Animal rights is not a set of laws; it is a moral philosophy. Its central tenet, most powerfully articulated by philosopher Tom Regan in The Case for Animal Rights , is that animals are what he calls "subjects-of-a-life." They have beliefs, desires, memories, a sense of the future, a psychological identity that persists over time. They are somebodies , not somethings . And because they possess this inherent value, they cannot be treated as things—as property, as means to human ends.
Legislation varies significantly by region but generally follows a property-rights model rather than a rights-based model.
(access to fresh water and a healthy diet).
The core of the discussion around our relationship with non-human creatures is divided into two distinct but overlapping frameworks: animal welfare animal rights
