06 · Declaration of the Rights of Sentient Beings
International Anti-speciesist Petition
Universal Declaration of the Rights of Sentient Beings
Preamble to the Declaration
Whereas biology and science in general have taught us that the human being is an animal. As such, it belongs to the animal kingdom, to the class of mammals and to the order of primates (alongside the great apes, such as chimpanzees and gorillas). This scientific truth is now established beyond serious challenge;
Whereas Homo sapiens, more commonly known as “modern man”, “man”, “Man”, “human” or “human being”, is a species of primate originating in Africa that has spread and become established across the whole of the Earth. It belongs to the family Hominidae and is the sole surviving representative of the genus Homo, the other species having become extinct;
Whereas science has catalogued around two million animal species. Total estimates suggest between eight and ten million animal species (known and unknown), terrestrial and marine;
Homo sapiens is therefore an animal species that coexists among several million other animal species, terrestrial and marine;
Having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights …
The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Sentient Beings
Considering that recognition of the inherent dignity of all sentient beings, human and non-human, and of their equal and inalienable rights, constitutes the foundation of liberty, equality, equity, justice, tolerance, compassion and peace in the world.
Considering that disregard and contempt for the rights of sentient beings, human and non-human, have led to acts of barbarity, violence and exploitation that outrage the conscience of Humanity, and that the advent of a world in which all sentient beings shall enjoy freedom to live, speak and believe, freed from terror, want, violence and exploitation, has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of Humanity.
Considering that it is essential that the fundamental rights of sentient beings …
→ Read the full Declaration (PDF)