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22 Vt. L. Rev. 793 (1997-1998)
Hardly a Revolution - The Eligibility of Nonhuman Animals for Dignity-Rights in a Liberal Democracy

handle is hein.journals/vlr22 and id is 807 raw text is: HARDLY A REVOLUTION-THE ELIGIBILITY OF NONHUMAN ANIMALS FOR DIGNITY-RIGHTS IN A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY Steven M. Wise* When these ghosts of the past stand in the path ofjustice clanking their mediaeval chains the proper course for the judge is to pass through them undeterred. United Australia Ltd. v. Barclays Bank, Ltd., App. Cas. 3, 29 (P.C. 1941) (Lord Atkin). TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .............................................. 794 I. The (Dry But Necessary) Anatomy of Legal Rights .... 799 A. Liberty-Rights and No-Rights ..................... 802 B. Claim-Rights and Duties ......................... 807 C. Immunity-Rights and Disabilities ................... 810 D. Power-Rights and Liabilities ..................... 815 E. Protected and Enforceable Legal Rights ............. 821 II. The Eligibility of Nonhuman Animals for Legal Rights ..... 823 A. The Eligibility for Dignity-Rights ................... 823 1. Subjective Obstacles to the Attainment of Dignity-Rights ........................................824 a. Paradigms and How They Shift ............ 826 b. The Problem of Incommensurability ........ 833 c. Paradigms Lost ......................... 836 2. International Dignity-Rights .................. 846 3. Foreign Municipal Dignity Rights .............. 857 4. American Municipal Dignity Rights ............... 859 a. Enforceable Dignity-Rights of Nonhuman Animals ....................................868 b. Being Human is Neither Necessary Nor Sufficient for Dignity-Rights ........................ 884 5. The Chimera of Dignity-Rights as Equality-Rights . 888 a. Equality Rights Defined .................. 888 * President, Center for the Expansion of Fundamental Rights, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts; Adjunct Professor of Law, Vermont Law School (teaching Animal Rights Law since 1990); Instructor, Masters Program in Animals and Public Policy, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. The author's book on why such nonhuman animals as chimpanzees and bonobos are eligible for dignity-rights is scheduled to be published in 1999 by Perseus Books. The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful criticisms of Professors L.W. Sumner, Carl Wellman, Taimie Bryant, and Thomas G. Kelch, and of Attorneys Debra J. Slater-Wise and David J. Wolfson, as well as partial support from the Natipnal Anti- Vivisection Society and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

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