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We live in a world of interaction, of sensory input and output that combines together to create what we know as the human experience. However it is apparent that the world we live in is shared not only with other human beings but with other living beings. Therefore I afrm the resolved: Justice requires the recognition of animal rights. The denition of Justice is The fair and equitable treatment of beings according to West's Encyclopedia of American Law. The denition of recognition is The conrmation or acknowledgement of the existence of an act performed, of an event that transpired, or of a person who is authorized by another to act in a particular manner according to Wests Encyclopedia of American Law. Animal rights is dened as the equal consideration of animal interests with that of human interests. The value for todays round is Justice, as this is the subject of the sentence that comprises the resolution. Justice is essential in our society because of schopenhauers Will which main that humans and animals both belong to a body of will, by which fair and equitable treatment through universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality(Schopenhauer). It is only through the upholding of animal rights that one can be just. The criterion, or means through which the value can be achieved, will be the protection of rights. By upholding the criterion of protection of rights we enable the equitable and lawful application of rights which provides us with Justice and therefore links back to our value. The protection of rights also guarantees the upholding of morality through Kants categorical imperative, as rights are the equivalent of maxims through which we can establish a kingdom of ends, and allows both humans and animals to thrive to the best of their ability under a system of jurisprudence that works on negative rights rather than positive punishments. Observation 1:Animals do not have the same rights as humans; for example animals kill each other for food, because there is no other way for them to live; ex a lion. Contention 1: Upholding animal rights is necessary to set a precedent for upholding human rights We have seen from history that animal rights are necessarily tied with human rights. Goodkin 86 tells us that (see card). It is obvious that despite our best attempts at delineating the human and animal world both are living beings with rights and both sets of rights, both human and animal, must be upheld in order to maintain justice towards the disadvantaged and the minority peoples of the world whos justice is infringed upon due to the perpetuation of an attitude that rights are unimportant because we as a race send the message that in the context of animals rights are not important. Therefore, the Justice of disadvantaged humans is dependent on the recognition of animal rights.

Contention 2: The lack of recognition of animal rights leads to a world in which we are unable to live The lack of recognition of animal rights leads to the abuse and misuse of animals in such a way that we permanently alter our ecosystem. By mistreating animals and overutilizing them for food, Song 11 shows that (read card) By failing to show proper appreciation for animal rights we endanger the lives of millions and risk mass extinction as well as, in the relative short term, the livelihoods of 200 million people. This is unjust to the millions of people who did not consent to the destruction of the coral reefs and to the animals who are now dying. Therefore we are violating the basic right to life for both animals and humans by failing to recognize animal rights. From this we we see that by upholding our criterion and through it our value we are able to save the world from imminent catastrophe. Contention 3: As humans with increased power over nature and animals we have a moral obligation to recognize the rights of these animals Humans have evolved from their status as animals as they continued to develop increasing brainpower and developed the notion of sentience while the rest of the kingdom Animalia did not. Evolution is an ongoing process, and the very fact we have developed these faculties necessitates that we respect the right for other animals to do the same. If we were to treat animals as the means to an end, without recognition of their rights, then we have, under Kants categorical imperative, set up a rule of morality that states that thou shall destroy those who have not yet had a chance to develop sentience. By doing so we create a contradiction as under that rule we would not be capable of existence. Therefore by recognizing animal rights we avoid the contradiction and are able to continue our moral existence as humans and therefore preserve the rights of both humans and animals and uphold the value criterion and through it the value today of justice; for without justice we would have no ability to trust each other, or have any sense of community; from this we would have no commerce and therefore an anarchic society, which reduces the happiness of all people.