This text of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF ANIMAL RIGHTS has been adopted from the International League of Animal Rights and Affiliated National Leagues in the course of an International Meeting on Animal Rights which took place in London from 21st to 23rd September 1977.
The UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF ANIMAL RIGHTS has been announced by UNESCO on the 27th January 1978
The Spirit of the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights
Preamble
Considering
- that Life is one, all living beings having a common origin and having diversified in the course of the evolution of the species;
- that all living beings possess natural rights, and that any animal with a nervous system has specific rights;
- that the contempt for, and even the simple ignorance of these natural rights cause serious damage to nature and lead man to commit crimes against animals;
- that the coexistence of species implies a recognition by the human species of the right of other animal species to live;
- that the respect of humans for animals is inseparable from the respect of man for another man.
It Is Hereby Proclaimed:
Article 1
- All animals are born equal and they have the same rights to existence.
Article 2
- Every animal has the right to be respected.
- Man, like the animal species, cannot assume the right to exterminate other animals or to exploit them, thereby violating this right. He should use his conscience for the service of the animals.
- Every animal has the right to consideration, good treatment and the protection of man.
Article 3
- No animal should be submitted to bad treatment or cruel actions.
- If the death of an animal is necessary, this should be sudden and without fear or pain.
Article 4
- All animals belonging to a wild species have the right to live free in their natural environment, and have the right to reproduce.
- Each deprivation of freedom, even for educational purposes, is in opposition to this right.
Article 5
- Every animal that usually lives in a domestic environment must live and grow to a rhythm natural to his species.
- Any change to this rhythm and conditions dictated by man for mercantile purpose, is a contradiction of this law.
Article 6
- All animals selected by man, as companions must have a life corresponding to their natural longevity.
- To abandon an animal is a cruel and degrading action.
Article 7
- Working animals must only work for a limited period and must not be worked to exhaustion. They must have adequate food and rest.
Article 8
- Experiments on animals that cause physical and mental pain, are incompatible with animal rights, even if it is for medical, scientific, commercial or any other kind of experiment.
- A substitute technique must be investigated and developed.
Article 9
- In the eventuality of an animal bred for food, it must be fed, managed, transported and killed without it being in fear or pain.
Article 10
- No animal should be used for entertainment.
- Animal exhibitions and shows that use animals are incompatible with an animal's dignity.
Article 11
- Every action that causes the unnecessary death of an animal, is cruel which is a crime against life.
Article 12
- Every action that causes the death of a lot of wild animals is genocide, that is a crime against the species.
- Pollution and destruction leads to the extinction of the species.
Article 13
- Dead animals must be treated with respect.
- Violent scenes, where animals are the victims, must be forbidden at the cinema and on TV, unless they are for the demonstration of animal rights.
Article 14
- Protection and safeguarding associations must be represented at government level.
- Animal rights must be defended by law as are human rights.
The Spirit of the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights
The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights was solemnly proclaimed on October 15, 1978, at UNESCO House in Paris. The declaration constitutes a philosophical stance on the relationship that must now be established between the human species and other species.
The philosophy is founded on modern scientific knowledge and expresses the principle of the equality of species with regard to Life. It provides humanity with a code of biological ethics. Universal egalitarianism is not a new concept; it is seen in civilisations predating Western civilisation and in religions quite different from the Judaeo-Christian tradition.
But these ethics needed to be stated clearly and firmly in today's world which has already suffered considerable disruption and is constantly threatened with destruction, violence and cruelty.
While humanity has gradually managed to draw up a code of rights for its own species, it does not hold any special right over the universe, being, in fact, only one of the animal species on the planet and one of the most recent. Life does not belong to the human species; man is neither the creator nor the exclusive owner of Life. Life belongs equally to fish, insects, mammals, birds and even plants.
In the living world, man has created an arbitrary hierarchy not found in nature and which only takes into account specifically human uses. This anthropocentric hierarchy has given rise to specism, i.e. the adoption of different attitudes towards different species, destroying some, while protecting others, declaring some to be "useful" and others "pests" or "fierce", reserving the term "intelligence" for the human species, whereas animals are merely granted "instincts". Specism is what led man to believe that animals do not experience suffering as humans do. Today it is quite clear that, on the contrary, animals do experience physical suffering in the same way as humans, and that animal thought, related to the presence of a central nervous system, is far more complex than neuroscience had suggested, which therefore means that animals also experience mental suffering. These faculties confer special rights on animals in comparison to vegetables.
The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights is designed to help humanity restore its harmonious relationship with the universe. It is not designed to revive the lifestyle of primitive tribes. It is a stage during which humans will come to respect life in all its forms, for the benefit of the entire biological community to which humankind belongs and on which it depends. The Declaration must not divert attention from the fight against human poverty and suffering, both mental and physical, against rampant selfishness, political detention and torture. Quite the opposite. By observing respect for animal rights, human rights will also be respected, the two being inseparable.
The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights presents humanity with a philosophy, a code of biological ethics and a code of moral behaviour which, when given careful consideration, and when true awareness is developed, will help the human race resume its proper position amongst the different living species as part of the balance of nature, this being a basic prerequisite for the very survival of the human species.
This means that the human species must change present attitudes and abandon anthropocentrism, as well as all forms of zoolatry, so as to adopt a mode of behaviour and moral code based on the defence of Life and grant precedence being given to biocentrism.
With such ambitions, the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights constitutes a key stage in the history of human intelligence and moral considerations.
source: http://league-animal-rights.org/en-esprit.html