There's an ongoing debate regarding the rights of animals. Animal rights seek to guarantee animals with a sense of entitlement. Some people tend to oppose animal rights stating that animals are inferior to human beings and should be used by to meet human needs. In this manner, animals are not exempt from captivity and maltreatment. On the other hand, supporters of animal rights argue that animals have a right to live a life free from suffering. They also argue that animals should not be discriminated against due to their species. Furthermore, proponents of animal rights also argue that human beings are not superior to animals. Animal's rights should be upheld by all human beings and activities such as hunting, animal testing and animal farming should either be regulated or completely eliminated.
A survey conducted in 1995 by the Associated Press was able to determine that more than two-thirds of the entire American population agrees that animals, just like human beings, should lead a life free from suffering (Wilson, 2004). This demonstrates an overwhelming support for the fair treatment of animals. Most people do not like to see animals suffer and this can be attributed to sympathy and human tendency of compassion (Wilson, 2004). Compassion is an innate human feeling and is said to be the key driving force behind most animal's rights movements. To some extent, this may be true. However, animal rights can also be justified using logical reasoning and arguments. .
In the past, scientists were able to conduct experiments that demonstrated that animals had the ability to feel pain. These researchers were able to come up with a criterion through which an animal's ability to feel pain can be established. The criterion involves mapping of brain and nerve structures of animals (Wilson, 2004). This criterion is not a fool-proof method of identifying and measuring animal pain. Despite this, the tests are evidence of the fact that animals are capable of feeling pain just as human beings do (Wilson, 2004).
