Animal rights theory and the One Health approach share similarities in that they are gaining prominence and are presented as pathways to address the challenges of the Anthropocene. These two discourses may, however, be conceived as philosophically incompatible. On the one hand, animal rights theory centres on the inherent worth of individual animals. One Health, on the other hand, emerges from an understanding of ecology and focuses on the health of nature as a broad system. Where the individual rights of an animal and the interests of human/animal/environmental health conflict, animal rights and One Health would presumably propose different resolutions.

In an effort to reconcile these promising theories, this chapter seeks to locate a recognition of animal intrinsic worth within the One Health paradigm. In pursuing this objective, it seeks to conceive of animal rights as compatible with and as part of a broader One Health paradigm. On this basis, it explores the theoretical implications of such an approach for contemporary societies and their common uses of animals.