Animal Rights

Animal welfare and animal rights organisations are often confused as they both focus on protecting animals and have little differences in how they operate. The SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is an animal welfare organisation. This means they are against cruelty to animals and promote the care of animals through education. They are interested in the well-being of animals and how they are treated by humans as pets, how human interaction affects them and how they are used as food sources. The Cape of Good Hope SPCA was established in 1872 and is the oldest animal welfare organisation in the country.

Animal welfare organisation are not against the consumption of animals but advocate fair treatment of farm animals as a food source from farming methods and practices to the slaughter of farm animals for food.

Animal rights organisation are against any use of animals and promote the basic rights for animals - “animals should no longer be viewed as property or used as food, clothing, research subjects, entertainment, or beasts of burden”. Some argue that animals cannot have rights as they are not sentient beings and therefore cannot enter into a social contract, but both animal rights and animal welfare organisation are against cruelty to animal and negative human interaction.

Our Domestic Animal Shelter project is an animal welfare organisation that works closely with the community to educate and promote animal well-being. Last year, some of our volunteers got together with Vanessa, our Good Hope Volunteers Manager, at the Domestic Animal Shelter project to rebuild a fence for a run where the dogs can move around freely. The run’s fence had big holes in it and was too low for the bigger dogs so it was raised to allow all the animals that call the shelter home to run in the space.

Yours
The Good Hope Volunteer Team

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