As an animal rights proponent, my commitment is to stand firm against the unjust cruelty and inhumane treatment of all animals. In taking on this task, it has been exhilarating but yet disheartening. My goals have led me to a firm belief and commitment to the abolishment of lab animals for scientific experimentation; elimination of commercial farming of animals; and the dissolution of hunting animals for sport. Therefore, I will argue animals should be afforded the same humane treatment and protection from exploitation and abuse human beings are given.
Dr. Gary Francione, a professor of animal law at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, states that "a right is a claim that someone has with respect to a particular interest. If I have the right to liberty, that means I have the ability to stop you from interfering with that right. A right protects an interest that can't be compromised simply because there would be beneficial consequences if it were. It's an interest that considered so important it can't be traded away". (Kempton 1995).
When we as humans disregard an animal's well being, it infringes upon the rights of the nonhuman species. Humans must also presuppose that animals do also have fundamental rights in case of an ambiguous relation between human behavior and the animal's welfare. Jeremy Bentham, social philosopher and founder of British utilitarianism, assumed that animals do not suffer because they do not experience pain. .
Dr. Francione maintains that if animals have endorphins, which are produced to alleviate pain, then they are sentient. Earthworms have endorphins. Fish have endorphins. With higher animals you can usually tell when they're feeling pain. They cry out, or they limp, or whatever. You'd be an idiot not to know when a dog, or cat, or monkey or cow was in pain. It gets a little more difficult when you're talking about earthworms or fish, but there are ways to determine pain, and sentience, in even these animals.