Animal Rights - a critical study

Do animals have rights similar to humans? In the philosophical debate concerning this question there have been two major ethical approaches. One of them is Peter Singer’s utilitarian theory, and the other is Tom Regan’s theory of animal rights. In this work these arguments for animal rights are extensively presented and discussed. Contrary to Singer and Regan, it is argued that there are ethically relevant biological distinctions between non-human animals and all humans. Although there are still good moral reasons for treating animals in a humane way, the main arguments for claiming that animals have rights equal to humans do not hold water. Militant animal rights activists have no moral ground for their actions.Reprinted with permission from: The Libertarian Alliance Suite 35, 2 Landsdowne Row, Mayfair, London W1J 6HL England E-mail: director@libertarian.co.uk www.libertarian.co.uk Philosophical Notes No. 62, 2001 Original title: Djur är inte människor, Timbro förlag, Stockholm 1997 © Ingemar Nordi