Animal Rights

Since my opponent has not specified a certain category of animals, i.e. dogs, I will assume he is talking about all sentient animals. I will begin by providing some definitions.Animal: A living organism which feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli http://www.oxforddictionaries.com...Sentient: Able to feel, see, smell, hear or tastehttp://www.merriam-webster.com...The key point to this debate is that my opponent is not merely championing the rights of all animals to be treated humanely, but he is in fact saying that these animals should have the same rights as those of humans. This will be the premise I will be basing my argument on.My argumentI think that from a simple understanding of the premise my opponent is trying to defend, and an understanding of the definitions associated, it is quite clear his position is impossible to be defended. All I have to do is pull up a list of rights that all humans should be entitled to and then show that all animals cannot or should not possibly have the same rights. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. Everyone has the right to own property Everyone has the right to education http://www.un.org... To cut a long debate short, I think these three rights are more than enough to deal with. They were all taken from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which I think we can all agree is a good measure on what we all consider to be rights humans have. Now let's consider why these rights should not or cannot extend to all animals. Right to recognition everywhere as a person before the lawThis right would cause severe limitations on animals of all kinds all around the world. If we are going to treat animals as we do human beings, then we should naturally hold them accountable according to our laws. This includes trespassing and theft. What do you hear when you wake up in the morning? When I wake up, I hear the chirping of birds in my backyard. I have not granted them permission to be there and have in fact yelled at them to go away. Unfortunately, they would not leave, and I could not call the police to arrest them for trespassing on my property. This is just one of a million examples of why animals cannot be considered a person before the law.Everyone has the right to own propertyIf every single sentient animal on this planet had the right to own their own little plot of land, even if it was one centimetre squared, there would not be enough earth for everyone. (I have not researched the exact numbers on this, feel free to prove me wrong). The earth simply cannot fit so many property owners, and even the very idea of owning 'property' arises from a human need. It would be therefore unrealistic to assume all animals should have this same right as humans.Everyone has the right to educationIt would be kind of interesting to see what would happen if all animals have the same brains and learning capacities as humans do. Unfortunately, this was not how the world was made, and only humans are capable of learning (or to a smaller extent, some animals such as apes and dogs). But clearly the earth worm that gets eaten by the early bird in the morning cannot be capable of learning anything we try to teach it in the short course of its life.I think it is clear by now that Pro's contention is impossible to support. Animals are simply different from humans in too many ways. Does this mean we should go and abuse animals? Does this mean they are nothing to us, and we can torture them and do whatever we like to them? No. Animals too should be treated fairly. However, it is clear that they should not have the same rights as humans because they are biologically different from us in too many ways.