Tom Regan developed a rights-based framework for animal ethics, arguing that animals who are subjects of their own lives have inherent value that cannot be traded off against human interests.
Rights-based animal ethics provides a different philosophical foundation from utilitarianism — one that holds certain protections to be non-negotiable regardless of consequences. Where utilitarianism might justify animal use if the human benefits sufficiently outweigh animal suffering, a rights framework holds that using an animal as a mere means to human ends violates the animal fundamental value regardless of the calculation. This makes rights ethics particularly appealing as a foundation for absolute prohibitions on the most severe forms of animal use.