Animals, rights, and legal personhood

Abstract

This thesis serves as an intervention in debates between supporters of Animal Rights and supporters of Animal Welfare and their relationship to the law. Specifically, I consider whether nonhuman animals must be recognized as persons under the law in order to have rights. I review the most prominent accounts put forth by theorists of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare. I then draw from recent work in Animal Rights to clarify a conceptual confusion over what is meant by a right that leads theorists to speak past each other. Having clarified this confusion, I argue that animals should be granted the right to liberty, and consequently recognized as legal persons, because they have an interest in liberty. I then extrapolate on the implications my argument would have for our relationships with different animals.