Doug Henwood wrote:
> All you animal rights folks out there, every time I've seen a cat
> devour a mouse - with evident glee - I've wondered why we should give
> them any more consideration than they give each other.
As I've indicated, I find "animal rights" people almost personally offensive. But I think I can answer your question in terms of *human* rights. Habits of brutality do not tend to enhance habits of solidarity with other humans. This is not a utilitarian argument, unless you want to equate the formal philosophy with any tendency whatever to approve of useful things -- which would make everyone who ever lived a utilitarian.
As far as the philosophical basis for "animal rights," I couldn't care less. It hardly seems a philosophical issue a grown person should be wasting her time on. Alex Cockburn's NLR article a few years ago on the subject was pretty sensible.
Carrol