From Apply Now,
Your Guide to Animal Rights.
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The positions of individuals and organizations concerned with animal issues vary widely, but in general, animal advocates fall into three main camps: animal welfare, animal rights and animal protection. Typically, however, the individual beliefs of animal advocates are drawn from a mix of all three philosophies.

The Animal Welfare Viewpoint

The oldest of the three philosophies is animal welfare, which has been around since the late 1800s. This point of view holds that it is acceptable for humans to use animals, as long as the animals are treated humanely in the process.

Proponents of animal welfare often make distinctions among which animals deserve human protection. They seek to protect some animals, such as pets and endangered species, while destroying other animals, such as those that are considered pests, livestock or “game” animals for hunting. For example, to some animal welfarists, it is acceptable to kill and eat cows, as long as they are treated in a so-called humane manner before and during slaughter, while consuming dogs and cats is considered unacceptable.

Examples of animal welfare groups include International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), American Humane Association (AHA) and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), as well as many local humane societies and animal adoption groups.

The Animal Rights Viewpoint

In the 1970s, the concept of animal rights emerged, and academic philosophers began to explore concepts such as legal rights for animals and the ethics of “speciesism.” Often referred to as abolitionist or liberation philosophy, the animal rights point of view holds that animals deserve not to be killed, kept in captivity or tortured by humans. Although individuals within the animal rights movement may hold varied opinions about different animal issues, the movement as a whole opposes the use of animals for food, clothing, entertainment, research and other human gain.

Some animal rightists are thought of as militant, radical and extreme. Even within the animal rights movement, however, there are a wide range of beliefs about issues and tactics. For example, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is willing to break the law in the name of the cause, while other animal rights organizations are not.

The Animal Protection Viewpoint

Between both ends of the spectrum is animal protection. This moderate position is based on the idea of incremental social change - that progress happens in stages rather than all at once. Animal protectionists believe that the welfare of individual animals should be protected at the same time that efforts are being made toward the long-range goal of raising the status of animals in society.

Animal protectionists are usually more willing to sit at the table with so-called adversaries to work out temporary compromises. Their work includes aspects of both animal rights and animal welfare simultaneously. The term “animal protection” has been growing in popularity as the term “animal rights” increasingly carries a negative connotation as an extreme or radical view and the term “animal welfare” is many times considered to be not a strong enough position. Examples of animal protection groups include the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Animal Protection Institute (API) and In Defense of Animals (IDA).