Comments on: Animal Rights Bill – Tom Regan summing up

By: elisa

elisa — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:45:51 +0000

I see so many going around and around in this argument and missing the point entirely. To me, the concept of animal rights has nothing to do with what an animal would do in the natural order of things – such as a lion eating a zebra. It has to do with how we as humans treat animals. Animals have the right to not be put in deplorable living conditions. Animals have the right to not be tortured even if humans are going to end up eating them later. We as humans have the moral obligation to take care of our planet and that means fellow creatures as well. There is no doubt that animals have feelings although they are probably different than ours, but why should they be less important?

On another point about private property and having the right to do what you want on it, there is a great story told by a friend Yehuda Berg in his book Green. One late night on a magnificent cruise ship, a guest wakes up by a loud noise coming from the room next to him. He bangs on the door until the occupant opens it and in the room, he can see that the man has been busy drilling a hole through the floor at the bottom of the boat. When the neighbor begged him to stop, the man simply replied that it is his room and he has the right to do what he wants with it. To me, that is such a simple and brilliant description of us on our planet. We are all connected and the negative actions of one can badly affect others and perhaps even all.

By: Tibor Machan

Tibor Machan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:15:14 +0000

By the way, if animals really had the rights people do, then all of them that devour fellow animals would be rights violators–murderers–and vegans and such would have to be out there resisting all this rights violation. But that’s absurd. People may be implored not to abuse non-human animals, naturally, but non-human animals have no moral nature to appeal to vis-a-vis their treatment of other animals (human or not). Big difference between us and them, just the sort that animal “rights” advocates deny. But then, if this difference doesn’t exist or is not significant for the determination of who or what has rights, why not convict non-human animals of rights violation when they attack other animals? Why does the difference matter in the one case but not in the other?

By: Tibor Machan

Tibor Machan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:02:37 +0000

I bet I have read a whole lot more in defense of animal “rights” than advocates have read my book Putting Humans First, Why We Are Nature’s Favorites (2004) in which I address all the points Regan and Singer make. Have they ever bothered to answer this book‘s arguments? No. QED

By: jodyrea

jodyrea — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:27:15 +0000

I did want to …
I did want to qualify something here as most people for whatever reason seem to think if you care for animals too much you must not like humans – not so. The money our Fed’s spend on promoting their lies and that “hunt” (how can you hunt something that is a baby and barely moves) they should be investing the money in our Fine Canadian Fishermen – they have families to feed and are the straw men here being vilified while the world buys the fur.

By: jodyrea

jodyrea — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:27:15 +0000

This I can not keep …
This I can not keep my mouth shut on – MAN the arrogant beast he can be!!!!! Right now our on our Atlantic Coast 270,000 baby harp seal are being slaughtered as I type. Last year $105 a pelt this year $33 yet the bloodbath continues. I spent on and off two years collecting data off our own Fed’s Website and with their own information could prove the lies they tell to us the World and the EU. I wrote letters demanding answers and got a response from the rhetoric robot – spit is al I say to that.

By: jodyrea

jodyrea — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:27:15 +0000

conn6m it was no …
conn6m it was no view. My son did call 911 – nothing to do with being any less or more liberal – once the 911 button has been hit – they must respond. They talked to me on the phone and while apologizing for the misunderstanding advised it is their inherent duty to come anyhow. My son did not mention the birthday present until they showed up. As for guns I thank our governments provincial and federal that guns are not part of Canadian “culture”. You need a permit for a pea shooter in Canada.

By: atentso

atentso — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:27:14 +0000

Wow. I’m an animal …
Wow. I’m an animal rights guy, though I admit there are some challenging arguments against my position. They did not come from these people. Couldn’t they have held the debate against legitimate philosophers and not idiots like Germane Greer?

By: Animalsangel888

Animalsangel888 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:27:14 +0000

Seems to me that …
Seems to me that still, nobody is listening!
Animals deserve better in this world, who said ‘we’ are the superior anyway? If only people would realise just how much we as humans can learn from the Animal Kingdom by merely observing, instead of murdering, slaughtering, using and abusing, skinning and testing, eating and exploiting!!
I love TOM!!

By: carter20081985

carter20081985 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:27:14 +0000

well i just blew …
well i just blew deers head off this year

By: SteakMusic

SteakMusic — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:27:14 +0000

are you sure about …
are you sure about that?