Garrett M. Broad is a researcher who studies how society treats animals. While public outrage clings to the death of a French Bulldog in an airplane bin, Broad has been investigating what the public thinks about animals and their rights. The results show that a clear majority of people identify as animal lovers. But, not every self-professed animal lover supports full legal rights for animals. There has been considerable legal and philosophical debate on this topic.
About nine in 10 Americans, according to Broad’s survey, support some form of legal rights for animals. Nearly half believe that animals deserve the same rights as people. Only about 5.5 percent said they thought animals need little to no legal protection at all.
Source: The Conversation, March 22, 2018.
U.S. law treats humans as the only animals considered “legal persons” capable of having rights. It designates all wild and domesticated animals, by contrast, as “legal things.” Pets and farmed animals alike are a form of property – by definition, they have no rights of their own.
INSIGHTS: For me, this issue is an inveterate can of worms. As animal health pros, we are best-suited to assist and lead animal stewardship improvements. It’s hard to imagine and grasp the impacts of personal rights for animals that cannot express themselves outside of human interpretations.