The fundamental principle of the animal rights movement is that nonhuman animals deserve to live according to their own natures, free from harm, abuse, and exploitation. This goes further than just saying that we should treat animals well while we exploit them, or before we kill and eat them. It says animals deserve to be free from human cruelty and exploitation, just as humans possess this right. The withholding of this right from the nonhuman animals based on their species membership is referred to as "speciesism".
Animal rights activists try to extend the human circle of respect and compassion beyond our species to include other animals, who are also capable of feeling pain, fear, hunger, thirst, loneliness, and kinship. When we try to do this, many of us come to the conclusion that we can no longer support factory farming, vivisection, and the exploitation of animals for entertainment.--Excerpted from Animal Rights Frequently Asked Questions.
In a world filled with human rights abuses and environmental destruction, is animal exploitation really a top-priority issue? Read these essays to learn why animal liberation is a serious moral concern and about how animal liberation intersects with social justice and environmental issues.
Introduction
Serious Moral Concern Is Not Species-limited by Nedim C. Buyukmihci, V.M.DAnimal Liberation Philosophy: Overviews
Animal Rights Frequently Asked Questions
Animals and Ethics (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Animals' Rights Considered in Relation to Social Progress by Henry Salt (complete book)
Philosophy of Animal Rights (Singer, Adams, Regan, Sapontzis, Rachels explained)
From Heroic to Holistic Ethics: The Ecofeminist Challenge by Marti Kheel
Communicating Care: An Ecofeminist Perspective by Marti Kheel
The Killing Game: An Ecofeminist Critique of Hunting by Marti Kheel
From Healing Herbs to Deadly Drugs: Western Medicine's War Against the Natural World by Marti Kheel
Ecofeminist Perspectives
Vegetarianism and Ecofeminism: Toppling Patriarchy with a Fork by Marti KheelFrom Heroic to Holistic Ethics: The Ecofeminist Challenge by Marti Kheel
Communicating Care: An Ecofeminist Perspective by Marti Kheel
The Killing Game: An Ecofeminist Critique of Hunting by Marti Kheel
From Healing Herbs to Deadly Drugs: Western Medicine's War Against the Natural World by Marti Kheel
Invertebrates
Animal Suffering: An Invertebrate Perspective by Jennifer Mather
The Suffering of Invertebrates: An Approach from Animal Ethics by Alejandro Villamor
Painism
The Ethics of Painism: The Argument Against Painful Experiments by Richard D. Ryder
Animal Rights and Animal Welfare: Five Frequently Asked Questions by Gary L. Francione
Animal Rights Theory and Utilitarianism: Relative Normative Guidance by Gary L. Francione
The Case for Animal Rights by Tom Regan
Claims of Rights are Often Wrong by Matthew M. Ball
The Animal Liberation Movement by Peter Singer
Peter Singer FAQ -- Animal Liberation
Root Causes of Animal, Human, and Environmental ExploitationThe Suffering of Invertebrates: An Approach from Animal Ethics by Alejandro Villamor
Painism
The Ethics of Painism: The Argument Against Painful Experiments by Richard D. Ryder
Rights Views
Animal Rights and Animal Welfare by Gary L. Francione Animal Rights and Animal Welfare: Five Frequently Asked Questions by Gary L. Francione
Animal Rights Theory and Utilitarianism: Relative Normative Guidance by Gary L. Francione
The Case for Animal Rights by Tom Regan
Claims of Rights are Often Wrong by Matthew M. Ball
Utilitarian Views
All Animals Are Equal by Peter Singer The Animal Liberation Movement by Peter Singer
Peter Singer FAQ -- Animal Liberation
Science and Animal Suffering
Do Animals Feel Pain? by Peter Singer
The Scientific Basis for Assessing Suffering in Animals by Marian Stamp Dawkins
Social Justice and Animal Liberation
The American Left Should Support Animal Rights: A Manifesto by Gary Francione, Anna Charlton, and Sue Coe
Think Like a Chicken (animal rights/ecofeminist critique of deep ecology) by Karen Davis
Further Readings in Animal Liberation Philosophy
Abortion versus Animal Rights by Ted Altar
The Alpha Centaurians Have Landed by Ted Altar
Animal Advocacy and Abortion by Larry Rosenfeld
Animal Rights and Native Culture by Ted Altar
Animal Suffering by Donald Graft
Beyond Might Makes Right by Matthew Ball and Jack Norris
The Diversionary Tactic of Plant Pain by Ted Altar
The Fallacies Behind the Plant Pain Argument by Ted Altar
Gaps in the Mind by Richard Dawkins
Ill-Gotten Gains by Tom Regan
Keeping Species on Ice by Mary Midgley
Moral Constraints and Animals by Robert Nozick
On Abstinence from Animal Foods by Porphry
Peace on Earth by C. David Coates
Remember Socrates: Don't Eat Animals by John C. Champagne
The Rhetoric of Apology in Animal Rights by Dr. Karen Davis
Secular Ethics and Animal Rights by Peter D. Wilson
The Vampire's Dilemma: Animal Rights and Parasitical Nature by Andrew Linzey
