What is the difference between animal welfare and animal rights?
It’s not the same thing at all. The independent zoo and wildlife professionals of North Carolina are very much in favor of animal welfare, including regulations that ensure good standards of housing, husbandry and veterinary care for all captive animals. Animal welfare groups seek to ensure the humane treatment of animals. Animal rights groups seek equal rights for animals with humans to prevent people from using or owning animals in any way. Animal rights groups want to close down our state’s zoos and sanctuaries, ending our ability to rescue, rehabilitate, breed for conservation and species survival, exhibit or educate the public with these animals. Click here to read more, including a link to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s position. The position of the extreme animal right is that it is always better for animals to be killed or to be left alone to suffer and die “naturally” rather than to be kept in captivity, even by zoo and wildlife professionals who are helping the
