I think that as we develop better ways of perceiving the world around us we will find that there are many animals that have intelligence. Humans are predators and we eat meat (Carnivore) {Actually, Omnivore}. We decide what is food and what is not. As we become more aware of other species intelligence we may find it immoral to eat meat as a society but our nature will still crave the meat and the hunt. I read an article long ago that touted that it was our abundance of meat and the proteins it gives us that allowed our brains to develop as they did. We got really good at hunting so we ate more protein and thus became smarter. Now we know that proteins can come from plant sources as well so by substituting plant for animal proteins we can survive without eating meat. But do we Want to?
From what I get from the article is that Humans are granting the Orangutan Rights. It doesn't know it has been granted Rights. It may never know. It only knows what it encounters. So are the Rights the orangutan's Rights or human Rights? Seems to me it is only happening to justify human action.
As for how animals are treated by humans, It is all on the human laws and morality that govern us that determines if animals are treated like living creatures or not. Whether it be a pet, a wild animal or a creature bred for experimentation the animal has no knowledge of the right to anything. It just lives.
It is up to us as the dominate intelligent species to be moral or not. Do we respect life or not? We like to think we do but in some countries even human life is not worth a dime. Should our laws be changed to protect all life? Perhaps. Do rights have any bearing on how animals are treated? Yes but only from the human perspective. Is life fundamentally sacred? I don't think so. It is only fundamentally sacred to the humans that have the morality to make it so. Nature doesn't care if you live or die. In fact, Nature, if given the chance will kill you dead.
Our ability to empathize with other living things makes us act counter-naturally.
Is it right to force your pet dog to eat dry dog food and be chained to a small box? Does the dog know? We habitually change the natural order of life to fit our personal desires.
the penalty that person receives shouldn't be on the same level as if the person broke a park bench.
Agreed. If I recall correctly I have seen some penalties that are fitting of the atrocity. Missouri has beefed up their laws concerning puppy farms. What is defunct is the fact that there is not a force that polices the animal welfare like we have for child welfare. Most people just don't care. It takes Money (Human Concept), Manpower and Dedication to the Cause to affect the changes that are needed to sanctify all life. I don't think it is an animal rights thing but a morality thing.
If we ever begin to understand animal intent and they begin to communicate their intent to us there might be a reason to grant them rights. But if we ever learn how to communicate with plants things will get really complicated really fast. Will humans respect a right that is desired by an animal? There are plenty of SciFi stories that depict intelligent animals that can communicate with us. If something like that were presented to us could we honor the requests they might make concerning what they have the right to do? If a tiger requested the right to hunt and kill would we allow it? If a cow requested the right to graze free-range and not to be killed and eaten would we grant it? What about a tree that wants to live to its ripe old age instead of being razed for lumber. Then there is the microscopic world of viruses and bacteria.
It all smacks as delusions of grandeur on the part of the humans. Our intelligence and the ability to have concepts and morality cause us to act unnaturally. This is my issue with the depiction of alien life in scifi. We tend to grant our rights, morals and senses to the aliens that may not behave unnaturally. We define the concept of intelligence based on the things we hold dear. We think that for an alien species able to break the distance barrier to come see us that they MUST hold the sanctity of life, freedom and expansion as a fundamental concept. Other scifi flips the coin and portrays alien species of domination, resource hogs and war as their fundamental concepts. Good and bad it is all based on human concepts created by the human mind.
This is also probably the case with other species on our own planet. We THINK they think like we do. We put them in our little box of knowledge and call it a turd and go about our lives.
Since I am ranting I must add one more thing about Rights that really gets my goat. The USA constantly gives our American rights to foreigners. Rights that our servicemen die to protect. Whether it be a terrorist, Someone visiting on a VISA or an illegal immigrant you can bet they will get the rights that are supposed to be only for US citizens. If those rights are denied there is public outcry. I served my country and every time I see someone getting the rights that I protected it is a smack in my face. The American public has become pussified. End Rant.