The Animal Rights Movement

Hardly a day goes by where there isn’t at least one story in the news about new animal welfare legislation, the degree of overcrowding in shelters for unwanted animals, or animal rights extremists breaking into research facilities to free lab animals. How did it all start?

The roots of the modern Animal Rights Movement can be traced back to the first part of the 1800s with an Englishman named Richard Martin. Martin believed that animals should have some basic rights, such as the right to be treated humanely, and succeeded in having a bill passed which prevented cruel and improper treatment to cattle, horses and sheep.

At the same time as Martin pleaded the cattle cruelty case in Parliament, support for the passing of anti-vivisection laws (banning the live cutting of animals) was being drummed up all over England. Shortly thereafter, similar animal protection laws passed in four states in the United States. Throughout the 1800s, beginning with the first established group in 1824 in England, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) awareness spread throughout the US and England. The SPCAs spawned other animal welfare groups and influenced legislation on the behalf of abused animals.

Fast-forward to the modern day. Now there are animal shelters, animal welfare laws and redoubled environmental efforts to protect wildlife and natural eco-systems. However, the consensus amongst animal rights workers and activists is that there is plenty more work to be done.

Now the main areas of concern are animal research and testing, factory farms that are deemed inhumane, trapping practices and entertainment that uses animals such as circuses and zoos. Some animal rights advocates believe that animals should have all the rights of a human, while others simply believe that an animal should have the right to humane and moral treatment.

Today the Animal Rights Movement is a source of ongoing debate and controversy as the rights activists range from low-key welfare groups vying for anti-cruelty legislation to groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).