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Jessica Kelley
Dr. Gordon
04/05/2015

Animal Rights- Controversial Essay
Section I: To Assert a Position
Never in my 17 years of existence have I had an animal from a pet store.
I have taken in a ferret and hamster from friends, caught a lizard and kept it for many years, won fish at the fair, and rescued dogs off of craigslist. Out of the six dogs I have had, none have been purebred or costed more than 50 dollars. This however, does not mean they did not receive the best of care including shots, spay and neuter, and healthy diets. While companions such as dogs seem normal in the household, not everyone is a suitable owner for animals. Owners should be able to support pets financially and emotionally and reciprocate the endless love and loyalty pets give to owners. It is very disheartening when someone does not realize the pain they are inflicting on their supposed companions and even worse when they do. Owners like these should be stripped of their pets and denied the adoption or purchase of any other animals. Those like our furry friends at home are not the only animal under attack though. Animal rights have been an ongoing controversial issue and grows every year. Animals are used for a variety of different testing, clothing and entertainment. Animal rights is a philosophy that claims animals should have rights or interests equal to those of humans (Levine, 9). Some people cannot

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possibly see or even think that animals can have rights too because animals are so vastly different than us humans. People should give equal support to the interest of animals as they do to the interest of humans. Any animal should not be put through experiments, or hunted down and killed to make fur coats. What about being held captive in Zoos and Aquariums; even though most times they are treated right, they are still locked up. In other words, do you not think they feel like their in jail? Should they not be returned to the wild to roam free?
Captive animals whether it be in a lab or a zoo, suffer every year.
Section II: To Support a Position- Animal Testing
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was founded in 1824. Now, there are activist groups worldwide, from Colombia to
Australia, that protect the rights for all animals (Rochford, 24). What is the definition of animal experimentation? It is when scientific researchers use animal experimentation for medical and veterinary research to enhance human health and sometimes even the the welfare of other animals (Cothran, 68).
Millions of animals die and are tortured in painful tests also in order to determine the safety of cosmetics. A popular example is eye shadow and soaps being tested on rabbits, pigs, rats, dogs and an array of different animals. In many of the cases, tests are a failure and the results do not help prevent or treat human illness or injury. We have all seen the gruesome and sad pictures online in ads set by activist groups. No cosmetic companies are required to experiment animals, yet there are millions of innocent animals tested each day.

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Some companies still choose to do these brutal and unnecessary tests, saying that they establish safety of both the products being tested and the components being tested on. Most of the tests used on animals are eye, toxicity, and skin irritant tests. The majority of the public opinion is against this type of testing because it is cruel and not necessary.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspects all laboratories where animals are used for tests and enforces the federal laws regulating the treatment and care of the animals. The Body Shop is a well-known retailer for beauty products who, in the eighties, was one of the first companies who came out with a “not tested on animals” label on their products.
Later, many companies followed. Now, thousands of beauty and body care products bear the label. “Animal liberationists do not separate out the human animal so