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Issue Description
There is much debate surrounding animals’ rights. Is fox hunting necessary to control a farming pest, or a cruel blood sport? Is it acceptable for animals to suffer painful testing in order to find cures for debilitating human illnesses? Intensive farm practices cause animal suffering but also provide cheap meat, relied on by many poorer families. These and other dilemmas are looked at in detail in The Animal Rights Debate.
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Key Facts
- Eight out of ten people believe that animal welfare is a key priority for a civilised society, according to new figures produced by the RSPCA – compared to just five out of ten who believed it two years ago. (page 4)
- Worldwide, more than 40 million animals are killed for their fur – 85% are bred and killed on fur farms and the rest are trapped in the wild. (page 5)
- Today, around 400 designers use fur, compared with only 45 in 1985, and the fur industry is worth £500 million a year in Britain alone – and a staggering £7 billion worldwide. (page 7)
- Animal circuses are much less common in Britain than in Europe. Although it is possible to watch acts including crocodiles, lions, snakes and even a kangaroo, a report estimates just 47 animals work regularly in circus rings in this country. (page 9)
- Intensive, indoor rearing of chickens provides 95 per cent of the birds we eat in this country. (page 11)
- The majority of animals used for medical research are rodents and all are bred especially for research. Of all the animals used, 84% (roughly eight out of ten) are mice or rats, 12% are fish, amphibians or birds, 2.1% are sheep, cows or pigs, 1.5% are rabbits or ferrets and 0.3% are dogs and cats. A very small fraction, less than a sixth of 1%, are monkey (primate) species. (page 14)
- Globally an estimated 115 million animals are used in laboratories each year. (page 15)
- Most medical research – over 90% in cost terms – does not use live animals at all. (page 23)
- 82% of males surveyed agreed with the statement: ‘Yes, testing new medical treatments on animals is acceptable’, compared with only 59% of females. (page 26)
- A survey of over 2,000 people carried out in 2008 on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the RSPCA and the League Against Cruel Sports found that, when people were asked about their views on whether fox hunting should be made legal again, almost three-quarters, (73%) said it should remain illegal. (page 29)
- 67% of people surveyed in the 18 to 24 age group felt that it was wrong for a tourist industry to promote bullfighting in any way. This compared with 68% aged 25 to 34, 74% aged 35 to 44, 81% aged 45 to 54, 80% aged 55 to 64 and 80% aged 65+. (page 39)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Animal Welfare
A moral claim not to feel pain, Gana the gorilla: grieving mother?, Animal welfare in the UK, Animal Welfare Act 2006, The fur trade, Fur fast facts, Fur goodness sake: skinned alive for the catwalk, Know the facts about fur, UK circus animals given sufficient care, says report, The cost of cheap meat, It may be cruel, but intensive farming saves lives, The five freedoms, Welfare issues for meat chickens.
Chapter Two: Animal Experiments
Animal experiments, What’s wrong with animal experiments?, Animal experiments – statistics, Should we experiment on animals?, Relevance of animal research, Research and testing using animals, The three Rs, Animal testing – myths and reality, Alternatives to animal experimentation, Caring or cruel? Inside the primate laboratory.
Chapter Three: Blood Sports
Hunting with dogs (fox hunting), Hunting Act 2004: the case for repeal, Hunting, Hunting after the ban, Is the ban working?, Public opinion on hunting with dogs, Cut the bullfighting, Spain dies a death in the afternoon.
Key Facts
Glossary
Index
Additional Resources
Acknowledgements
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The Study Guide for: The Animal Rights Debate - Volume 169
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.95
ISBN: 978 1 86168 495 0