What is abolitionism?
There are two main modern abolitionist movements. Among animal rights advocates, abolitionism is the movement to abolish the use of animals as property and to give them rights and protections as persons. The the term was first used by Gary Francione to distinguish this animal rights philosophy from animal welfare reform. Animal welfare reform is primarily concerned with the humane treatment of animals and does not always address their status as property. This abolitionist movement is sometimes referred to as vegan abolitionism or the abolitionist approach. In philosophy, the term abolitionism refers to the ethical imperative to eliminate suffering and is promoted primarily by negative utilitarian philosopher David Pearce. His Abolitionist Project argues for the moral urgency and outlines the technically feasibility of abolishing the biological substrates of suffering in all sentient beings. Both Francione and Pearce consider a vegan lifestyle a key component of their philosophies.
