HANDOUT
Topic # 3013
ANIMAL WELFARE AND ANIMAL RIGHTS
Animal Welfare: Concept implying that humankind dominion over animals, and, as
such, has responsibility for animal well-being. Animal well-being includes minimizing
pain, stress, suffering, and deprivation while providing for physiological and behavioral
needs.
Animal Rights: Concept implying that animals should be used for no other purpose than
for the benefit of the animals themselves. The strictest interpretation implies an end to all
animal uses including the abolition of the use of animals in science and research, the
dissolution of commercial animal agriculture and entertainment, and the total elimination
of commercial and sport hunting and trapping. A moderate interpretation may allow the
limited use of animals where a mutual benefit between animals and humankind is
demonstrated.