices for doing nothing against that crime, and for consuming products that were killed in a way that causes us great unhappiness. Let’s promote the least amount of suffering by stopping buying products who suffer at the time they die.
Animals are members of our community. Although they aren’t human being, they feel pain. They have nerves. Remember we were monkeys before. Suppose that in the next thousand of years the present-day animals evolve to superior humans beings compared to us (it could happen). Suppose now that those “superior humans being”, who were animals before (the same animals we used to abuse: cows, pigs, chickens etc), consider us inferior human being and they start to see us as food. And to complicate the issue, let say those animals who are now superior human being due to their evolution, in order to save money and feed the growing population, killed us in a painful way: 1) they skin us alive 2) They raise us in small cages where we have to be crouch down in order to fix 3) They feed us with hormones and inject us preservatives. Don’t we deserve a better life? In my opinion, until my time has come, I prefer to live a “natural” life. A less painful way of being killed would be a shot in my head or give me a lethal injection.
In my opinion, all animals should have the same rights we do and they should not be mistreated and put to suffer just so that we can have a piece of meat on our plates every now and then. The meat industry in this country over kills animals creating more supply than demand. The way these animals are killed is the most inhuman way you could ever imagine. They are hung by their feet and they slice their throat just because according to them it keeps the meat tastier and fresher. They step on baby pigs so they can’t move and then they stab them and let them scream and bleed to death. I don’t believe that this is right, why cause so much pain to a defenseless creature, they don’t realize that they are living beings who scream when they feel pain and who suffer because of the conditions they are put in. No animal should go through the pain the animal industry enforces on them.
janet portuondo
Marla Forest
Roger Scruton, an English conservative philosopher, suggests that because animals are unable to enter into a social contract or make moral choices, therefore they cannot be regarded as possessors of rights. In the other hand, Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher argued that humans have duties only toward other humans, and that "cruelty to animals is contrary to man's duty to himself, because it deadens in him the feeling of sympathy for their sufferings, and thus a natural tendency that is very useful to morality in relation to other humans is weakened." I believe animals have a right, just as human beings do, to be free from pain and suffering. We will always know whether an animal is suffering or not, even though they don't speak, they do communicate with one another, and even with humans through behaviors. Also, we all know in the different levels of the food chain, one will eat or be eaten; but animals deserve a better life before they are sacrifice for human consumption. It is even the best possible solution for us as consumers, because the meat of an animal that has not sufferer is will not be the same as the meat of an animal that has suffer and has grow in very bad conditions.
There are many organization groups dedicated to the rights of animal, claiming they should be viewed as persons and not properties. I believe just like many other classmates that animal should have a more moral living standard before slaughtered and consumed. As a matter of a fact, Peter Singer’s argument in which he defends the animal rights on the notion that they can feel pain, can be disputed in various perspective ways. Although animals aren’t able to speak and say “ I am in pain” doesn’t necessarily mean its not in pain because they can show it in behaviorism. Animals can show pain in many different ways just like any person could, they differ in characteristics and they way they act(ex. Lewis Pained Madman C/E). Furthermore, imagine a young child who is never exposed to these bizarre animal slaughter, what can they change when they have no clue on what is going on. Meanwhile while we are putting these subject matters aside for anyreasons(cheaper food, not enough farm space or we don’t care), nothing is being done for these animals and millions of them are dying everyday without any moral standard form of living.
-Carlos Hernandez
Animal rights are a debated topic because it refers to the idea whether animals should have the rights as humans. In my opinion, animals have the right to live and have the right to have their home/habitat. The basic right that requires for animals is allowing them to live the way they should. Questions arise due to this topic because we try to figure out "do animals have rights"? And what do we understand when it comes to the phrase of animal rights. Animals rights is a very important concept because not to many people know what is going on when animals are being used for purposes such as food, clothing, recreation, medical purposes and experiments. Doing these things upon animals intrudes their freedom and the way of life. As for factory farming it is very unethical and unnecessary because animals are constantly suffering. Factory farming is inhumane because the treatment of animals as to where farmers slaughter and raise animals in such cruel acts and profits from the mistreatment of animals. I believe that animals should be treated fairly because they deserve it in any way possible and should not have to go through any torture.
To me animals right is a very complicated topic. The way that animals are raised and die, are generally not of interest of humanes.
For what I found out to write this coment, animals soffer from the day they are born until the day when their death comes, which is in a painful, and dishumane way.
It makes me feel bad to be part of this society were we do not worry about how those aniamals are treated before they come to our tables.
I believe that animal rights should be seen with more attention from those who consume meat. I actually strongly agree that anyone that consumes meat, start to think before eat it. And whatever you can make a change in your grocery list, consuming more stuff that are alive, such as vegetables and fruits.
I'm not trying to encourage anyone to became and vegetarian, but instead to check on what they consume, to make simple changes for their own healthy. And at the same time to help those poor inocente animals to have a better life.
I believe that animals should have rights to inhabit a proper living condition especially when used for consuming purposes because in the long run it affects the ones who eat it. The idea of the factory farming is inhumane because it’ cruel to animals. Selfishly speaking if the animal is kept in such conditions (animal waste and the potential for dead animals in a small space) it may produce an unhealthy product to consume. Although the money that is saved by cramming all these animals into small spaces much be a bundle, however the health risks of hormones injected to these animals and later into our bodies is not worth the money. Recently a message from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association American cattle producers was sent out saying “McDonald's claims that there is not enough beef in the USA to support their restaurants. Well, we know that is not so. Our opinion is they are looking to save money at our expense.” Why is this bad? All Americans that sell cows at a livestock auction barn had to sign a paper stating that we do NOT EVER feed our cows any part of another cow. South Americans are not required to do this as of yet. It is definitely crucial to announce animals should have rights to a proper living condition because it affects us closer to home than we might have ever expected.
First, I must say that I am against animal abuse. Animals share our same basic right of being treated fairly since they have all the necessary characteristics to be considered persons. Recent experiments with chimps, dolphins, and many other animals, have shown that they have self-consciousness and the ability to feel pain and other emotions. However, in that point we are only looking at the moral perspective of animal farming. In the other side we have the economical implications that have lead to their deplorable life conditions. For example, imagine a family of 4 persons, with a low income, having deciding between the comparatively expensive “organic” food and the cheap “ball of chicken”. We can be the most altruistic and humane person in the world, but feeding our children will be our first priority. Certainly, the economic implications just apply in the case of food production. Experimenting aggressively with animals, or killing them to obtain their furs, are not things necessary to our survival. Creating an idealistic policy without other important changes will lead to nothing. The improvement of the life conditions of these animals must be supported by educating people in their eating habits and their moral conceptions. The way we treat our animals is a reflection of our education and greatness. But, what can we expect from beings that treat individuals of their own kind as “animals”?
Animal Rights vs. Fashion
More than 30 million animals are killed each year only to use their furs. This is alarming but even worst is the way that the animals are treated in the process of getting the fur from them. In the year of 2005 there was an undercover investigation in china’s fur farms. What they found was horrible; animals were been skinned alive. From dogs and cats to foxes and minks, animals were kept in small cages. Some of them had visible wounds and were starving and dehydrated. After this, they were hang and skinned alive. There is a video were you could see the desperation of the animals to escape while their fur is being ripped out of their bodies. These animals are still alive for 5 to ten minutes after the horrible process. Do we really have the right to do this? How can people be so cruel just for the profits they get? I’m definitely against this kind of abuse, is horrible how this animals go trough this agony just for some people to look “good”.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” —Mahatma Gandhi
ALEJANDRA CARTAGENA
I’ve always seen the consumption of certain animals by human as natural as leaves falling from a tree or as animals eat each other in the wild; It’s all part of the food chain. Despite that being said, the cruelty and the inhumane conditions the animal are put under by these factory farms, is just flat out immoral. Profiteering food companies obviously don’t care about the well fare of these animals. Holding them in massive numbers, kept indoors at high densities, de-beaking the chickens, infesting them with anti-microbial agents, vitamin supplements and growth hormones that are certainly unhealthy to the animals and the consumers. Like Tom Regan said, “Animals are subjects-of-a-life.” Therefor they are bearers of rights. There ability to feel pain, fear and distress, indicates that they are aware of their torturing, therefor, they are suffering. Like Professor Triff pointed out, “if there were a species superior to us living on earth and we happened to fall prey to them, so they decided to put us in farm factories, just as food companies do to the animals, would that be right. This same scenario applying to animals is just as unethical. That’s why I oppose farm factories and feel that their treatment towards the animals is immoral.
I believe, as well as many others do, that animals should have their rights to have, and/or have led, a peaceful life. The red meat, beef, poultry, and other types of food from animals that we eat shouldn't be slaughtered as they are. I mean, I'm sure the healthier the animal goes about its life before it dies the better the taste, or at least not experimented with just so the word "scarce" wouldn't have its place for us carnivores. Dog fights, cock fights (lol), anything that has to do with getting animals to fight and hurt each other is obviously wrong. It's also as well a huge part in animal cruelty that is condemned. It's been pretty inevitable to have argued against the fact that too many believe that animal cruelty also lives behind those walls where the animals we eat are slaughtered to death and are kept in such inhumane ways to live, as if they were human, yet technically could be considered persons because of suffered pain. All in all, I'm all in favor of what the guy below me has concluded his blog with. Let's find a better way to put our precious food to rest for the sake of these 'bearers of rights' and their very much shared pain just like us humans.
-Josh Castillo
I meant to agree with Marco M*
I believe that animals should have better rights to living conditions and should be given the opportunity to have a quick and mostly painless death. As long as there are humans alive, there will be someone who craves meat, and there will always be someone to make sure that person has meat to eat. But the manner that is gone about in getting that meat is outright barbaric. While there are individuals in society today that do terrible things to their own species, much less an animal, we live in a civilized society and such horrid behavior, be it from an individual or an industry, shouldn’t be tolerated. The problem is that as long as there are people who will pay for cheaply priced, cheap quality meat, this issue will continue and animals will continue to be kept in these terrible conditions where they are killed in a very painful and brutal manor, dismembered, tortured and so on. I think that to improve upon these things and to get on the road of animals having better rights despite their not being able to speak up for themselves, we should first begin to change the factories themselves, but this can be a double edged sword. If we expand the land of the factories, we will be destroying environment, thereby tampering with the habitats of other wildlife. But we can make restrictions to things such as how many animals one factory is to house, the caging of these animals in reference to how many occupy one space in the cages, not cutting off their body parts while they are alive, keeping their living arrangements clean, therefore eliminating the need for things like antibiotics and hormones, because we absorb what we eat. Poisoning these animals with unnecessary hormones is arguably the same as poisoning a human. I think it would be better if we were to create a temporary neural suppressant (so that the effects will end when the life of the animal ends so that it would not spread to humans after consumption) for the animals, so that they will have a more painless death.
~Mercedes Warren
The controversy about animal rights is never going to end. Many organizations fight each year to stop the brutal treatments that these animals are receiving every day by humans. Tom Reagan said in his speech at The Royal Institute of Great Britain in 1989 that if we are no capable of respecting the rights of other human beings then how do we spect to respect animal's rights. I strongly agree with him and also believe that animals are not any different than us. Like us, they feel and experience love, pain, hunger and humiliation. Why can't we adopt a cruelty free life style? At the end, we are all equal, we are all earthlings, meaning that we are mortal inhabitants of planet earth. We started as a big family of sentient beings and now the ones that became more powerful (humans)are distroying the less skillful ones. To conclude, I would like to add that in my belive a stronger law should be created to protectanimals from cruel human beings and their companies that see them as comercial products, and try to manipulate them as such. The day will come, in which we are going to feel shameful for killing such an amazing community.
The controversy about animal rights is never going to end. Many organizations fight each year to stop the brutal treatments that these animals are receiving every day by humans. Tom Reagan said in his speech at The Royal Institute of Great Britain in 1989 that if we are no capable of respecting the rights of other human beings then how do we expect to respect animal's rights. I strongly agree with him and also believe that animals are not any different than us. Like us, they feel and experience love, pain, hunger and humiliation. Why can't we adopt a cruelty free life style? At the end, we are all equal, we are all earthlings, meaning that we are mortal inhabitants of planet earth. We started as a big family of sentient beings and now the ones that became more powerful (humans)are distroying the less skillful ones. To conclude, I would like to add that in my belive a stronger law should be created to protectanimals from cruel human beings and their companies that see them as comercial products, and try to manipulate them as such. The day will come, in which we are going to feel shameful for killing such an amazing community.
Jane Valdes
P.S. Prof. Triff i think i posted my comment twice, cant you please the one with no name????
Thanks
I support the fact that animals should have rights. Though it may seem hypocritical there is a catch to my statement, I also believe that each set of species of animal have their own different set of rights. I wouldn’t expect a chicken which is killed by the millions every year to have the same rights as an endangered American bald eagle in which has a specific program to protect the animal. The same goes for a domesticated animal like a dog and an animal like a cow that is almost solely used for consumption; their rights will vary depending on species. But the problem is not with the animals that are protected but with those who are not. I would expect about the same treatment through out all farm animals used for consumption, and I agree with factory farming only if they follow the “Farm Animal Welfare Council” in UK which expresses its policy in five freedoms: from hunger & thirst; from discomfort; from pain, injury or disease; to express normal behavior; from fear and distress. If all these policies are followed by in factory farms, it would fulfill my believes of animal rights.
Paul Rescaglio
Dashna Compere
November 2, 2009
“Animal Rights”
Animals rights is one of the many subjects that distresses me each time I think about it. It really question ones mindset due to the fact that, there’s not a solid ground to both positive and negative side of the argument. I personally despise the idea of animal abuse. However, I love Griot (fried pork), poul di (chicken), ragou pye bef (sauce with Beef feet), and pwason fri (fried fish) the list goes on. Am I wrong for eating the meats stated above? Or is eating meat a requirement for survival? I personally don’t think I am wrong for eating meat; nor do I think meat is a necessary condition for survival. Some of my choices are base on my culture. By now one should come to the conclusion that I am HAITIAN! On the other hand, I don’t think it’s fair to manipulate a being just because they differ from us. Yes I said it “animals are being”! They may not have the ability to express their feelings, but the can feel. Do you know how many people are engage in an abuse relationship, and cannot express their feelings to the other person? Does that distinguish them from being a being? I give credit to those who are vegetarian, but I know I myself can’t be one. So all in all, I am not against animal being use for food purposes, but they have to go through a reasonable process before death. Also, I don’t think it’s fair to kill them for clothing purposes- I suppose that is animal abuse.
Dashna Compere.
The argument that all sentient beings deserve equal consideration as human beings is convincing. We as a population should never doubt that its impossible for the tables to be turned around. What if we were a cow, chicken, pig or other farmed animal being prepared to be slaughtered? What then? Your nervous system would more than likely go in full-throttle mode, causing your heart to beat uncontrollably fast. Knowing through science that animals have nervous systems, being able to experience fear, pain and more, we should at least let them die humanly before putting them on the shelves. An alternative way to farming the animals is by increasing the space available for the animals to roam around and providing them with a clean environment. In addition, gestation crates must be eliminated. It's unethical to keep pigs in 2 by 7 crates throughout most of their 4 to 5 year lifespan. For pork producers and veterinarians to say that sows will fight if housed in pens is understandible but at least have them segregated in an area large enough to roam around. And finally, farm animals should be put to sleep prior to their fate. This will allow them a non-painful death. We do it for deathrow inmates, so why not for animals?
It is not necessary to treat animals that way; I understand that is to make the products cheaper. However, at the end is more expensive than organic food, since all the chemicals they have will cause damages to our body. I had eaten chicken and pork from my grandmother’s farm and I can tell the difference, since is much better the taste and the appearance of the meet. Some people may think that animals do not need to enjoy life before they go to our table because anyway they are going to die, but I think they should have the right to live a normal and happy life without been torture. Although persons and animals are not equal, we all were created by God and we all deserve respect. If we give animals the rights they deserve, we are not just given happiness to animal but also to ourselves. Just remember we are what we eat.
Maria Cecilia Rodriguez
Not only the farmers but also the medicine industry has been playing with the animal rights for many years. The medicine industry may have a little reasonable point of view by helping the health of people testing in animals. However, why don’t they learn about the health in a humans testing in humans? Why they have to play with the life of an animal? Are they meant to be less when we are talking about living a good life? I believe that it still not right. No matter if this can help humans. However they society is good about it because in one or another way they are meant to be dead. Meanwhile, the roll of the farmers is the worst. They inject and make the animal get bigger and sick just to make money, not even good for the health of the society, just for money. Have you seen a little child fat because he is just eating the food injected with hormones? This is the worst scenario. They not only damage the life of the poor animals they also are ruing the life of all us and our children just because they get rich in many ways. The food that make damages and over weight in society ,the cure for the diseases made by the food and all the fat and stimulants to get slim that are for sale to the society, the best business ever. They have the problem and also the solution for a circular way of manipulating the society. And everything stars in the way they treat our poor animals. Just think about it and see if someone is winning in this circle, the medicine industry can be wrong but the farmers are just committing crimes to all of us in our face. What can you do for this?
The issues that have arisen with regards to animal rights come down how animals are treated for the benefits of humans. Animals have continued to get massacred for different reasons that don't seem fair at all. For example, recently there have been cases of horses getting slaughtered locally. This sort of behavior is inexcusable and should carry out a severe consequence. Another issue is how we kill the animal for food consumption. Since I only eat kosher food, I am strongly behind killing the animal in a dignified way. The way humans are murdering these animals is disgusting. We need to adopt new ways of putting these animals out of their misery and not letting them suffer. Animals are just like humans and they deserve respect.
Isaac Saka
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