Kristy Rincon
Composition II 1302-480
Jennifer Bray
March 21, 2011
Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Rough Draft)
Ever since the beginning of time, humans and animals have been together. Humans have
evolved from hunter-gatherer groups into agricultural settlements and animals played an
important role in these societies. Humans turned animals into agricultural commodities through
breeding, artificial selection and taming techniques to make them useful to human culture. As
human society industrialized the exploitation of animals increased. Scientists began using
animals in experiments to test and develop medications; animals were also put into zoological
parks and used as entertainment for people’s amusement. At the same time, people also
recognize animals as companions as domestic pets were very popular. Humans have used
economic, philosophical, and serviceable justifications for the exploitation of animals (food,
clothing, entertainment, and experimentation) but even though animal products comprise a
significant percentage of the world economy, advances in science and technology have made it
increasingly possible for humans to survive without exploiting animals. Animals are living,
sensory creatures with the capacity to experience pain and suffering-should treated with same
respect and deserve to be afforded the same basic rights as humans. The three basic rights that
most animal rights activists feel should be awarded to non-human animals are similar to those
guaranteed to United States citizens in the Declaration of Independence: life, individual liberty,
and exemption from torture. More moderate animal rights groups maintain that nonhuman animals should not be made to suffer unnecessarily, but since only humans have an
observable ability to enter into a social contract, they are the only ones eligible for rights.
The Animal Rights Movement began in the United States in the early nineteenth century and
was finally recognized in 1822 when the Ill-Treatment of Cattle Act was passed. This act was
sponsored by Richard Martin who formed some of the first animal-protection societies and laws
(and ironically he was a lifelong hunter). He also passed a bill in 1826 to prevent the cruel and
improper mistreatment of dogs. As time went on more societies were formed. For example, the
ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) founded in 1866, was
formed to bring attention to the issue of animal rights. The founder of the ASPCA, Henry Burgh,
said their mission is “to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals
throughout the United States.” The ASPCA was the first humane organization to be granted legal
authority to investigate and make arrests for crimes against animals through nonviolent
approach. Another animal rights group is ALF (Animal Liberation Front) which was established
in Great Britain. Unlike the ASPCA, ALF takes more drastic measures when helping animals.
They illegally disrupt the work of animal testing laboratories. They have committed over 1,200
crimes since 1976 and caused approximately $110 million in damages. The biggest (and most
controversial) animal organization however is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals) which was founded in 1980. They are against animals being used for food, clothing,
experiments, entertainment, and any other human purposes. PETA works through public
education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity
involvement, and protest campaigns.
There are many issue plaguing animals today. Hunting is one major issue. Of course hunting
was vital to the survival of human societies in the beginning but today it is simply sport and it is
a cruel thing to do to animals. Animal rights activists and some environmentalists
condemned hunting as a cruel and immoral practice in which animals are exploited solely for the
pleasure of humans. They argued that hunting was extremely damaging to rare or endangered
species, pointing out that the extinction of the passenger pigeon, for example, was due to severe
overhunting. By the end of the twentieth century, groups such as the Humane Society of the
United States and the Fund for Animals had issued position statements outlining their criticisms
of the sport.
There are those who believe that animals do not deserve the same rights as humans. They
believe that animal rights groups are right to call attention to cruel and inhumane practices done
to animals but the issue they have is how those groups deal with it and how it could affect
people. This is because the positions and principles held by animal rights activists on these issues
are so extreme that they tend to distance more people than they convince. It is difficult for debate
on the subject to progress, for example, when violence is involved or when highly inflammatory
remarks are made by animal rights activists (like ALF). One such activist, Jerry Vlasak, was
quoted in 2004 as saying that it would be worth killing ten or fifteen medical researchers in order
to save the lives of millions of animals. The animal rights movement is right to raise important
social and philosophical questions about the value of life in all its form
and the consequences of our industrial, economic, scientific, cultural, and personal
behaviors. However, the movement's extreme and uncompromising views and its members'
willingness to resort to violence have undermined the principles for which the movement stands.
The major issue they are concerned about is the threat to medical research. The majority of this
testing is for research into finding cures for human diseases, notably AIDS, cancer, and
Alzheimer's disease. According to the United States Humane Society, approximately 25 million
vertebrate animals are used for experimentation, research, and education each year. Pigs are
commonly used in experiments involving the cardiovascular system because theirs
resembles the cardiovascular system of humans, while mice, which have a similar genetic
structure to that of humans, are usually used for studying genetic disorders. The American
College of Surgeons state that the use of animals in research and education cannot be completely
replaced in the foreseeable future. Vital, lifesaving cancer and HIV studies, for instance, depend
on the use of live animals in order to prove the safety and efficacy of new medications.