Samenvatting

Animals Rights are sometimes seen as unpractical. Some critics expect they will result in an overwhelming bureaucracy. Furthermore, critics point out, it is impossible to make legal arrangements that are coherent and non-contradictory. Most of these concerns are exaggerated. We do not have to devise a whole new legal system. We just need a couple of court cases to get legal clarity and many laws originally meant for humans are easily applicable to other living beings. Keeping animals out of our legal systems meanwhile goes against the constitution. In most democratic countries the constitution states that we may not discriminate on irrelevant factors as race, gender, birth, ‘or on any other ground’. This implies, in my view, that discrimination based on species is not allowed. Equal interests simply should be weighed equal, regardless of the bearer of these interests.