What are Animal Rights? and Why are they important?

January 05, 2022

Have you ever thought why rights are extremely important to us? They give us freedom on how we want to live. However, what about animals? Animal rights are important and should be treated like human rights and here is why.

Animal rights advocates believe animals deserve to live as they choose without human interference. Animals have feelings, emotions, and a different way of living. They live in different ways, but almost like humans. Hunting for food, having a safe place, and living in a proper home to breed as they desire.

Human activity is what causes animals to lose their habitat, have trouble breeding and nurturing babies. Human caused air pollution, water pollution, deforestation, agriculture, global warming, hunting and poaching affect animals. Humans use animals for money, food, farmland, clothes, and factory use. The leather back turtle is endangered because of water pollution, polar bears are endangered because of global warming, rhinos and elephants are endangered due to horn and ivory use, and tigers are endangered because of deforestation.

When a species becomes extinct, there are direct and indirect consequences. The ecosystem will have an overpopulation of certain breeds causing other animals to lose their homes. An example is if there aren't any tigers left, the spotted deer would become overpopulated and too many animals can cause farmers to pay higher expenses on owning land.

There are different ways to help The Animal Rights Movement and prevent extinction. Human activity that can help these endangered species are recycling, composting, planting, catching hunters, try not using as much electricity, use paper vs plastic, use reusable bags, wear reusable masks, consume plants-based food, take the bus, donate to the WWF(World Wildlife Foundation) and other organizations, not littering and more. All of this activity makes a big difference in these animals' lives.

Animal and human rights may seem different, but almost the same. Social species like lions, elephants, and dolphins actually live like human beings. Elephants live in herds, are taught to use their tusks for self-defense, celebrate when a mother gives birth, and feels empathy when a relative from the herd dies. Lions live in pride groups, are taught to hunt, learn disaplin, and if a mother dies, the aunt watches her cubs. Dolphins live in pods, are taught to use echos as communication, and make sure they stay together.

These animals have similar ways on how humans learn to grow up such as being in families/ groups, learning survival skills from parents, get taught lessons and punishment, and what babies should expect when they grow up. Therefore, these two worlds sound very similar on how they live.

It is possible for two worlds to become one! Let's make a greener future and take actions to help all of these magnificent creatures. We have messed up too much. Now we should take action and pay animals their rights back.