Zelle 38
Animal exploitation, animal protection, animal rights
Description
Their specific properties make animals a much sought-after source of raw materials. For centuries they were regarded as a resource like any other and their skin, bone and hair used to make musical instruments. Not until the eighteenth century were animals viewed as sentient creatures. Two hundred years later, this realization led to the adoption of today’s animal rights laws aimed at humane animal husbandry. Some animal ethicists are now calling for animal life to be recognized as a value in its own right. They are therefore demanding laws that would accord animals fundamental rights. This shift from animal as object to animal as individual has prompted more and more people to become vegans and to seek synthetic alternatives to animal materials.