Are animals entitled to basic legal rights? [View All]

[The Straight Story]

DO YOU BELIEVE ANIMALS DESERVE BASIC LEGAL RIGHTS?

Deprived of legal protection, animals are defenseless against exploitation and abuse by humans. Through the Animal Bill of Rights, the Animal Legal Defense Fund is working to show Congress a groundswell of support for legislation that protects animals and recognizes that, like all sentient beings, animals are entitled to basic legal rights in our society.

More than a quarter-million Americans have already signed the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Animal Bill of Rights. Sign on your support and speak out to your lawmakers today!

A Petition to the United States Congress

I, the undersigned American citizen, believe that animals, like all sentient beings, are entitled to basic legal rights in our society. Deprived of legal protection, animals are defenseless against exploitation and abuse by humans. As no such rights now exist, I urge you to pass legislation in support of the following basic rights for animals:

The Right of animals to be free from exploitation, cruelty, neglect, and abuse.

The Right of laboratory animals not to be used in cruel or unnecessary experiments.

The Right of farm animals to an environment that satisfies their basic physical and psychological needs.

The Right of companion animals to a healthy diet, protective shelter, and adequate medical care.

The Right of wildlife to a natural habitat, ecologically sufficient to a normal existence and self-sustaining species population.

The Right of animals to have their interests represented in court and safeguarded by the law of the land.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5154/t/3755/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=82


Animals Shouldn't be 'Property' -- Changing the Law

I’ve got Australia on my mind lately, probably because it is summer there. While many of us are digging out from piles of snow and surviving on what feels like about four hours of sunlight, they are down there frolicking around on Bondi Beach, right now, not a care in the world except avoiding death by a man-eating shark.

Earlier this year, ALDF attorney Bruce Wagman did a speaking tour in the land down under with the excellent Australia-based animal rights organization Voiceless. Among the many interviews he did while on his Australian tour, he spoke with “The Law Report” at ABC Radio National, which just posted his interview on their site as “one of the best programs of 2009.”

It’s a terrific primer on the challenges, and the progress already made, in working to protect animals through the legal system. Bruce explains how, according to law, animals are property—and that, while our ultimate goal is to change the property status of animals, there is much incremental progress we can make until that day comes. For example, some courts are now recognizing that companion animals are a special kind of property, and therefore have a special value—making the critical recognition that animals are sentient, and that they provide their guardians with emotional and therapeutic value.

He also discusses that in some pet custody disputes, judges are actually now considering the best interests of the animals in awarding custody. In a legal context where animals are by definition mere property, it’s a truly remarkable step forward when a judge asserts that an animal not only has special value to his human companions, but in fact has interests of his very own.

http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-animals-shouldn-t-be-property-changing-the-law