A Study on the Status of Animals and their Ri...

A Study on the Status of Animals and their Rights in the Modern World

Author Name : R. Isha Bhavanti

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56025/IJARESM.2022.10122270

ABSTRACT

Man, throughout history, has seen animals to be some kind of a property which determine their status. However, in some societies, some animals were revered and treated as sacred. For example, among Hindus, cows are considered as sacred. Similarly, some tribal communities also deeply respected certain animals according to their totems. For example, the Toda tribe of Nilgiris worship Buffalos of that region. In spite of this, animals were not given any specific rights in the past. However, owing to the advancement in the society, in the modern world, animals have been given the status of legal persons with certain rights. But the debate continues as to whether animals are to be given rights equivalent to that of humans or not. Through this empirical study conducted among 215 respondents around the world, it is evident that the majority of the people recognise animal rights and that animal sacrifices need to be banned by law. However, religious sentiments and meat consumption are a matter of concern when it comes to animal rights. It is concluded that animals have the right to live and humans have a unanimous duty to protect the animals from any kind of harm and live in harmony with them.

Keywords: Animals, animal rights, animal sacrifice, legal persons.