Over the course of this class we have discussed many important topics. One that I feel
extremely passionate about is animal rights. Unfortunately not all people feel the same way and
as a result animals are miss-treated and taken advantage off. This includes not only being hunted
or killed for sport but also being used for experiments. “Each year millions of animals—from
mice to doges to primates—are used in laboratory experiments and may endure significant
suffering.” (Resource) These are two areas that I find extremely concerning. How do we
determine when it is ok and it is not ok to take an animal’s life? Also, why do we believe it ok?
In looking at the first question I posed, how we determine when it is ok/ not ok to take an
animals life we must discuss 2 different value systems; intrinsic value and instrumental value.
Intrinsic value focuses on the idea that animals have value in their own right and as a
consequence their interests are no longer automatically subordinate to man’s interest. However
