Animals Don’t Need ‘Rights’ to Deserve Ethical Consideration
Too often, we view animals through a human-centric lens — even when we’re fighting for them
As a child, I developed a habit of asking for spare change every time I saw one of these unmistakable donation boxes from the SPCA. My mom was allergic to pet dander, but I would still attend animal adoption drives. On my 12th birthday, my parents brought me to a local animal shelter for the first time, and in the midst of my elation, I remember my mom telling me, “though we can’t get a pet, we can bring you here every weekend!” By age 16, when my parents trusted me to dictate our travel itineraries, I always made it a point to include the city’s local zoo.
To say the least, I was utterly fascinated by animals, and through the years, I inevitably found myself deeply concerned about animal rights issues.
However, during college, my understanding of animal ethics were slowly being challenged by newfound knowledge and more well-rounded perspectives. Along the way, I was forced to shed my rosy views of these non-human creatures, and develop a more informed understanding of this…
