Animal rights refers to the idea that all animals, being living beings, are entitled to the same consideration that human rights are entitled to. This extends from veganism to the destruction of 'fur farms' to the protection of endangered species.
How far do you believe that animal rights should extend? Should the government play a role in its enforcement?
This issue honestly has me very divided. I think that human life (and, at times, convenience) should be prioritized over the lives of animals, but I also think that certain practices are morally wrong. In the end, I would probably advocate for a system of local enforcement/local rules where a community can decide its own moral stance on the issue.
What exactly do you mean by convenience? I personally believe that all living beings should be entitled to the same rights, but that's just my opinion. I don't think that it's right to harm animals just for the production of cosmetics, for instance. Germany and Switzerland have made the change in their laws to regard animals as living beings rather than objects in the past 10-15 years, though I don't know if other countries have done the same.
While using animal in research has led to many cures and treatments (e.g. discovery of insulin, development of anesthetics), there exist alternative testing methods (e.g. in vitro), which are more similar to human cells because human cells are actually being used. Thoughts?
The Animal Welfare Act (1966), amended in 2013, remains the only federal act in the US re: animal rights. Apes have been advocated for and improvements have been made in respect to their rights, but about 95% of animals used in experiments aren't even covered by this act. Otherwise, animal research is not highly regulated, at least not on a federal level. Most animal cruelty laws are state laws and statutes. I'm not sure if local enforcement would be the best way to go about developing a policy, particularly because most locations that violate animal rights are narcotics operations, domestic violence, lab research, etc. One of the first 'rights' that comes to mind that's based on a community understanding is obscenity (Miller v. California).