Image credit: Edgar's Mission
In the latest episode of the Think Like a Vegan podcast, Emilia Leese, co-author of Think Like a Vegan - A new perspective on vegan ethics, provides a thought-provoking exploration of animal ethics, emphasising the critical distinction between animal rights and animal welfare.
In the podcast, What's the difference between animal rights and welfare, Leese argues that while compassion and kindness are important, they are not sufficient to ensure ethical treatment of animals. True moral consideration requires recognising animals as sentient individuals with inherent rights.
Leese begins by defining rights as basic entitlements that all people inherently possess simply by being alive. These can be viewed as a form of fairness, ensuring that individuals, regardless of morally irrelevant differences such as race or gender, are treated equally. She asserts that "basic fairness" applies equally to human and non-human animals due to their shared sentience, which is the ability to experience feelings and sensations.
This shared sentience is the basis for recognising the moral worth of non-human animals and the obligation to treat them with respect.
Welfare is a measure of how well animals are treated within a system of exploitation. While welfare laws focus on reducing the suffering of animals within existing systems of use, they ultimately accept the continued exploitation of animals rather than calling for the abolition of all use. This focus is about how animals can be treated, not whether they should be used in the first place. Welfare laws only serve to dictate how humans may use animals, rather than acknowledging that animals should not be used as objects at all.
Leese argues that sentience is a key factor that connects humans and animals morally. Despite acknowledging critiques that sentience might not be the most comprehensive standard, she emphasises that it is the most basic way to morally evaluate how we treat animals. The fact that animals are sentient obligates us to extend the same ethical considerations we apply to humans.
She concludes that the current state of animal welfare is primarily for human benefit, allowing society to feel comfortable with how animals are treated, rather than truly addressing the root ethical problem of exploitation.
Leese's focus is firmly on animal rights, stating that the very existence of welfare laws means that society has bypassed the fundamental question: should we be using animals at all? Welfare laws operate within a framework that views animals as property or objects and this is fundamentally unjust. She powerfully states, "welfarism is an expedient compromise I'm unwilling to make on behalf of animals."
The issue with welfare is that it allows for the continued commodification of animals. It is not about ensuring animals live free from exploitation, but rather about managing their suffering within systems of exploitation. Leese states that it is our moral obligation to recognise animals' right of not being an object and calls for a "radical recognition" of animals' fundamental rights to live free from use and ownership.
Leese acknowledges that there are many people dedicated to welfare campaigns who have made significant personal sacrifices for the cause and while these efforts are important, there needs to be a stronger focus on animal rights. The conversation must move from "how" we use animals to whether we should use them at all.
Her discussion in this episode serves as a powerful reminder that true ethical progress must go beyond compassion and reducing suffering, it must address the fundamental injustice of animal exploitation. The episode challenges listeners to rethink their own perspectives on animal ethics and to engage with the broader, more radical concept of animal rights.
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