Arguments Against Animal Rights

Every year, over 39 million animals are killed inhumanely in the United States (Perdew). Many of these animals are not used for food and are often killed because they are not needed by the workers. These animals are abused and forced into harmful situations everyday for the selfish benefits of others. They are skinned, beaten, scalded, and slaughtered while still conscious and without any pain medication. Unfortunately, without any rights, animals are forced to go through immense amounts of suffering. Animals should have rights because they have feelings, are tested on under unnecessary circumstances, and are put through large amounts of pain and suffering because there are limited laws that protect them. Animals have the ability to suffer

Statistics show that “In the United States, more than 8.54 billion chickens are slaughtered every year. The annual total for fish is 6 billion; for pigs, 100 million; and for cattle, the figure is 42 million” (Taylor 31). In addition to the startling amount of animals that are killed every year, “Only female chicks can lay eggs and have the body type to be used for meat. With no market demand for male chicks, they are usually killed by grinding, gassing, crushing, or suffocation” (Taylor 34). This is hardly the strongest evidence that meat processing and handling is an extremely flawed system. Animals are often killed inhumanely if they are unable to be used by the manufacturers because they do not want to have to go through the process of giving them to a farm. Another equally important issue is how painful the slaughtering process is for the animals. Within most slaughterhouses, “Hogs, unlike cattle, are dunked in tanks of hot water after they are stunned to soften the hides of skinning. As a result, a botched slaughter condemns some hogs to be scalded and drowned. Secret videotapes from Iowa park plant shows hogs squealing and kicking as they are being lowered into the water” (Warrick 67). Similarly, “Because the purpose of slaughterhouses is to kill animals as quickly as possible, many are still conscious when their bodies are dragged through scalding tanks and as their throats are slit and their bodies are dismembered” (“The Slaughter”). This is a significant and common issue that occurs in slaughterhouses. The animals are tortured and killed at an agonizingly slow pace. They are not stunned or given pain medication because it is too much of a hassle for the workers, who fail to acknowledge the value of another living creature’s life. With the information given, it is easy to see that animals need to be given rights