Do you treat your pets like they’re your babies? Do you try to avoid food that is produced by animals? Do you avoid products that aren’t marked “cruelty-free,” because you don’t want to support a company that tortures animals? You may be supporting the animal rights movement without realizing it. The animal rights movement is a social movement that has been active for decades, the goal of the movement is to make the public aware of how animals are actually being treated. It is unknown as to how big the movement actually is, there are many different forms of showing support for animals that are going on in the United States. Protests are held, conventions are organized, movies and books are made, etc. 

In America, before animals were considered vulnerable creatures, people viewed them as property. Throughout the years, animals have gained more rights and are being considered pets rather than property. There are thousands of organizations that push towards animal rights. In 1966, the first animal rights law was passed. According to The National Agriculture Library, “The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) requires that minimum standards of care and treatment be provided for certain animals bred for commercial sale, used in research, transported commercially, or exhibited to the public.” Peter Singer began the modern animal rights movement in the 1970s when he published Animal Liberation, his book made many Americans choose a cruelty-free lifestyle.

Animal rights activists want people to treat animals like their children. They feel that animals should be treated delicately and nurtured by their owners, not tortured. Activists are trying to keep animal abuse cases down and prevent them from going to the wrong home. In comparison to other animals, dogs are most commonly abused and neglected by their owners. Brandon Gaille says that “there are about 6,000 documented cases of dog abuse that occur every year.” The organizations that are formed donate money to pounds, attempt to heal animals that have been abused or neglected, and push towards animal rights laws. The animal rights movement has millions of Americans that are trying to do anything they can to help.