Animal Rights Movement

 The animal rights movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement which seeks an end to the moral and legal distinction drawn between human and animals, an end to the status of animals as property, and an end to their use in the research, food, clothing, and entertainment industries. The movement strives to create a more equitable world in which animals are treated with more kindness, understanding and respect.

The concept of animal rights has existed for thousands of years. In Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, there is the concept of ahiṃsā, meaning nonviolence, and it is a central tenet. Jainism, for example, opposes cruelty to animals, and forbids its followers to work in a zoo, cut down trees or use any fabric, including silk, that is produced by harming other living beings.   In Europe and North America there were many precursors to today's animal rights movement. The first animal cruelty legislation prohibiting the pulling of wool from live sheep was passed in 1635. In 1822, Richard Martin, known as "Humanity Dick," passed Martin's Law, which sought to prevent cruelty to livestock. Martin was one of the founding members of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the world's first animal welfare charity, in 1824. The first explicit reference to the concept of animal rights comes from the book Animals' Rights: Considere

If you would like to help with this movement there are many things you can do. First, you can join local animal rights groups, which gives you the opportunity to find out what is going on in your community. You can also protest, donate to organizations against animal abuse, or if you can't donate, share on your social networks so that those who can donate will do so. Finally, inform yourself as much as you can, for this there are thousands of websites, books and people you can ask for information, and once you know the movement well, inform others. This way everyone can make a change. There is still a long road ahead before the animal rights movement achieves the ultimate goal of legally enshrining rights for other-than-human animals. Fortunately, progress is being made in Western countries and around the world, though it may be incremental. As people come to understand more about animals and the suffering they endure at human hands, hopefully the change will only accelerate. Dear