The Difference Between Animal Rights and Animal Welfare.

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There is a marked difference between an animal’s rights and the animal’s welfare, which I hope to define for you.

There can be some confusion over these two words, rights and welfare so let’s first get the definitions.

“Rights” (pertaining to this discussion) as defined by the Collins dictionary:

those things that one is morally or legally entitled to do or have.

Examples can be:

• voting rights
• human rights
• animal rights
• equal rights for women

“Welfare” (pertaining to this discussion) as defined by the Collins dictionary:

the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organisation; well-being
to look after a child’s welfare
the physical or moral welfare of society

One is a moral entitlement, and the other is a societal moral agreement.

Bringing this into the animal realm, both are for the animals, with one being more so than the other. I’ll begin with:

Animal Welfare.