Please Sign and Endorse
Human Rights are well known and globally recognized through the United Nations on earth. However, the rights of non-human sentient beings are often marginalized or misrepresented. In truth, we do not require separate “Human Rights” and “Animal Rights,” because all humans are animals, and all animals capable of subjective experience are sentient persons with our own interests, emotions, consciousness, and value personal to the self.
This declaration provides a single, unified framework to replace fragmented and often speciesism based, human-only and animal-only rights systems. It applies equally to humans and to non-human animals, because its basis is not human supremacy in society, but sentience and science.
SCOPE: These rights protect the core interests of all sentient animals (also termed individuals/ persons/ people or sentient living beings, who are born on earth or elsewhere), whether human or non human, regardless of species, intelligence, physical form, or abilities.
I. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
(Non-negotiable, universal and inherent rights of all individual sentient animals)
1. Right to Life
Every sentient animal, human or non human, has the right to live and not be intentionally killed, except in unavoidable circumstances such as genuine self-defence or accidents.
2. Right to Bodily Integrity
Protection from mutilation, forced impregnation, modification, handling, restraint, or any physical violation except for genuine medical necessity in the individual’s welfare.
3. Right to Freedom from Use
No sentient animal may be treated as property, object, tool, commodity, resource, slave, or product.
4. Right to Freedom from Exploitation
No individual may be used for labour, entertainment, breeding, domestication, farming, harvesting, production, experimentation, reproduction, trade, or extraction for another’s gain.
5. Right to Freedom from Harm
No individual may be subjected to unnecessary pain, suffering, distress, neglect, starvation, or psychological torment.
6. Right to Freedom from Confinement
No individual may be caged, imprisoned, restrained, or transported against their natural needs, choices, or free will, except when essential for rescue or urgent medical care
7. Right to Freedom from Oppression and Abuse
All individuals deserve protection from violence, coercion, control, domination, torture, bullying, stalking, harassment, degradation, wilful neglect, punishment, rape, undue stress, trauma, intimidation, and all forms of abuse.
8. Right to Freedom from Discrimination
No individual may be denied respect, consideration, fair treatment, or rights based on species, appearance, intelligence, productivity, behaviour, or human preferences.
II. AUTONOMY AND PERSONAL FREEDOMS
(Individual Rights of All Sentient Animals, whether Human or Non Human)
9. Right to Autonomy, Mind, Free Will, and Preference
The right to independent thought, intention, instinct, desire, identity, and will—free from coercion, manipulation, or forced conditioning, provided one’s actions do not abuse the rights of another.
10. Right to Natural Expression and Behaviour
The right to communicate, vocalize, move, explore, and behave in species-appropriate and personally chosen ways that don’t infringe over rights of others.
11. Right to Privacy and Personal Space
The right to solitude, boundaries, safety, residence, security, and protected personal zones.
12. Right to Social Relationships and Association
The right to, as per mutual consent, interact, form bonds, families, friendships, groups, communities, or herds/pods/flocks; and for mutual respect, social support, and symbiotic harmony, and the right not to be isolated without necessity.
13. Right to Movement, Migration, and Habitat
The right to roam freely, travel, migrate, choose shelter, choose their path, claim territory, and live in a suitable natural or chosen environment, without abusing rights of others.
III. QUALITY OF LIFE RIGHTS
(Rights pertaining to the wellbeing, flourishing and personal fulfilment of every individual sentient living being)
14. Right to Access Basic Needs
The right to access one’s food, water, air, light, shelter, warmth, all necessary resources for survival, growth, activity or work, and essential self care, safety, freedom from extreme environments, safety from pollution and other harmful conditions
15. Right to Health, Healing, Rescue, and Care
The right to basic care, medical treatment, rescue, rehabilitation, sanctuary, rehabilitation, stewardship, fair conditions, and protection from illness, injurity, fear, threats, insecurity or danger.
16. Right to Rest, Sleep, Comfort, and Recuperation
The right to rest without stress, harm, or disturbance.
17. Right to Play, Enrichment, and Pleasure
The right to joy, stimulation, comfort, interaction, exploration, and species-appropriate or personally desired activities that don’t take away anyone else’s rights.
18. Right to Learn and Cognitive Development
The right to curiosity, exploration, mental growth, learning or education, self development, and meaningful experience in ways that benefit self and don’t abuse the rights of others.
19. Right to a Safe Environment
The right to an environment free from toxins, pollution, habitat destruction, and avoidable threats.
IV. GROUP RIGHTS AND ECOLOGICAL RIGHTS
(Collective rights necessary for species and social wellbeing of sentient living beings)
20. Right of Families and Social Units
Parents, offspring, herds, packs, colonies, pods, flocks, and bonded groups have a right to remain together, safeguard each other, and to look after each other, especially the best interest of children and vulnerable individuals.
21. Right to Cultural and Species-Specific Behaviours
Species may maintain natural lifestyles, migration routes, communication, and social structures in ways that don’t infringe upon the rights of other individuals.
22. Right to Habitat and Ecosystem Protection
All sentient living beings have the right to live in stable ecosystems protected from destruction, pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, risk of extinction and ecological collapse.
23. Right to Exist as a Species
No species may be intentionally eradicated, genetically manipulated for exploitation, or driven to extinction by deliberate actions of another.
V. LEGAL AND MORAL RIGHTS
(Sentient living beings as a protected legal category)
24. Right to Non-Property Legal Status
All sentient living beings must be legally recognised as individuals — not property.
25. Right to Legal Protection and Enforcement of Rights
Courts and laws must safeguard the rights of sentient living beings equally and universally.
26. Right to Moral Agency and Participation
Right to participate, directly or indirectly, in decision affecting one’s life, interests, welfare, and rights.
27. Right to Representation
Where an individual cannot advocate for themselves, guardians, activists, or institutions may represent their interests, legally, ethically and morally.
27. Right to Protest
The right to challenge rights violations, protest against injustice in a reasonable way, educate and raise awareness, request justice, appeal to laws, and seek remedies when rights are denied.
Your signature has been counted
PLEASE SHARE THE ABOVE WIDELY AND HELP US PROPOSE THIS AS A BILL OF RIGHTS OR TREATY
ALSO PLEASE LEARN MORE ABOUT VEGANISM, AND KINDLY TAKE THE VEGAN PLEDGE
AN IMPORTANT FUTURE BASED CONSIDERATION (UP FOR DISCUSSION)
Wherever we live, in any nation or geographic location, and whether on earth or space, we are bound to be sharing the world with various sentient species, including possible extraterrestrial animals in the future. In theory this framework could apply to all sentient animals including humans, ETs, and argubly even potentially sentient AIs (open for discussion as per a new suggestion received independently by AI upon sharing the draft with one). This understanding and declaration, helps us in safeguarding our own interests as earthlings, while also co-existing in harmony with any other sentient lifeforms besides the known. Do let us know what you think?
Earth Healing Network 