Animal Rights

Many of the issues and emotions associated with animal rights are complex, but the fundamental tenets are simple: nonviolence, compassion, the avoidance of unnecessary harm, and a belief that nonhuman animals are not inferior to humans, but simply different from humans, with their own unique characteristics and abilities and, like humans, with the desire and right to live natural lives.

Animal rights advocates seek to reduce and ultimately end animals' exploitation, suffering, and status as property; to advance alternatives to animal use; to educate humans about animals, their sentience, and their lived experiences; and to help humans see animals not as commodities or resources, but as individuals deserving of life, compassion, and freedom. People from all walks of life and backgrounds, from urban professionals to former cattle ranchers, are changing how they think about and treat animals, and with every change of heart, we get closer to the peaceable, harmonious world for which animal rights advocates are working, a world that will be better for humans and nonhumans alike.