Catchphrases

Most people love animals. They adore how cute they are. They feel sad when they see a dead animal that has been hit by a car (except for the pestering ones). Sure, we treat our pets as if they were a human child or sibling. Sure, we talk to them as if they can understand us as if they spoke our language. Nevertheless, the animals we love so much are not humans. Many people want animals to have the same rights as humans. This animal rights craze began to emerge in the late 1970s and 1980s (Francione).  Animals do not need the same legal rights as humans.

It would be a waste for animals to have the same legal rights as humans because they could not put our rights to a good purpose. What would a dog do with the freedom of speech? What would a cat do with “the right to bear arms (Bill of Rights)?” What would a lion do with “the right to a fair trial (Bill of Rights)?” These are only three of the 27 amendments that protect humans. Most would agree that no animal could ever have to use these rights. One might consider a dog barking its way of utilizing the right to freedom of speech. And true, barking is a dog’s way to communicate–its primary way of communication. Barking comes natural to a dog and is something that the animal already does. Imagine a cat with a gun. Funny mind picture, isn’t it? The cat would just rub up against the gun; it would not know how to use the weapon. If a cat felt threatened, it would naturally arch its back and hiss.  A lion could not and would not ever attend court. Animals act on instinct. Their instinct to kill does not make them murders to be put on death row; killing is how most animals survive.  Not only would granting animals the same rights be pointless, but it could hinder our knowledge about medicine. If animals had the rights that volunteers have, we could not be as informed as we are. According to the American Psychological Association, volunteers have the right to back out of a study or experiment at any given time (Huffman, 21).  Humans are selfish; most of us are not willing to risk our health to advance our knowledge. If we attempted to run tests on animals with the right to back out, we would not have very many animals to run tests on. However, ”animal care committees are established to ensure proper treatment of research animals” (Huffman 22). There are people to check the welfare of the animals we test on. The animals that we test on are helping relieve pain for humans. Wouldn’t you rather a rat be tested on than a loved one?

 All in all, many of us may love animals as if they were humans or even more than humans. However, our love does not make them humans. The rights we have are rights we need. If animals were to be granted the same rights, it would not help them in many ways. If animals had the ability to use voluntary participation rights, we would not have animals to perform tests on.