i am for animal rights. No animal deserves to be tortured or killed for no good reason. No innocent human deserves that treatment either.

This is what happens to Leftist when the Proletariat lets them down. Go out and find a victim who doesn't think, speak or outgrown their juvenile political philosophy and use them as your next assault on common sense. Man what a dumb bunch of silly nonsense, leftist will believe.

The edible ones have a right to be delicious, the friendly useful ones to be valued, the unfriendly, useless but handsome ones stuffed and mounted over my fireplace and the ugly, unfriendly and useless critters extinct. Animals have no inherent rights; humans have a responsibility to treat them humanely both living and dead. Until all human beings are given their inalienable God given rights, it sheer idiocy to guaranteed anything to dumb animal.

For too long, humans have seen themselves as Rulers of the Earth, to do with as we please. We are but one of many forms of life here, and the family of life is interdependent. Respect all living things.

As the earth's only sapient beings, we have a responsibility to minimize the harm we do to other sentient beings, and to employ our intelligence to use animals, when we use them, as humanely as possible--but the idea that we should REFRAIN from using animals, even for such important purposes as food, clothing and medical testing; or that we should despise our own species for doing so, is (all due respect to animal-rights adherents and their good intentions) unsound. Nature is truly "red in tooth and claw"--and we are part of nature, part of the circle of life. While it is hard to justify some of the things we do to animals--the testing of cosmetics, for example--and impossible to justify wanton cruelty, our exploitation of other species is not necessarily more brutal than in other segments of the natural world. Is it worse, say, for a deer to die of a gunshot than of starvation due to overpopulation? Which suffers more? the beef cow that dies from a quick blow to the back of the skull, or the antelope leisurely eaten alive by big cats? Some perspective is in order here.

Animal rights are important, regardless of if you think humans are better or not. I am a vegetarian, but I dont think it is wrong to eat meat. I think humans are carnivores and herbovores by nature and hunting for food is an instinct. However, I do think it is wrong when the animals that are bred for food are treated like crap. When you can't even call KFC Kentucky Frid Chicken because by definition the animals that they use are not chickens, there are serious morality issues. Also, I think dog-fights, cock-fights etc. are disgusting. If people want to watch something fight until it is dead or near-dead, they should volunteer to fight themselves and not use animals for their entertainment. As for using fur, in this day in age there is no need for it. We have the ability to produce synthetic material that looks just like it, so we just don't have the need for real fur anymore. As for people who abuse domestic animals (or any others) criminal punishment should be mandatory. There is no excuse for animal abuse, and, especially with children, these are signs of serious psychological problems. Animals are our friends, treat them like one.

i agree that wild animals should not be killed for fun and for luxury item such as fur coats. i do not agree that we should ban the use of animals in experiments as long as the animals are bred in captivity and not illegally taken from the wild and that meat should not be banned as long as it is from domestic animals. I do not like these young college age extreme animal rights activists who are so opposed to the consumption of meat that they will torch a fast food restaurant but i like peaceful conservatist animal rights activists who peacefully protest the use of wild animal fur in luxury coats.

People think (and say) that since animals aren't people (ie. human beings) they should be wiped from the face of the earth. It doesn't matter if they die, right? I'm sorry, but that whole argument is sick. Sicker than anything. Animals were here long before humans came along and began destroying everything for our own selfish gain. We have to learn to share this planet, not just with ourselves but with the animals and plants as well. Humans really are beginning to have no particular purpose on earth than to destroy it. We have to learn to respect EVERYBODY and animals are a part of that EVERYBODY. We aren't superior to them in anyway except that we have guns. Think about what would happen if dolphins had opposable thumbs. Geesh...we seriously need to get off our high horses and give them a break.

Animal abuse is bad. However, this is animal rights. So, let's get a few facts straight. Hunters are not to blame for animal abuse at all. They're all following the basic cycle of life that any scientist ad textbook will tell you. It's called the hierarchy of species. Hunters are trained to make clean precise kills where as animals raised to be a part of the assembly line are met with a cruel and torcherous death. At least an aminal that dies by the hunt has had a life to live. Animals on the assembly line, however, live their whole lives in closed spaces having no freedom whatsoever. A way to describe it is like putting humans in concentration camps for their entire lives. Another known fact is that the meat from the wild is much healthier than all the differnt unnatural chemicals that our gov't. pumps into every chicken, cow, or pig, and poison our bodies to a unhealthy life and a slow death. That's the REAL TRUTH!

I think animal rights are extremely important. The amount of animals that are on the brink of extinction is very disturbing. I do not agree with animal testing whatsoever as I do not see what it ultimately achieves considering the products will be for human use, not animal use. In regards to humans eating meat, humans have been eating meat for thousands of years now, and we're not the only species that eat meat! I don't like the thought of animals being killed for testing of products, or so some stupid people can wear fur coats, or for fun. We all have to live on this planet and its time everyone started respecting this planet, so its not only animals, its the whole environment, thats also how we endanger animals by destroying their habitats by either pulling them down or polluting them so much that the animals can't live there or die. We have to learn that what we do has an impact on this planet. If we carry on the way we are, we're going to be responsible for the deaths of billions of animals and most probably end up putting humans on the extinction list as well. And can you imagine your grandchild asking you why an animal isn't around anymore when it was our fault. To people who say animals do not matter, they are inhabitants of this world as well, and they have a right to live and not to have their homes destroyed, or to be maimed. There is a natural order in this world which I think we are abusing because we feel we can. yes, there are human issues which we need to sort out, but if we look at our treatment of animals, it might give us an insight as to how to put things right with humans. If we can't treat animals with respect and decency, then how can we solve our own problems?

I am giving animal rights five stars because I do believe it is important. I think that testing on animals should be limited to things that will not actually hurt the animals after they are through with the experiments. I also disagree with scientists using aniamls as "guinea-pigs" for cosmetics/cleansers and things of the such. I am a vegetarian, because I believe in eating only natural foods, because I feel that it is better for your body, but I do not disapprove of people who eat meat. I just think that we should all try to get along, weiter it be animal vs. animal, human vs. animal, or human vs. human!

Animals are innocent and many depend on humans for support. Kids should be taught at an early age to defend the rights of animals and there should be stricter penalties for abuse of animals. They cannot speak for themselves. We should do our best to do it for them.

Have you ever watched those safari shows on TV? Have you seen how much animals "respect" the "rights" of one another? They eat each other alive! The fact that humans choose to be humane toward animals is proof that humans are not just animals themselves, but are a higher creation. I'm not the least bit opposed to eating meat. I do believe that when animals are slaughtered for food, it should be done as quickly and as painlessly as possible. And even though I own a shotgun, I only shoot at targets, not creatures. If someone else wants to hunt animals for food, that's fine with me. But I don't think much of a man who kills an animal just to gain a trophy.

Of course I believe in being kind to animals and I back it up by BEING kind to them in every sane way I can think of (such as patronizing companies that do not use animals to test their products). However, I do know the difference between human life and animal life. Unfortunately too many of the let’s just say “less stable” end of the animal rights groups appear unable to make that distinction. At worst they even tend to put animal life above human life. While I believe that all life is sacred and a natural balance must exist there is something very, very wrong in devaluing human beings and human life in the process. You would think even a Darwin worshipping, card-carrying atheist would understand the concept of survival. I’m pretty sure you won’t find too many animal species that aren’t willing to fight for it. So, yes I will give this 4 stars but I have to subtract 1 star because all so-called efforts in this area are not what I would term mentally healthy.

animal rights are excessively important. perhaps if we, as another ANIMAL society, learn to respect the other creatures on this dying planet, we can learn to respect one another. Animal testing is wrong, eating meat is wrong, animal abuse is wrong....and that's the truth. people who will disagree are in denial or scared...and that's fine b/c eventually their archaic logic will be gone...it's already happening.

This should be more imortant since animals are more important than people.

It's important, but not exceedingly important. Cruelty toward animals is offensive to me. I can't believe people would be abusive to another living thing (human or other animal).

Animal rights definitely does not deserve the political spotlight. It does not really affect humans except in a helpful way. testing on animals is better than on humans. where would cosmetics be without a couple animal casualties?

Animal rights does not take such high precedence on the scale of important issues that face our country and world today. But nonetheless, it is an issue that should be brought up. I do not believe that animals should be abused by laboratories performing tests on them, but sometimes we must think about the greater good for HUMAN society. The PETA people take it way too far when they demand that we stop medical research on animals. Come on, I honestly think that they would want to start testing on people before they start testing on animals. Now, I do believe that there need to be some basic parameters set up to ensure that animals are not abused, and I mean abused in the sense that they are not given enough nutrition or are kept in haphazard living conditions. Traveling circuses at times do keep their animals in poor living conditions and that should be stopped. As for the question pertaining to animal testing, the greater good for human society needs to be met. We do have supremacy over other animals, but it does not give us a right to be abusive to animals according to the parameters I set above.

Anyone who has seen the disturbing material about slaughterhouses, animal transports and/or animalmarkets can't argue that some 'owners' seem to have no respect or conscience about these living creatures. The anaesthetic not taking effect and driving together cattle using electric stun guns. Broken bones, infected wounds and sometimes even standing in their own faeces they're brought down the line in their final journey. Sounds like a good way to die, doesn't it? Of course this is a generalization as probably most people with cattle treat them well. But it's always disgusting to see when they're not treated well. Likewise the cruel conditions on furfarms and circuses. These animals may not be abused intentionally but they are kept away from their natural enviorment completely. I'm not saying that the answer is just to release them back into the wild (although for minkfarms in the US it is an option), but that's not my point; they shouldn't be there in the first place. Animal rights may be something parts of America sniffs at but the fact is that they are feeling creatures. Sure their minds may not be as 'deep' as ours or they haven't got as large brains as we do but they do feel. It is wrong to exploit animals. Like the dancing bears, circus elephants or using hedgehogs for a football (believe me it has be done). Some might say that testing medicine on animals is right and knowing that so many people think this I'm not gonna waste my time arguing. However there are tests that are completely unneccessary. Like the ones for comsetics, hygien- and cleaning products. There already are hundreds maybe even thousands of different products in these areas, why bother making any more? Further more I can't argue that 'all slaughterhouses stink and we should all become vegetarians' because I know that it isn't going to happen. I do however have a problem with how the animals are treated before they end up on your dinnertable. All life eventually ends, but shouldn't it be made as pleasant as possible while they're alive?

i agree that ranchers, dairy farms and researchers and such should try to keep their captive animals as comfortable as they can, and important wildlife species should be protected. but organizations like PETA blow the issue out of proportion and out of reality and need to get over themselves and realize that no, animals don't take priority over humans in life-or-death situations.