Speciesism

Speciesism (/ˈspiːʃiːˌzɪzəm, -siːˌzɪz-/) involves the assignment of different values, rights, or special consideration to individuals solely on the basis of their species membership. The term is sometimes used by animal rights advocates, who argue that speciesism is a prejudice similar to racism or sexism, in that the treatment of individuals is predicated on group membership and morally irrelevant physical differences. The argument is that species membership has no moral significance.The term is not used consistently, but broadly embraces two ideas. It usually refers to ""human speciesism"" (human supremacism), the exclusion of all nonhuman animals from the protections afforded to humans. It can also refer to the more general idea of assigning value to a being on the basis of species membership alone, so that ""human-chimpanzee speciesism"" would involve human beings favouring rights for chimpanzees over rights for dogs, because of human-chimpanzee similarities.The arguments against speciesism are contested on various grounds, including the position of some religions that human beings were created as superior in status to other animals, and were awarded ""dominion"" over them, whether as owners or stewards. It is also argued that the physical differences between humans and other species are indeed morally relevant, and that to deny this is to engage in anthropomorphism. Such proponents may explicitly embrace the charge of speciesism, arguing that it recognizes the importance of all human beings, and that species loyalty is justified.