The most significant critique of the current status quo is the "moral schizophrenia" identified by legal scholars. Society grants massive protections to dogs and cats (companion animals) while legally sanctioning systemic cruelty to pigs and cows (livestock), despite all having similar cognitive capacities for pain and emotion.
Subject-of-a-Life: Philosopher Tom Regan argued that any being with beliefs, desires, memory, and a sense of the future has inherent value and cannot be used as a means to an end.
Abolitionism: The goal is not better cages, but empty cages. Rights-based advocates oppose all forms of animal exploitation, including factory farming, animal testing, hunting, and often pet ownership (preferring "guardianship").
Practical Examples: Vegan lifestyle, banning animal circuses, closing zoos, ending cosmetic testing, and legal personhood for great apes or cetaceans (dolphins/whales).
