What rights do you think animals have?
At the core, the same as people.
In your opinion, are the rights of animals we keep as pets any different from the rights of animals we eat? Why or why not?
We keep them as pets (and/or eat them) but that also incurs a responsibility to care for them as we would for a person in the same circumstance. Why, because in taking ownership of them we’re accepting responsibility for their welfare. Plus, why shouldn’t we? Just because it’s not convenient? That doesn’t strike me as a particularly sensible attitude when applied on the whole.
How about the rights of animals used in laboratories? How about the rights of animals that are bred for the sole purpose of being sold as pets?
Lab animals, well, that’s a slightly different one in that we have established the clear benefit yet are unwilling to subject ourselves (in the sense of humanity on the whole) to the same treatment. Generally that strikes me as needlessly arrogant.
Bred for pets; breeding for a purpose necessitates the responsibility to care for, and ensure the care of, the subject(s) in a manner consistent with some, preferably high, moral standard in by book, (though I suppose it can be argued which standards are appropriate).
Are the rights of humans any different or should they be any different than the rights of animals (non-human)?
I have a tough time saying they should be different (at a basic level at least). However we eat them and being a predator doesn’t imply some moralistic hangover even when it’s a choice. However I believe that choice, and the cognizance of it, demands we treat our victims with respect that, at a minimum, should do away with needless and preventable suffering. (To me it’s the extent of the burden we choose to shoulder that is debatable and ultimately a social judgement more than the basic right which I feel is a default.)