To minimize suffering and improve living conditions through better laws and industry standards. Animal Rights: The Ethical Shift
| Framework | Core Principle | Key Thinkers | Practical Implication | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Maximize pleasure, minimize pain for all sentient beings. | Jeremy Bentham, Peter Singer | Accepts animal use but demands rigorous humane standards (e.g., cage-free eggs). | | Deontological Rights | Animals have inviolable rights (e.g., not to be property). | Tom Regan | Opposes all animal ownership; supports veganism and abolition of pet breeding. | | Relational / Care Ethics | Moral duties depend on the human-animal relationship (pet, pest, livestock, wild). | Mary Midgley, Bernard Rollin | Context-specific rules: high duty to pets; lower to lab rats; stewardship to wildlife. | | Capabilities Approach | Animals deserve the opportunity to express natural behaviors. | Martha Nussbaum | Focus on “flourishing” – e.g., a pig must be able to root, a bird to fly. | rabbit bestiality 2021