winner01:
Good question!



Ill say No.

From the christian point of view, we can find in Genesis how man must treat animals. In Genesis 1 God established the relationship between man and animal. In later verses, God gives to man authority over all that was created on earth. Man is to take care of and use the earth. Man is to have the authority over all that was created. This means that man is to assume the control and protection of all that God had created. Animals are to be used by men for our needs.

Animals were not used as food up till Genesis chapter 9. However, God now included certain animals in the diet of mankind and repeats His command in verse two to watch over these animals.


Man is the caretaker of the earth according to the Bible and as such should protect as much as possible animals from sickness, diseases and extinction, use the animals for his needs, keep them from harming humans and protect them from abuse.

herald9:
I can only vouch for the rights of intelligent animals like dogs.

When Animals are given rights, we are indirectly elevating them to the status of human beings, which will pose a restriction on how we use them.

To me, it is more of injustice to treat unequal things equally...

Maybe sometimes in future, animals will evolve enough to formulate their own rights... As Right, for now is an intellectual property of Man.

All we need is sustainable usage, not rights.

johnydon22:
On thursday 14/09/2016 i went for the usual Thinker's pub discussion hosted every two weeks by our very own MrAnony1, it was fun as usual..

Going straight to the topic of discussion as you may have well deducted from the heading of the thread.

Do animals have rights?

Let me define what Right is Going by the definition on Wikipedia encyclopedia we may define right as

Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement

Now the floor is open, it is an open discussion unrestricted to all.

Do you think animals should have or have rights?

If yes bring your reason and points - if no also bring your points

Let's discuss them

[N.B: You may present your argument from every angle whether scientific, philosophical, religious - all premises are welcome, these diverse pool of tapping ideas will make it more interesting and challenging.]

Let us also deal with each other more kindly as we engage in a free and peaceful battle of ideas using our words as Ammo.

Cc. LoJ, Seun, Dorox, Hahn, Plaetton, Joshthefirst, Joseph1038 ..

johnydon22:


I do not think this really is about the "Food web" that is a natural setting therefore paramount - we are looking at levels after the essential need for food like right to protection from sexual abuse, right to freedom and so on.

Just because you are fully capable of torturing a dog, does it mean you should? Can't it also suffer like you do? Just because you can rape a goat, does it mean you should?

these are the areas of consideration.

Don't you think we should be considerate of other species we share this planet with since as you have said the universe doesn't give a F about anybody - so it doesn't hurt if we give an F about everybody by ourselves.

alolatee:
To the limit humans give animal, that is the measure of their rights.They don't have spirits and souls they only have bodies which house the five senses, thus they are not accountable to God, but man.Humans are accountable to God because he has the three fold nature;spirit, soul and body which are accountable to God

johnydon22:


"Human" is no special title to hold after all you end up exactly same way every other animal does and as a matter of fact you are also an animal.

Unequal on whose benchmark? You think animals themselves think you anymore special than they are - a tiny mosquito lives for barely 9 days yet it hosts on you and kills humans on many occasions to survive, this shows it deems it life more worthy and valuable than yours.

let's face it sir their are no V.I.P seats in nature, you may be more special than a chimpanzee in a human society but in a chimpanzee pack you are not.

That is if we don't push them into extinction faster than they should - man is nature's greatest tool for natural selection and death on earth.

Or consideration of other species also as much earthlings as we also are.

HardMirror:

I doubt. Humans have eaten humans in dare situations
Like this 1972 plane crash survivors who had to feed on eachother not because they thought it was their right, but nothing else to eat. Snakes don't feed on chickens because it thinks it's its right but because that is what it can feed on.
Some tribes apologize animals they kill before eating them. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2217141/I-eat-piece-friend-survive-Torment-1972-Andes-plane-crash-survivor-haunted-ordeal-40-years-later.html

EyeHateGod:

Humans Are animals i hope u attended and didn't skip ur Biology class?

menesheh:



Basically, i agree that the universal don't give a damn about rights and that rights are the product of human construct. Since we human institutes rights as guiding principles that always works for our altruistic advantage, other animal species should not be excluded.

The in the context of animal rights, since we are sentient being and capable of intellectually coming up with workable paradigm that guide our actions, we should include other animals.

In the cause of inclusively legislating for animals rights, we have to consider grading animals according to certain abilities. Most animals are highly intelligent and can feel pain like us and are somewhat aware of their own existence. Some can harmoniously live with us and act as helping hand in our daily life.

The quote on quote "ALL ANIMALS" shouldn't be the case here. Survival of the fittest still exist of which we are the premier of such. We must eat meat to survive. Some animals should have rights as a constitutional one, while others shouldn't but should be guilded on arbitrary judgements, to abate their extinction, like anti poaching laws and laws against killing of those that are not harmful.

alolatee:


I think you did not remember to put 'Higher Animals'-Yes when you are talking of field of science, you could talk as that but religiously, we are humans and far advanced than animals.Biology used the term 'Higher Animals' because it did not believe in creation of the bible.

hahn:


Where you dey since?

menesheh:


mr Hahn, i dey on low key.

plaetton:


Without even thinking too much it, I would say animals should not have tights, for the simple reason that " legal , social and ethical" mean nothing whatsoever in the animal behavior or kingdom.

Going as far would greatly undermine and distort the great importance of animals in our food chain.

Logically, to say that animals deserve our definition of legal rights would be tantamount to saying that we should also hold animals accountable according to our legal, social and ethical norms.

What animals deserve is more compassion. We should not kill animals for sport. We should be careful and considerate when we encroach upon their habitats.

johnydon22:


Even humans can also exhibit the behaviours you listed above, vandalizing each other belongings, territorial encroachment or being mortal threats to each other - so?

EyeHateGod:

they is no such thing as Higher or Lower animals that's y i asked u did u skip ur biology class?

alolatee:


I think even in Biology i was taught humans are higher animals.And thus we are different from those lower animals cos we have complex brain and highly advanced than them.
But religiously or christianly, we are humans and not animals.

EyeHateGod:

Sexual abuse from who? Nawa o

Am not saying anyone should torture a Dog or any other animal for that matter. Who rapes Goat?

We Humans Should learn to be considerate with each other and show compassion for each other first before we start thinking of Other animals

johnydon22:


https://preciousjules1985./2013/12/29/warning-ex-very-graphic-images-laura-the-dog-physically-and-sexually-abused/



what planet have you been on all these while brother certainly not earth
https://www.naij.com/53491.html



It doesn't hurt to all consider every other specie on earth that can suffer just as we can suffer

herald9:
]

At least I won't end up in the stomach of another animal.

A popular quote says all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. Even if we chose to call ourselves animals, the truth is we can never be equal. So its not about what they think, it's what we know - erm.. Do they even THINK?

All animals feed because they possess a survival instincts and not because they think they're more valuable or more worthy than others.

Humans are special because their level of intelligence and capabilities are unmatched. There's no way to rationalize that. Nature made it so.

LOL. But man has always exploited nature and tweak it accordingly to his whims. So who's the boss?

Nope. That's why we have many conservation outfits out there.
Nowadays, our focus have been shifted to sustainable development of natural resources. So animals are animals are totally covered.
There are several bodies out there that are working hand in hand to foresee the preservation and conservation of generic resources such as UNEP, WCED, etc.

alolatee:


I think even in Biology i was taught humans are higher animals.And thus we are different from those lower animals cos we have complex brain and highly advanced than them.

But religiously or christianly, we are humans and not animals.

Joshthefirst:
So humans have intellectual and emotional and spiritual potential to reason above the selfish self aggravating level. Animals generally do not.

We manage the planet and the ecosystem, including animals.
Would you now bring a comparison between us and say potentially greater and smarter entities? It would remain invalid, because the simple capacity to reason and empathize and love is all it takes to understand rights, even among people of differing physical and intellectual strengths.

Our progeny also have rights, from conception. Because they eventually develop all of our capacities, including love.

johnydon22:


Oh you still can - they are many species out there that can easily kill you and eat you.

Not even if we choose to call ourselves animals we are animals - just because some humans are way better than the others in ways like [Financially, intellectually, physically] doesn't make them any more human than the other.

we are animals too regardless of our abilities ..

Neil Degraise Tyson once asked - why is it that we judge the intelligence of other species based only on the things we can do best - why not the things they can do best?

You see if we judge it based on what they can do best then we probably will be the dumb ones..

No specie will ever regard the other as equal - so we may not be equal but we all are cosmopolitians [ citizens of cosmos and children of the earth]



Survival instincts that drives you to eat the other how does it differ from having the impression you are better and more deserving - just as you are thinking now.



So considerations should be based on the intellectual capabilities of beings? what about the virtue of their emotional capabilities?

Many animals do that you can only say at a minimal scale ..

Some primate species [Monkeys] has been observed to be now on the "Stone age" this doesn't mean using stones but manipulating them into specific shapes for specific tasks.


They still are heading towards extinction at a very disturbing rate - there is a cosmological loneliness we feel that we have not made contact with other life forms in other worlds, we don't even know if their are, lets us not make ourselves the only species in this world too.

EyeHateGod:

Please Can u give me a reference to a text book where this was Written or was ur Teacher Attaching Religion to Biology should I say he/she was Emotional? This was how we learnt back then That the sun rise at the east and set at the west

johnydon22:


so other species don't love or have emotional capabilities?

alolatee:


Well i am not a Biology freak but i think i learnt something of that nature or have heard it we humans are higher animals.Unless you are an atheist, christianly speaking, we are humans an not animals not evolved from Apes as evolutionists will like us believe.

AnonyNymous:
First off nice topic
Well. . . animals can't recognise human rights. I feel like anything that demands rights should also be capable of respecting the rights of others. Any living thing that can't do that shouldn't have 'rights'. I classify ISIS terrorists with animals. They are primarily concerned with what they want, with blatant disregard of all fundamental human rights. Therefore, if they are affecting me, if its within my power I have to stop them without any regard to what they might feel. Same thing with a snake trying to kill me. I cannot recognise its 'right to life' when its trying to kill me.
That said, animals such as dogs which pose no harm to me should be treated with respect. Why? Dogs are intelligent enough to recognise boundaries and therefore while they respect me, I should take proper care if them as well. Same with dolphins. Some dolphins even have higher IQs than humans. I read an amazing story of a dolphin that outsmarted her trainers.
As for using animals as food items, its just my role in the ecosystem.

Kay17:


But if your thoughts are adopted then criminals would have no rights

AnonyNymous:

Yes, to an extent. And that's exactly what the criminal justice system does. . . people who steal, they're sent to prison. . . their freedom of movement is taken away, freedom of association is taken away, freedom of speech, and so on. . . murderers, in many places get the death penalty. . . so you see what I mean