ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the concept of rights in order to demonstrate the basis of the case for animal rights that are thought to be implicit in welfare legislation, as well as the more far-reaching claim that animals be accorded human rights. It describes the nature of rights, drawing in particular, on the famous correlativity classification formulated by Wesley Hohfeld. It raises the question of whether the possession of a right requires the ability to exercise a duty—a subject especially pertinent to the ability of animals to be right-holders. The chapter discusses the contrast between the two major theories of rights: the will and the interest theory, and considers the right-based theory of Ronald Dworkin, and the ideas of Alan Gewirth and HJ McCloskey. The enquiry then returns to the question of whether animals can have rights and, if so, the extent to which such rights may be inferred from animal welfare legislation.
