Religion And Animal Rights Flashcards
Define animal rights
The rights animals have to live without cruelty, and to have good treatment
Define battery farming
Farming where animals are kept in small pens or cages and prevented from roaming freely
Define bull fighting
Sport in which trained matadors fight bulls, usually leading to the bull’s death
Define cloning
Producing an organism exactly identical to another asexually
Define extinction
Where a whole species has been wiped out, and cannot exist again
Define free-range farming
Farming where animals are allowed to roam in the open
Define fur trade
An industry which breeds animals to sell their fur in cloning etc.
Define genetic modification
Where DNA is taken and adjusted or modified then reinserted into an egg, which is the placed into an animal,s womb to produce a replica of the original.
Define hunting
The practice of pursuing an animal with the intention to catch and kill it
Define ivory trade
Illegal industry which sells items made from ivory, e.g. Elephants tusk
Define preservation of species
Actions taken to keep a species in existence, e.g. Zoo breeding programmes for endangered animals
Define vegan diet
Diet which does not include any meat, meat products or dairy products
Define vegetarian diet
Diet which does not include meat or meat products
What are animal rights?
Laws in the UK that protect domestic (pet) animals, farm animals and endangered speices. They do this by enforcing the looking after on animals - food, water, shelter, and no cruelty
Are animals and humans equal?
Yes - all created by god, all live in the same world and rely on the same resources, dependent on each other and are just different species of the same world
No - humans are cleverer, god gave humans control over animals, impact of humans is greater so not equal and we can kill animals, but cannot kill other humans
How are animals used by humans?
Sport - bull fighting, bird shooting
Entertainment- zoos, circuses, horse racing
Experimental test subjects - mice, rats, monkeys, dogs
Food - lamb, cows, hens, pigs
Providers - sheep wool, cows milk, hens eggs, bees honey
Workers - police dogs, customs dogs, hunting dogs and birds
Exercise - horses
Pets - cats, dogs. This also includes guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs etc. Animals which are both companions and helpers to people
How can we prevent the extinction of animals?
Many zoos try to breed endangered species to try to prevent extinctiom. Laws to protect species also exist.
Why is it important to protect animals?
Loosing any species is a blow to the ecosystem. Our children will inherit a depleted world. Moral and spiritual guidance is to protect life not destroy it (stewardship).
Why are people vegetarian/vegan?
Medical problem; don’t like the taste of meat; disagree with farming methods or slaughter methods; think it is morally wrong to eat meat; religious rules
Food rules in religion
Christianity- left to individual Christians to decide
Sikhism - no meat from an animal which has been ritually slaughtered.
Christian teachings to animal rights
- God made the world and gave humans dominion over it
- ‘Scientists must abandon laboratories and factories of death’
- The earth snd everything in it are the Lord’s
- Jesus said God cares about even the sparrows
Sikh teachings to animal rights
- God’s light is in every creature
- Guru Gobind Singh stated that he enjoyed hunting - so it’s not forbidden
- All food is pure as god has given it for our sustenance
Define animal experimentation
Experiments carried out using animals as the test subject e.g. For testing cosmetics or for new drugs