Is it possible for animals to have rights?

Is it possible for animals to have rights?

                When looking at the issue of animal rights, we need to first define what rights are. The United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights says, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood" (Human Rights 1). This document clearly defines rights that are given to specifically humans however; globally there are no rights specifically for animals. I believe animals do posses rights based on local animal protection laws and species preservation.

                Animal rights are evident in the protection and preservation of animals. This is done through the endangered species list, which protects species of animals from becoming extinct by forbidding hunting and killing of that animal. Steps to preserve animal's habitats have been taken with the regulation of zoos and national parks. These serve to separate animals from humans allowing them to live in relative peace. What these programs do is preserve animals rights to live a safely with a smaller chance of being killed. These are not the only step to protect animal rights.

                There are governments around the world that have passed laws protecting animals against cruelty and killing. Laws against mistreating animals have been set in place to protect their rights. In parts of India, for example, killing a cow is almost as bad legally as taking a human life. The United States has many animal protection laws in place. Inhumane treatment of animals has lead to court cases and prison time. One case that was in the media recently is the Michael Vick dog fighting trial. Dog fighting is an animal rights issue that the U.S. government takes a strong stance against, "Dog fighting is a felony in Virginia and 47 other states. Transporting dogs over state lines for dog fighting is a federal crime"(Maske). Fighting dogs has been considered inhumane and against the rights of the animals, therefore Michael Vick went to prison for his crime. The Animal Welfare Act of 2002 reaffirmed laws that enforce the humane slaughter and testing of animals (Animallaw). Having these laws in place helps protect and enforce infringing on animal rights.  

                By no means is the treatment of animals perfect, there are still a lot of things that need to be addressed when looking at animal rights. The system is never prefect, and as times goes on, animal rights will be more developed. Take a look two hundred years ago; there was whole industry on the trafficking and selling of people. As time went on, this disappeared and human rights have grown to where they are now. Thought animal rights are limited to preservation of species and enforcing laws against animal cruelty, in the future animal rights could be entirely something else. There is no doubt that animal rights do exist in the world today in limited forms.