Global View - Animal Rights (0146)

A: You should have seen the T.V. show that was on last night, the topic it covered was really interesting; animal rights.
B: Do you really believe in that? If they are going to focus on something, they should do it on civil rights.
A: Yes, but we can’t deny that animals are vulnerable, defenseless, and are completely at the mercy of human beings.
B: I understand your point, but we continue to have transgressions against human rights. If so much attention weren’t devoted to the topic of animals, we would then concentrate more on saving a human being instead of protecting a koala.
A: You can’t compare apples and oranges; I believe that both topics are important and that we can’t ignore them, the mistreatment of animals can cause a great environmental imbalance.I believe that governments should prohibit activities like poaching.
B: Well, you are right on that point. This is the reason that I don’t buy leather and I try to buy synthetic products.
B: At least you’re doing your part. My contribution is to have a pet in the house that I treat like a member of the family.
A: As long as you don’t treat it better than your wife, it’s fine.

Key Vocabulary

civil rights phrase the rights people have
vulnerable Adjective easily hurt or harmed
defenseless Adjective defenseless
at the mercy of phrase in a position where you can be harmed
transgression common noun, plural something that is not allowed
apples and oranges phrase an unfair comparison of two different things
poach principle verb, present progressive to illegally hunt protected animals
synthetic Adjective not natural
do your part phrase to help accomplish a goal

Supplementary Vocabulary

biodegradable Adjective capable of being decomposed by natural means
drought common noun, singular a prolonged period of time during which no rain falls
famine common noun, singular a severe shortage of food
biosphere common noun, singular the part of the earth's surface and atmosphere inhabited by living things
cloning common noun, singular a general term for the research activity that creates a copy of some biological entity