This revised edition helps readers understand and develop their own opinions on the fundamental issues, enduring controversies, and critical developments associated with animal rights.First published in 1994, Animal Rights: A Reference Handbook was widely acclaimed for its objective look at the ways in which humans treat animals. Extensively revised and updated, this new edition explores the basis for current perspectives on animal rights by addressing the relationship between humans and animals from scientific, philosophical, legal, and religious points of view.Animal Rights: A Reference Handbook, Second Edition maintains the balance and accessibility of the first edition, letting readers decide the bounds of human responsibility toward animals. It surveys a wide range of controversies surrounding the use of animals in such fields as the food industry, medical research, and the realm of entertainment, as well as the tremendous surge in scientific discoveries and technological advances that have led to new conversations on animal rights in the 21st century.