Non-human animal rights: the categorical imperative of our time

There are two parts to this rather long article. in the first part, after describing the modern factory farm and presenting selected evidence of the gross cruelty meted out to billions of farm animals in order to provide us with ever-cheaper meat, I will describe the philosophical and legal framework, which legitimises dominion and ownership by man over non-humans, with the assertion that they feel little or no pain. In the second part, will turn to the evidence — equally incontrovertible — that the farm animals we abuse share with us the ability to feel pain and pleasure and, more generally, to desire a better life. I will then suggest a philosophical framework, based on giving animals rights similar to those enjoyed by humans in Kant’s categorical imperative. Animals enjoy legal standing and a form of citizenship in the public policy system derived from the philosophical discussion. I will conclude with some practical steps we can take to actually improve animals’ lives.

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