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 Home > News and alerts > You are here: Animal wrongs: A look at the animal rights argument Animal wrongs: A look at the animal rights argument (7/19/2002) Animal rights. The
concept almost seems to make sense the first time that you hear it.
Certainly, we all believe that animals should have the right to be free
of cruelty inflicted by a depraved human. But, according to
true believers, simple protection of animals from cruelty is not the aim
of the animal rights movement. The ultimate goal is to extend legal
rights to animals – the same rights afforded to you and me under state
and federal laws. Laughable? It may be
good fodder for a chuckle among sportsmen around the campfire, but a
growing segment of the public is buying into the concept of ‘animal
rights.’ A decade ago, The American Bar Association established a committee on animal rights law. Prestigious law firms in Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other major cities are taking on animal rights cases as part of pro bono (free!) programs. Twenty-five universities, nationwide, offer courses on animal rights. Extend legal rights to animals? Allow them to sue humans for alleged pain and suffering? But the law sees animals as property, doesn’t it? Animals have no legal standing. Only the animal’s owner can bring suit. Right? Enter Steve Wise,
Harvard Law School lecturer and animal rights advocate. He has written a
book (Drawing the Line: Science and The Case for Animal Rights) and is
now on a nationwide lecture tour, touting a "common sense"
approach to the extension of legal rights to animals. Certainly, most
people believe that animals that have no control over their own
behavior, and that they have no "sense of self," or of the
past or future and can experience the mental pain and suffering that is
inherent to humans under duress. Right? Wise says that
certain animals, because of their higher levels of intelligence, which
in some cases approximates that of human intelligence, do have the
ability to comprehend themselves and understand the concept of the
future and the past. Among these animals are dolphins, chimpanzees,
orangutans and gorillas. Koko, the research
gorilla famous for communicating through sign language, for instance,
displayed the ability to recognize herself in a mirror, was able to
communicate memories of her "childhood" in Africa and to
demonstrate an appreciation of the concept of the future. "I argue the worst thing we can do to an autonomous being is to violate their physical integrity and use them for medical research or to eat," Wise said. Interesting point,
Steve, but you’re forgetting one thing. Several of the great apes
engage in infanticide as a regular course of their existence,
particularly when habitat becomes stressed. Animals are happy to eat
other animals, including chimpanzees, which are notorious hunters of
monkeys. Even the most intelligent animals behave like… well, animals,
when food, mating rights or territory is at stake. What about morality, Steve? Isn’t what separates humans from animals our ability to live according to a societal standard of right and wrong? And what about
responsibility? When I learned to drive, my parents explained to me that
with rights comes responsibilities or there would be no car keys on
Saturday night. Adulthood has taught me - and all of us - that lesson
time and again. What responsibility would an animal rights State of
Utopia impose on an animal? When the male chimpanzee consorts with a new
female, can his prior mate sue him for adultery? When a silverback
gorilla commandeers his nephew’s dinner, can the little guy press
criminal charges of theft? Get real! What Steve Wise
really teaches is that he and the animal rights movement, let alone the
animals themselves, have no concept of morality or responsibility.
Animal rights is a morally bankrupt philosophy that would be an absolute
scream if it weren’t for the throng of media types, liberal toadies
and pathetically gullible members of the public that seem to hang on the
movement’s every word. I’ll take responsibility every time. Dad, can I borrow the car keys? CopyrightÓ U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance- www.ussportsmen.org
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