Animal welfare is predicated on the belief that humans have a moral obligation to treat animals humanely. Rooted partly in the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham—who famously argued that the capacity to suffer, not the capacity to reason, should grant a being moral consideration—welfare focuses on minimizing pain and distress.
Counterargument 1: Human exceptionalism. Animals lack moral agency, language, or culture, so they cannot have rights. Response: Rights are not contingent on performing duties; human infants and dementia patients lack these capacities yet retain rights. Animal welfare is predicated on the belief that
Welfare standards are often guided by the , which establish the minimum requirements for an animal's well-being: not the capacity to reason
Uses science-based standards like the (ASPCA). Animal welfare is predicated on the belief that