Resolved: That circus animal entertainment is morally wrong and should be banned.

Circus animal entertainment is morally wrong and should be banned for the plain and obvious reason that we are more civilized and must realize that an anthropocentric attitude is morally wrong as well.

To further clarify this debate round;
circus: an arena often enclosed in a tent or building for performances by acrobats, TRAINED ANIMALS, clowns, etc
animal:any such organism other than a human being, esp. a mammal or, often, any four-footed creature (in this debate, we will be referring to MAMMALS)
entertainment:something that entertains; interesting, diverting, or amusing thing; esp., a show or performance
ANTHROPOCENTRISM: 1. Regarding humans as the central element of the universe.
2. Interpreting reality exclusively in terms of human values and experience.

My first point is that animals do indeed have rights and share the same moral prerequisites for rights as humans do.
But lets back up a bit. Why should we deem animals to have moral rights? Simply for exactly the same reason we deem people TO have rights: because each has an inherent value, for himself or herself, are not, like property, value merely as a means to others' ends. But most animals are, like people, sentimental creatures who feel pain just like you and me. Then animals too should be deemed to have rights-rights that not be sacrificed or violated merely for human benefit.
In other words, animals feel pain just like you and me.
FEDERAL LAWYER by Henry Cohen

And I will be proving as well that the anthropocentric philosophy is wrong because lets face it, there are other things out there in the world. WE share this great big planet with billions of other creatures and the act of torturing animals to make them do tricks for OUR entertainment is plain wrong and morally unacceptable.

Lets face the cold hard facts;
The fact is, animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. To force them to perform these confusing and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools of the trade.

We applaud trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, tightrope walkers, and acrobats, but let's leave animals in peace. Sweden, Austria, Costa Rica, India, Finland, and Singapore have all banned or restricted the use of animals in entertainment—it's time for the U.S. to do the same.
http://www.circuses.com...

and now to end on a final note for this round;
"The idea that it is funny to see wild animals coerced into acting like clumsy humans, or thrilling to see powerful beasts reduced to cringing cowards by a whip cracking trainer is primitive and medieval. It stems from the old idea that we are superior to other species and have the right to hold dominion over them."

—Dr. Desmond Morris, anthropologist, animal behaviorist, author

*ps: con can debate whichever style suits them. this is my first debate online. and now I wait for the NEGATIVE :D

I thank my opponent for creating this debate. I accept my opponent's definition - but I'm sorry to say that anthropocentrism is irrelevant since I am not justifying animal entertainment in that way.

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PRO: Animals have rights
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My opponent correctly see's that to ban animal entertainment, animals should have rights. He argues, however, that just because animals are sentient - like humans - then they should have the same rights. This is the right premise, but wrong conclusion.

True, animals are sentient like us. HOWEVER, we are persons[1], which in philosophy means we are self-aware, i.e. conscious - animals are not. Because we are ethically responsible for our actions (being persons), we are given rights. Animals are NOT persons. Do they have free will? Should lions be imprisoned for killing other animals?

Animal rights implies that we should give animals full rights, and take them out of biomedical testing, pets, food, and entertainment. This is ridiculous, as I have demonstrated, because they are not on the same moral platform as humans. While we should allow for their welfare (no unnecessary suffering) because they are sentient, they should not be on the same platform as humans.

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Anthropocentric philosophy
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This rebuttal is irrelevant, since I am not arguing for circus animal entertainment in this way.

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Conclusion
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Animals are not on the same platform as humans - to say they are is quite the burden.

---References---
1. http://www.philosophypages.com...

Well this is great. Not only will I not have to type an argument, as it has gone unrefuted, this debate will also not appear on the front page for review. Great....

As usual, vote for CON.

No argument again - two out of three forfeits - the obvious vote is CON.