A common belief
Many people think animals are already protected by law and that exploitation only happens because the laws aren't enforced.
What the laws say
Laws usually reflect what most of society thinks. And we live in speciesist societies. So most laws treat animals very differently from humans.
In the law, there are usually two categories:
- persons, who have rights;
- things, which can be someone's property.
Animals are usually in the category of things: they're considered property.
What about animal welfare laws?
There are laws that ban certain kinds of mistreatment. But since animals are still property, these laws allow almost everything done in exploitation: confining, mutilating, killing. They only regulate how to exploit, not whether exploiting is acceptable.
"To have rights, you have to understand them"
Some say only those who understand what rights are can have them. But babies and small children don't understand, and they have rights. Rights protect those who can be harmed, not just those who know how to claim them.
What to do
There are good reasons to change animals' status in the law: take them out of the category of things and recognize them as holders of rights. But for that to happen, we first need to change the way people see animals.
In short
- In the law, animals are usually property, not holders of rights.
- Animal welfare laws only regulate the way animals are exploited.
- Changing the law depends on changing how people see animals.