Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare Key Point: The animal rights versus animal welfare debate challenges animal use in society and standards of animal care. C.2.1 Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Animal Wants  What are examples of animal wants?  Toys  Treats  Collars  Bed  Clothes  Bones Have students brainstorm a list of things they believe their pets might want. C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Animal Wants  Animal want: an item that an animal desires to have but that will not help the animal grow or stay alive C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Animal Rights  Protects an animal’s “wants.”  Believes that animals should not be exploited  Humanize animals: animals have the same rights as humans  Animals should not be used for the following:  Food  Clothing  Entertainment  Medical research  Product testing Animal Rights advocates believe that it is ethically and morally wrong for animals to be used for human purposes under any conditions. The believe animals are equal to humans. They reject the idea of Speciesism, which is the belief that use of animals by humans reflects a bias that humans are superior to animals. Speciesism is the idea that being human is a good enough reason for human animals to have greater moral rights than non-human animals. C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Animal Needs  What are examples of animal needs?  Food  Shelter  Water  Health care Have students brainstorm a list of things they believe their pets need. Health care could also include grooming. C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Animal Needs  Animal need: something useful or necessary for survival C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Animal Welfare  Protects an animal’s “needs.”  Believes that animals should be treated humanely  Proper housing  Nutrition  Disease prevention and treatment  Proper handling  Humane euthanasia and slaughter  Advocates that animals may be used for human purposes but should be treated with minimal discomfort C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Current Issues  Should animals be used for food?  Should animals be used for experimentation?  Should hunting and trapping be allowed? Give the students five minutes to brainstorm both sides of the argument for each current issue. C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Should animals be used for food?  Those in favor of Animal Rights believe the following:  Farming is inhumane, and it is unhealthy to eat meat. “Factory farming” causes severe mental, behavioral and health issues.  Modern farming only focuses upon profits, not welfare.  Those in favor of Animal Welfare believe the following:  Intensive operations: farmers increase profit through better breeding, feeding and management practices  Confinement systems: improve productivity by providing animals with a controlled environment Farmers are often believers in animal welfare, because if their animals were not healthy, the farmer would be losing profit. Intensive farming operations provide minimal stress upon the animal, which increases productivity. Confinement systems contain slotted floors, automatic feeding and watering systems and forced air ventilation. They are temperature controlled. C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Should animals be used for experimentation?  Those in favor of Animal Rights believe the following:  There are alternatives to not using animals.  Tests are not accurate and can have devastating effects on human health.  Those in favor of Animal Welfare believe the following:  Medical advancements are made because of animals  Animal products contribute to the health of people.  The Animal Welfare Act of 1966 regulates humane standards for laboratory animals. Animals are used in three main areas of research: biomedical and behavioral sciences, testing for product safety, and education. Animal Rights Advocates: Since animals are a different species from humans, the tests are not accurate. Animal Welfare Advocates: Animals contribute to the quality of human life: Examples: epinephrine from cattle adrenal gland is used to relieve symptoms of asthma and allergies thrombin from cattle decreases blood clotting liver extract from cattle treats anemia pig heart valves treat human heart disease pig skin is used to treat burn victims thyroid extract from swine regulates metabolism in humans extract from swine pancreas is a source of insulin C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Methods of Experimentation  Questionable Methods:  Pound Seizures Testing  Draize Test and skin sensitivity testing  LD50 Test  Physiological testing  Current Alternative Methods:  Bovine corneal opacity  Computer videodisc stimulations  Anatomical models  “Cultured” skin  Fixed Dose Procedure QUESTIONABLE METHODS * Pound Seizures Testing: Animals are sold to labs and educational facilities. * Draize and Skin Sensitivity Testing: Testing of cosmetics is done on rabbits’ eyes because they lack tear ducts and rabbits’ skin. * LD50 Test: Animals are exposed to an increasing dosage of drugs until a percent of the tested population dies. * Physiological Testing: Research on animals studies the effects of pain, stimuli responses, learning patterns and behavior. CURRENT ALTERNATIVE METHODS * Bovine Corneal Opacity: Products are tested on slaughtered cow corneas, which would have been discarded anyway. * Computer videodisc stimulations and Anatomical models are used as alternative teaching tools. * “Cultured” skin samples are used in testing for skin irritants. The cultured skin is grown in glass containers, containing live cells that would react equally to those on a living animal. * Fixed Dose Procedure: Fewer test subjects are used and the subjects are only exposed to an increasing dosage of drugs until signs of illness or actual illness occurs. C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare

Should hunting and trapping be allowed?  Those that support Animal Rights believe the following:  Hunters kill only for the joy of killing.  Game agencies are only used to increase hunting opportunities.  Hunting does not prevent overpopulation.  Not necessary for survival  Those that support Animal Welfare believe the following:  Hunting licenses provide funding for preserving wildlife.  Hunters advocate for preserving the wildlife and the environment.  Hunting programs are designed to harvest only the surplus of animals. C.2.1 PowerPoint: Animal Rights Versus Animal Welfare