Politically, welfare wins. Nearly every country with anti-cruelty laws operates on a welfare basis. In 2024, the European Union continues to phase out cages. The US passed the PACT Act (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture), making animal cruelty a federal felony.
However, rights are gaining ground. Non-human rights personhood has been argued in court for chimpanzees (the Nonhuman Rights Project) and elephants. While largely unsuccessful to date, these cases shift the cultural conversation from "How should we treat them?" to "Do they belong to us?" bestiality zooskool spiled rottie wwwsickpornin 2021
The 21st century is introducing a wild card that neither the welfarist nor the rightist predicted: Cellular Agriculture. Politically, welfare wins
Lab-grown meat, precision-fermentation dairy, and synthetic leather are rapidly approaching price parity with animal-derived products. The US passed the PACT Act (Preventing Animal
Legally, animals are still property in almost every jurisdiction. However, cracks are forming.