Thursday Blog: Week Four

As I continue reading Rattling the Cage by Steven M. Wise I have begun to learn more about what animal rights really are. One of the main things this book has taught me about is the history behind the animal rights movement. Before reading the book I had never really thought that animal rights were something that has been long debated, but merely an issue which recently became a hot topic. Through Wise’s words, I have learned much of the history behind animal rights and that has led me to understand my essential question as to what animal rights really are.

Within the first few pages of the book, it becomes clear that the book would cover both modern and previous issues around animal rights. The issues Wise discuss trace back to biblical times, Ancient Rome, and Ancient  Greece many times. Before reading these passages I never really understood where the animal rights movement came from, but now I understand. One quote that “ Roman jurist Hermogenianus “hominum causa omne jus constitum” ("All law was established for men’s sake”) (Wise 24). That law is followed by an explanation the law was made for men and allows no fellowship or bonds of obligation between them and the lower animals. This showed me that even back then people were talking about where people and animals stand on a legal standard. The fact that thousands of years ago they were making these laws that the animal rights movement was started long before I had previously thought.

Source: explore-italian-culture.com

After reading about Ancient Rome and Animal rights I gained more comprehension of the entire movement in itself. I learned that it has always been a controversial topic, but I also learned that the level of animal rights being requested has steadily increased. In ancient times people did not want animals to have rights, the rights denoted to animals were simply that all animals are below humans. As time progressed, people began to push for some basic rights for animals, but still, humans were the main beneficiary. This stage of animal rights asked for compensation for damage to animals payable to the owners. Although it has been a slow progression towards where we are today, animal rights have been evolving for a very long time. 

Here is a timeline of some of the things SPCA has accomplished during the time that the animal rights movement was evolving.

Source: sfspca.org