Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings. Advocates approach the issue from different philosophical positions, ranging from the protectionist side of the movement, presented by philosopher Peter Singer—with a utilitarian focus on suffering and consequences, rather than just on the concept of rights—to the abolitionist side, represented by law professor Gary Francione, who argues that animals need only one right: the right not to be property. Despite the different approaches, advocates broadly agree that animals should be viewed as non-human persons and members of the moral community, and should not be used as food, clothing, research subjects, or entertainment.

The idea of awarding rights to animals has the support of legal scholars such as Alan Dershowitz and Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School. Animal rights is routinely covered in universities in philosophy or applied ethics courses, and as of 2011 animal law was taught in 135 law schools in the United States and Canada. Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby argued in 2008 that the movement had reached the stage the gay rights movement was at 25 years earlier.

Joey Youngman, better known by his stage name Wolfgang Gartner, is a Grammy-nominated American house music producer and DJ. Much of his music prior to 2010 was released through his own record label, Kindergarten, but he signed with Ultra Records in 2010 and Ministry of Sound in the UK in 2011.

Youngman created the Wolfgang Gartner name in late 2008 after establishing a moderately successful name as a Deep House DJ. Not wanting to be criticized for such an abrupt departure in style, Youngman created the name anonymously. Gartner's identity was revealed officially in July 2008. Youngman took the name from the coach of the Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team. The Wolfgang Gartner logo was created in 2010 by New York graffiti artist Eric Haze who created logos for the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and EPMD.

Gartner hosted the first episode of MTV's dance music show "Clubland" which aired on September 22, 2011. A portion of the episode was filmed at his home in Los Angeles, where he gave a tour of his studio and introduced music videos.

Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, preference utilitarian perspective.

He has served, on two occasions, as chair of philosophy at Monash University, where he founded its Centre for Human Bioethics. In 1996, he unsuccessfully stood as a Greens candidate for the Australian Senate. In 2004, he was recognised as the Australian Humanist of the Year by the Council of Australian Humanist Societies. He has been voted one of Australia's ten most influential public intellectuals. Singer serves on the Advisory Board of Incentives for Global Health, the NGO formed to develop the Health Impact Fund proposal.

Outside academic circles, Singer is best known for his book Animal Liberation, widely regarded as the touchstone of the animal liberation movement. Not all members of the animal liberation movement share this view, and Singer himself has said the media overstates his status. His views on that and other issues in bioethics have attracted attention and a degree of controversy.

Gary Yourofsky (born August 19, 1970 in Detroit, Michigan, United States) is an American animal rights activist.

He has been arrested 13 times between the years 1997–2001, and has spent 77 days in a Canadian maximum security prison in 1999, after raiding a fur farm in Canada, releasing 1,542 mink in 1997.

Yourofsky was sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) between the years 2002–2005, and has lectured about veganism to more than 60,000 students in middle school, high school and college.^{[non-primary source needed]}

Gary Yourofsky was born on August 19, 1970, in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He grew up in Oak Park. He graduated from Berkley High School in 1988. He later received a journalism degree from Oakland University.

Yourofsky traces his animal rights advocacy to the early 1990s. His stepfather was volunteering as a clown in a circus, and offered him a backstage tour. During the tour, Yourofsky saw an elephant chained to a post, with scars behind its ears. Yourofsky was shocked, "I looked into the elephant’s eyes and all I saw was sadness and despair."^{[non-primary source needed]} He left the circus when dancing bears wearing ballet tutus were brought out in front of the audience. He started researching the treatment of animals in several industries, and became a vegetarian, then a vegan.

Will Kymlicka is a Canadian political philosopher best known for his work on multiculturalism. He is currently Professor of Philosophy and Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy at Queen's University at Kingston, and Recurrent Visiting Professor in the Nationalism Studies program at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.

Kymlicka received his B.A. (Honours) in philosophy and political studies from Queen's University in 1984, and his D.Phil. in philosophy from Oxford University in 1987, under the direction of G.A. Cohen. He has written extensively on multiculturalism and political philosophy, and several of his books have been translated into other languages. Kymlicka has held professorships at a variety of different universities in Canada and abroad, and has also worked as an advisor to the Government of Canada.

One of his main concerns throughout his work is providing a liberal framework for the just treatment of minority groups, which he divides into two basic categories: polyethnic or immigrant groups, and national minorities (such as the Canadian Québécois, or the Māori of New Zealand). He lists criteria for national minorities or "minority nations":