Abstract
The Animal Welfare Act was passed in the United States in 1966 and was one of the first important pieces of legislation that regulated the treatment of animals used in medical research, commercial sales, and public exhibitions. The act excluded certain protections for animals such as rats, mice, birds, farm animals, and other creatures used in research. It has been over fifty years since the AWA was passed, but the United States has made little progress towards improving protective animal laws nation-wide. PETA and other animal rights advocates continue to press government officials to strengthen anti-cruelty provisions, recognize animal sentience, and grant animals rights. Many organizations have been promoting animal welfare here in the United States for over a century, but where did the idea of animal rights originate in the United States? Philosophy from outside the U.S. is known to have played a major role in shaping the ideologies of American animal rights activists and organizations. This project examines the history of American animal-welfare laws and how the publication of philosopher Peter Singer’s 1975 book, Animal Liberation, popularized the idea of speciesism and redefined modern animal rights movements within the United States.
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