A Philosophical Appraisal of the Rights Theory to the Killing and Modifying of Animals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/Keywords:
Rights Theory, Animal Rights, Animal AgricultureAbstract
Barring some exceptions, the mainstream Western culture has hardly shown any respect to, and compassion for, the animal kingdom. The religious as well as secular Western traditions have, on the contrary, inspired people to use the nature at will, along with nonhuman animals, in order to satisfy their needs or choices, be they basic or non-basic. Underlying this has been anthropocentric speciesism and human chauvinism. This outlook may be characterized in Biblical terms as dominionism, which considers nature as limitless store-house of resources for us. This biased nature of mankind to subdue and exploit nature and animals by any means possible for economic benefits has been extended to Animal Agriculture. Many animals suffer terribly under intensive farming, and this is of no benefit to the animals in any way. The moral problem regarding the use of animals as resources and thus subjecting them to unbearable suffering lies with the fact that animals are capable of feeling pleasure and suffer (not merely feeling pain) like humans. From the perspective of Rights Theory, human-animals have a moral obligation not to rearnon-human-animals if the latter’s rights will be violated. From the perspective of the Rights Theory, this paper argues that animals have a right not to be killed, not to be made to suffer, through agricultural practices.
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