Definitions
- Nonhuman Rights:
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Nonhuman rights is a principle of respect for other living beings on their terms. It is defined in opposition to the culturally dominant humane treatment (anti-cruelty) principle. The humane treatment principle presumes a human prerogative to exploit any nonhuman beings – as long as gratuitous waste of animals’ bodies, and obvious physical pain and suffering, is kept to a minimum (Regan 1983).
The term nonhuman rights indicates a challenge to the conception of other beings as our resources. It suggests that the problem is not how we treat them but that we deem it acceptable to use nonhuman beings as our resources (Regan 1983). Thus, nonhuman rights theory poses an unconventionally strong approach to legal protection of sentient creatures. It can further involve advocacy for the cessation of domestication and the reintegration of living beings into the natural environments within which they evolved and coevolved (Cross 1951).
- Human Sustainability:
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Hall, L. (2019). Nonhuman Rights and Human Sustainability. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_77-1
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