First off, Hello all. I'm new to this club, and relatively new to animal rights, or animal liberation. I've been vegan for a few months now, vegetarian for a few before that, and am an active member of Animals Australia's youth group Unleashed.

I've been reading through the forums, and a lot of people seem to be confused with what animal rights is. Animal rights is not animal welfare. The Animal Welfare philosophy endorses the 'responsible' use of non-human animals to satisfy human wants or certain needs. These range from companionship and sport, to uses which involve the taking of life, such as for food, clothing and medical research. On the other hand, animal rights advocates reject all animal use, no matter how 'humane'. This means that advocates believe animals should be viewed as legal persons and members of the moral community, not property, and that they should not be used as food, clothing, research subjects, or entertainment.

Animal Rights does not just concern the animals you consider cute that you see in zoos and keep as your pets, it includes (and is probably more focused on) animals that humans use for food. Keep this in mind before you go around telling people your into animal rights.