animal agriculture farm animals animal welfare animal rights factory farms federal regulations agribusiness
Abstract:
Billions of farm animals die each year to feed the American population. During the animal production process, most farm animals undergo mental and physical suffering. A primary reason for the persistence of this institutionalized suffering lies in the legal status of farm animals. While some animal rights activists call for complete animal liberation, this solution is vastly impractical for the present societal climate. To lessen the suffering of farm animals, a new legal framework can be devised. This pragmatic, welfare-based framework will retain farm animals’ status as property, while imposing stricter regulations on the personal space requirements and rearing methods of the animals in question. This framework and its associated regulations act as a compromise between ethical valuations and social and economic considerations.
