Fair Treatment

Peter Singer claims that animals should be treated as equals because their capacity to suffer is just as great as a human’s. Most humans of being are speciesists, according to Singer, because we consider the well-being of humans to be of greater importance than the well being of other species. He argues that experimenting upon an animal simply because it lacks intelligence is as repulsive as if we were to experiment on someone with a mental deficit. We must view animals as our equals and recognize that they have just as much of a right to life free from needless suffering as we do. While I disagree with the claim that animals should be viewed as equal to human beings, I feel strongly that animals should have the right to not be exposed to needless suffering. Animals have little control over their lives and, as a result, we as humans need to realize it is our responsibility to carefully consider our usage of them. While I believe that killing an animal for the purpose of food is justified, I have strong objections to those animals being housed in cramped metal stalls for their entire existence before they are slaughtered. I agree with Singer that the cruelty which we expose animals to is often worse than the killing of them. To us they are a profitable commodity not living beings. This mentality is one which I feel is completely unjust. Animals are beings who feel things such as fear and pain just as strongly as humans. They are complex creatures who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. While we may choose to use animals for our own purposes, we need to do so while still considering the well-being of that animal. This does not mean that animals should be given equal rights as Singer suggests, but I believe we do need to follow a type of moral code when dealing with the treatment of animals. No one should be able to kill an animal without just cause and if that animal must be killed, it should be performed as humanely as possible. They deserve to live lives that are free from needless suffering. As Immanuel Kant claims, the way in which we choose to treat animals says a great deal about how we choose to treat other human beings.