Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Questions and Answers for Q8 and Q11

8.When were Animal Rights first proposed?

 People have discussed the matters of animal rights since the ancient times.
For example, Pythagoras, who was the ancient greek genius, has been regarded as one of the first advocators of animal rights. More recently, it is thought that Australian philosopher 'Peter Singer' is the founder of the modern animal rights concept.
 His famous book 'Animal Liberation', published in 1975, affected a lot of people and governments all around the world.

--Referrence--

"Pythagoras." Animal Rights Quotes-Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.animalrightshistory.org/animal-rights-antiquity/pythagoras.htm>.
"." . N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.think-differently-about-sheep.com/A_Rights_a%20History_Pythagoras.htm>.
"The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to Peta [ペーパーバック]." Amazon.co.jp: The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from
Pythagoras to Peta: Norm Phelps: 洋書. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.amazon.co.jp/The-Longest-Struggle-Advocacy-
Pythagoras/dp/1590561066>.

11.How is Foie gras (goose liver) made?

 According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which is based in Washington, D.C. and is the largest nonprofit organization advocating animal rights in the world, Foie gras (French for “fatty liver”) is the product of extreme animal cruelty. Factory farms produce it by force feeding ducks so much that their livers become diseased and enlarged. This causes a tremendous amount of suffering and can make it difficult for the birds to walk and breathe normally.
 However, there are many people who are fond of this traditional French cuisine.

--Referrence--

"Force-Fed Animals : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2014.
<http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/force_fed_animals/ >
"Foie Gras." Foie Gras. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.traditionalfrenchfood.com/foie-gras.html>.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Questions and Answers for Q6 and Q7

Q6. How many kinds of animals are there in the world?

<Vertebrate Animals>

CategorySpecies
Mammals  5,490
Birds  9,998
Reptiles  9,084
Amphibians  6,433
Fishes  31,300
  
Total Vertebrates 62,305

These illustrate the numbers of kinds of animals as of 2010.
According to the data, it is clear that fishes have the largest amount of numbers while we, humans are the minority animals compared with other kinds of animals.


Q7. How many endangered animal species are there now?

Animal Species Extinction StatisticsNumber of Species
Number of Animal species that have gone extinct801
Number of Animals that are extinct in the wild64
Number of Animals that are critically endangered3,879
Number of Animals that are endangered5,689
Number of Animals that are vulnerable10,002
Number of Animals that are near threatened4,389
Number of Animals that are least concern27,124

As the table graph above shows, it can be seen that as many as roughly 10,000 species are endangered as of 2013. Giant panda is one of the endangered species and a great care for the specie has been taken by many groups such as WWF.

--Reference--
Osborn, Liz . "Number of Species Identified on Earth." . Current Results, n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. http://www.currentresults.com/Environment-Facts/Plants-Animals/number-species.php.
"Total number of extinct species." . endangeredspeciesinternationa, n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. http://www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org/overview1.html.
"Endangered Species Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. http://www.statisticbrain.com/endangered-species-statistics/.
"." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. http://www.worldwildlife.org/species.


Questions and Answers for Q1 and Q2

Q1. Is there any difference between animal rights and human rights?

 A. Fundamentally, animal rights mainly demand that every animal should be treated with dignity. At the same time, they strongly oppose the animal abuses. However, it does not mean that they try to restrain people from eating animals.
  On the other hand, human rights express that all humans have same rights. They are not demands and requests, but they are confirmations.
 The clear difference between animal rights and human rights would be whether they are to give or to already be given.

Q2. What is the definition of animal rights or welfare?

 A. According to “oxforddictionaries.com”, the definition of animal rights is that “The rights of animals to live free from human exploitation and abuse.”However, when it come to animal “welfare”, the meaning becomes quite diverse. Some people say that if we think seriously about animal  “welfare”, we should take account of not only state of the animal's body, but also its feelings.

-Reference-

"What is animal welfare? ." . ncbi, 1 June 2003. Web. 11 June 2014.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC340178/>.

--Animal related video--