The Problem with "Animal Welfare"
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Ed Coffin, on Philadelphia Vegan Examiner
November 2009

The issue at hand for those who genuinely believe in animal rights is not an issue of how well animals are treated, but the moral concern that animals are considered chattel property.

There are many issues that arise when we choose to focus on the "cruelty" that farmed animals are subjected to. One such issue was clearly evident in this latest news piece where the argument was that "animal advocacy" groups may be relying on the most extreme footage and even possibly staging acts of "cruelty." So long as we are using the "inhumane treatment" of animals approach, we can and will be accused of using misleading information to support our "radical agenda."

The issue at hand for those who genuinely believe in animal rights is not an issue of how well animals are treated, but the moral concern that animals are considered chattel property. The vegan message needs to be clear and concise. We need the public to understand that we are not calling for "better treatment" of animals, but the total abolishment of animal use. Our message needs to be one that conveys the logical assumption that so long as animals are considered property, they will never truly have the right to exist for their own reasons without outside influence and manipulation by the human species.


Return to Animal Rights Articles