Adherents of this philosophy believe that animals have the right to such things as respectful treatment, bodily integrity, and freedom of movement, and that violating the rights of animals is not morally justified, no matter how great the potential benefits to humans may be thought to be. Proponents of animal rights also believe it is wrong to commodify animals, to treat them as a means to an end, for the same kinds of reasons it is wrong for us to treat other humans in this manner. In this way, animal rights is similar to human rights. Practitioners of the philosophy of animal rights resolve not to use products derived from the use or killing animals for such things as food, clothing, entertainment, or scientific research. They also refuse to support or collaborate with those who use and kill animals for these purposes. See also veganism, non-cooperation and non-participation.
Common Misuse: The term animal rights is often misused in the mainstream media as a synonym for any form of animal advocacy or animal protection work, when in fact the term has a very specific meaning. This misuse is comparably inaccurate to describing social work as the practice of human rights. Additionally, some animal advocates confuse the philosophy of animal rights with utilitarianism.
