Abolitionism within the animal rights movement is the idea that the legal ownership of nonhuman animals is unjust, and that it must be abolished before animal suffering can be substantially reduced. The abolitionist position is that focusing on animal welfare not only fails to challenge animal suffering, but may actually prolong it by making the exercise of property rights over animals appear less unattractive. The abolitionists' objective is to secure a moral and legal paradigm shift, whereby animals are no longer regarded as property.
One of the most important abolitionist writers is Gary Francione, professor of law and philosophy at Rutgers School of Law-Newark. He refers to animal rights groups who pursue welfare concerns, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, as the "new welfarists," arguing that their intervention risks making the public feel more comfortable about its use of animals, entrenching their property status.[1] Francione's position is that there is, in fact, no animal rights movement in the United States.[2]
See also
Notes
- ^ Francione, Gary. Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement, 1996.
- ^ Hall, Lee. "An Interview with Professor Gary L. Francione", Friends of Animals, accessed February 25, 2008.
Further reading
- Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach, Gary Francione's website.
- Dunayer, Joan (2004). Speciesism
- Dunayer, Joan (2001). Animal Equality: Language and Liberation
- Francione, Gary (2008). Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation
- Francione, Gary (2000). Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?
- Francione, Gary (1996). Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement
- Francione, Gary (1995). Animals, Property, and the Law
- Torres, Bob (2007). Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights
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