Animal Rights PDF
Animal Rights PDF
Rights
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Affirmative Action
Amateur Athletics
American Military Policy
Animal Rights
Capital Punishment
Election Reform
Freedom of Speech
Gun Control
Immigration Policy
Legalizing Marijuana
Mandatory Military Service
Mental Health Reform
Physician-Assisted Suicide
Religion in Public Schools
Rights of Students
Search and Seizure
Smoking Bans
The Right to Privacy
Trial of Juveniles as Adults
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Animal
Rights
Philadelphia
Kevin Hile
SERIES CONSULTING EDITOR
Alan Marzilli, M.A., J.D.
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CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS
VP, NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION Kim Shinners
CREATIVE MANAGER Takeshi Takahashi
MANUFACTURING MANAGER Diann Grasse
Staff for ANIMAL RIGHTS
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Lee Marcott
SENIOR EDITOR Tara Koellhoffer
PRODUCTION EDITOR Megan Emery
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Noelle Nardone
SERIES AND COVER DESIGNER Keith Trego
LAYOUT 21st Century Publishing and Communications, Inc.
2004 by Chelsea House Publishers,
a subsidiary of Haights Cross Communications. All rights reserved.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
http://www.chelseahouse.com
First Printing
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hile, Kevin.
Animal rights/by Kevin Hile.
p. cm.(Point-counterpoint)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7910-7922-8
1. Animal rightsJuvenile literature. [1. Animal rights.] I. Title.
II. Point-counterpoint (Philadelphia, Pa.)
HV4708.H55 2003
179'.3dc22
2003023905
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Introduction 6
Authors Note 10
The Debate Over Animal Rights 12
Animals Are Worthy of
Certain Rights 26
Animals Are Not Worthy of
Rights Like Those of Humans 40
Animals Should Not Be Used
in Medical Research 52
Animals Serve a Useful Purpose
in Medical Research 70
Animals Should Not Be Used
for Food and Clothing 84
Animals Should Be Used for
Food and Clothing 100
Animals Should Not Be Used
for Entertainment 116
No Harm Is Done When Animals
Are Used for Entertainment 132
The Debate Continues 148
Notes 160
Resources 165
Elements of the Argument 172
Appendix: Beginning Legal Research 176
Index 180
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Introduction
Alan Marzilli, M.A., J.D.
Durham, North Carolina
The debates presented in POINT/COUNTERPOINT are among the
most interesting and controversial in contemporary American
society, but studying them is more than an academic activity. They
affect every citizen; they are the issues that todays leaders debate
and tomorrows will decide. The reader may one day play a central
role in resolving them.
Why study both sides of the debate? Its possible that the
reader will not yet have formed any opinion at all on the subject
of this volumebut this is unlikely. It is more likely that the
reader will already hold an opinion, probably a strong one, and
very probably one formed without full exposure to the arguments
of the other side. It is rare to hear an argument presented in a
balanced way, and it is easy to form an opinion on too little
information; these books will help to fill in the informational
gaps that can never be avoided. More important, though, is the
practical function of the series: Skillful argumentation requires a
thorough knowledge of both sides though there are seldom
only two, and only by knowing what an opponent is likely to
assert can one form an articulate response.
Perhaps more important is that listening to the other side
sometimes helps one to see an opponents arguments in a more
human way. For example, Sister Helen Prejean, one of the nations
most visible opponents of capital punishment, has been deeply
affected by her interactions with the families of murder victims.
Seeing the families grief and pain, she understands much better
why people support the death penalty, and she is able to carry out
her advocacy with a greater sensitivity to the needs and beliefs of
those who do not agree with her. Her relativism, in turn, lends
credibility to her work. Dismissing the other side of the argument
as totally without merit can be too easyit is far more useful to
understand the nature of the controversy and the reasons why the
issue defies resolution.
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The most controversial issues of all are often those that
center on a constitutional right. The Bill of Rights the first ten
amendments to the U.S. Constitutionspells out some of the
most fundamental rights that distinguish the governmental
system of the United States from those that allow fewer (or other)
freedoms. But the sparsely worded document is open to inter-
pretation, and clauses of only a few words are often at the heart
of national debates. The Bill of Rights was meant to protect
individual liberties; but the needs of some individuals clash with
those of society as a whole, and when this happens someone has
to decide where to draw the line. Thus the Constitution becomes
a battleground between the rights of individuals to do as they
please and the responsibility of the government to protect its
citizens. The First Amendments guarantee of freedom of
speech, for example, leads to a number of difficult questions.
Some forms of expression, such as burning an American flag, lead
to public outragebut nevertheless are said to be protected by
the First Amendment. Other types of expression that most people
find objectionable, such as sexually explicit material involving
children, are not protected because they are considered harmful.
The question is not only where to draw the line, but how to do
this without infringing on the personal liberties on which the
United States was built.
The Bill of Rights raises many other questions about indi-
vidual rights and the societal good. Is a prayer before a high
school football game an establishment of religion prohibited by
the First Amendment? Does the Second Amendments promise
of the right to bear arms include concealed handguns? Is
stopping and frisking someone standing on a corner known to be
frequented by drug dealers a form of unreasonable search and
seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment? Although the
nine-member U.S. Supreme Court has the ultimate authority
in interpreting the Constitution, its answers do not always
satisfy the public. When a group of nine peoplesometimes by a
five-to-four vote makes a decision that affects the lives of
INTRODUCTION 7
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hundreds of millions, public outcry can be expected. And the
composition of the Court does change over time, so even a
landmark decision is not guaranteed to stand forever. The limits
of constitutional protection are always in flux.
These issues make headlines, divide courts, and decide
elections. They are the questions most worthy of national debate,
and this series aims to cover them as thoroughly as possible.
Each volume sets out some of the key arguments surrounding a
particular issue, even some views that most people consider
extreme or radical but presents a balanced perspective on the
issue. Excerpts from the relevant laws and judicial opinions and
references to central concepts, source material, and advocacy
groups help the reader to explore the issues even further and to
read the letter of the law just as the legislatures and the courts
have established it.
It may seem that some debates such as those over capital
punishment and abortion, debates with a strong moral component
will never be resolved. But American history offers numerous
examples of controversies that once seemed insurmountable but
now are effectively settled, even if only on the surface. Abolitionists
met with widespread resistance to their efforts to end slavery,
and the controversy over that issue threatened to cleave the
nation in two; but today public debate over the merits of slavery
would be unthinkable, though racial inequalities still plague the
nation. Similarly unthinkable at one time was suffrage for women
and minorities, but this is now a matter of course. Distributing
information about contraception once was a crime. Societies
change, and attitudes change, and new questions of social justice
are raised constantly while the old ones fade into irrelevancy.
Whatever the root of the controversy, the books in POINT/
COUNTERPOINT seek to explain to the reader the origins of the
debate, the current state of the law, and the arguments on both
sides. The goal of the series is to inform the reader about the
issues facing not only American politicians, but all of the nations
citizens, and to encourage the reader to become more actively
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involved in resolving these debates, as a voter, a concerned citizen,
a journalist, an activist, or an elected official. Democracy is based
on education, and every voice counts so every opinion must be
an informed one.
Since the dawn of history, humankind has depended upon other
animals for survival: meat for food, fur for warmth, and labor for
transportation and agriculture. However, many people have begun
to view this relationship as one of exploitation, pointing out that
people can survive on a vegetarian diet and wear clothing made
of synthetic materials. Even worse, they say, are activities such as
circuses and hunting, which use animals for entertainment and
sport. At the same time, humans are coming up with new uses for
animals, such as for biomedical research, a use that has facilitated
some important discoveries. While many people deny that animals
should have any rights beyond protection from abuse, some
activists believe that animals should have many of the same rights as
people. This volume examines the conflict in viewpoints among
animal rights activists, people who support the traditional use of
animals for food and clothing, the animal entertainment industry,
and proponents of medical research on animals.
INTRODUCTION 9
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10
T
he subject of animal rights is multifarious. It encompasses disciplines
ranging from bioethics and politics to economics, religion, and the
law. While delving into the research for this book, I realized that it would
be impossible to write it in such a way that it would cover all the many
facets of the issue to everyones satisfaction. Therefore, the reader should
look to this publication as a good beginning overview on animal rights and
not the final word on the subject. Within these pages I have endeavored to
cover all of the central concepts that touch on animal rights; should the
reader wish to explore the subject further, I have provided a list of books
and organizations in the back of the book for further study.
Although there are, indeed, several other books that discuss the
modern animal rights movement, what makes this book particularly
unique is that it devotes much more attention to arguments against
animal rights than most of the other works Ive seen. It is my hope that
Animal Rights will therefore open readers eyes to the possibilities of both
sides of the issue. Armed with a more balanced perspective, readers will
be able to make better personal decisions about animal rights.
I would like to thank the following people for taking time out of their
busy schedules for the interviews published in Animal Rights: