Animal rights is not animal welfare

Many people confuse the term "animal welfare" with "animal rights" — even though there are vast differences between the two concepts. "Animal welfare" is defined as the responsibility we have to treat animals with compassion and provide them with humane and ethical care. Your local animal shelter, the Delta Society and the Animal Health Foundation are examples of animal welfare organizations.

On the other hand, "animal rights" encompasses a philosophical view that puts animals on the same moral plain as humans, and rejects the use of animals for any reason: for clothing, food, entertainment, sport, companionship, transportation, rescue work or biomedical research. Organizations that embrace animal rights tenets include People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), In Defense of Animals, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. 

It’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between animal welfare and animal rights organizations.  Animal rights groups often hide their radical agendas behind language that emphasizes animal welfare initiatives.  This leads the unsuspecting to join or contribute without realizing the extreme views held by the leaders of these groups.

Local shelters that take in and care for lost and homeless pets are often forced to compete for funding with wealthy national organizations with animal rights mandates, such as the Humane Society of the United States which raised nearly $75 million in 2004 and is not a national umbrella organization for local humane societies.

One needs to be especially cautious as sometimes organizations that are primarily focused on animal welfare, such as the American Humane Association or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will, with all apparent good intentions to "help the animals," sign onto an animal rights campaign without independently discerning whether the claims are valid.  

Be sure to study any animal group you are considering supporting.  See whether its website or newsletter include "animal rights" language and materials. One way not to inadvertently finance extreme causes is to check to see if the group engages in direct animal care.  If so, designate that your money be used for that purpose only. 

Read an essay by the president and chief executive of the St. Louis Zoo that expands on the differences between "animal rights" and "animal welfare."