Sometimes people are surprised to hear that I do not consider myself an animal rights person. I am an animal welfare supporter. What’s the difference? I’m so glad you asked.

Basically Animal Rights people believe that all living creatures are equal. There is no distinction between the value of a human life vs that of a dog. In fact, Michael Fox of the Humane Society of the United States (a seemingly benign name) has been heard to say that “There is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. They’re all mammals. The life of an ant and the life of my child should be accorded equal respect.”

They generally believe that no animal should be used or harmed to benefit humans. On the surface this sounds reasonable enough right? Animal testing for cosmetics is bad, wearing fur is bad (and kind of gross), wearing leather is not as bad if you eat beef too (according to some). How about medical testing on animals? Studying the effects of medicines on diseases, using animal parts inside medicine. Monkey heart transplants? Horse products in glue for your furniture? What are bricks made out of? Where did the chemicals in the dye for your clothes come from? What do they use to make magnetic videotapes? Ok so it’s really hard to track every single ingredient in products used in your daily life. But some people like to think that their cruelty-free undyed hemp underpants are better than yours so they get to dictate how and when animals can be used to benefit your life.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is probably the best known animal rights organization and they have some dubious associations indeed - violent groups such as the Animal Liberation Front. Because they’re considered non-profit their tax returns are public knowledge - and they’ve given money to people that are known fugitives for bombing medical labs to express their disapproval, domestic terrorists if you will. Also, the secretary of PETA is an insulin-dependant diabetic. Guess what’s in her insulin? You guessed it. She’s been known to say that the animals who had to die for her insulin pay a small price for the work she does for their fellow living creatures’ benefit.

Another charming PETA campaign I’ve heard about is assuming that all people who are overweight are carnivores and naming people like Michael Moore members of the “flabby five”.

According to some PETA literature I’ve read they also don’t believe that animals should be kept as pets - regardless of how well they’re cared for. They believe that all pets should be set free to roam the streets on their own - to starve to death because they’re so far from their hunter ancestors they don’t have the first clue how to hunt, and when their instincts do kick in there aren’t enough resources to share. Free to get run over by our cars, free to attack small children on their way to the bus. Are we starting to envision scenes from 12 Monkeys yet?

These groups also don’t believe that we should use seeing eye dogs and have been known to compare images showing the containment and slaughter of chickens for the food industry to those of emaciated corpses in World War II concentration camps. Does this sound rational, ethical, humane, and caring?

So how do these extremist views contrast with those of animal welfare activists?

The animal welfare philosophy is fundamentally different from the animal rights philosophy, since it endorses the responsible use of animals to satisfy certain human needs. These range from companionship and sport, to uses which involve the taking of life, such as for food, clothing and medical research. Animal welfare means ensuring that all animals used by humans have their basic needs fulfilled in terms of food, shelter and health, and that they experience no unnecessary suffering in providing for human needs.

My beliefs are pretty much exactly those of the American Veterinary Medical Association-

Animal welfare is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well being, including proper housing, management, nutrition, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling, and, when necessary, humane euthanasia.

Animal rights is a philosophical view and personal value characterized by statements by various animal rights groups. Animal welfare and animal rights are not synonymous terms. The AVMA wholeheartedly endorses and adopts promotion of animal welfare as official policy; however, the AVMA cannot endorse the philosophical views and personal values of animal rights advocates when they are incompatible with the responsible use of animals for human purposes, such as companionship, food, fiber, and research conducted for the benefit of both humans and animals.

So while I adore my pets, generally do prefer the company of my dog to a good number of people, and have pretty strong feelings about neutering please don’t confuse me with the whacko extremists who are building their own army of lawyers in an attempt to legally change the use of “owner” to “guardian” in local animal control ordinances.

Anyway, I’m working on a theory about an extremist animal rights group being behind a series of urban legend spam emails targetted at a particular corporation. I’ll say more about it tomorrow.