Animal rights and captivity in a non-ideal world
This chapter explores what animal ethics has to say about the issue of captivity. The best-known version of animal rights morally prohibits all use of animals, including confinement. One obvious response is to reject animal rights in favor of a traditional animal welfare ethic. It is argued in this chapter, however, that there are two […]
Don’t Demean “Invasives”: Conservation and Wrongful Species Discrimination
It is common for conservationists to refer to non-native species that have undesirable impacts on humans as “invasive”. We argue that the classification of any species as “invasive” constitutes wrongful discrimination. Moreover, we argue that its being wrong to categorize a species as invasive is perfectly compatible with it being morally permissible to kill animals—assuming […]
Deconstructing compassionate conservation
Compassionate conservation focuses on 4 tenets: first, do no harm; individuals matter; inclusivity of individual animals; and peaceful coexistence between humans and animals. Recently, compassionate conservation has been promoted as an alternative to conventional conservation philosophy. We believe examples presented by compassionate conservationists are deliberately or arbitrarily chosen to focus on mammals; inherently not compassionate; […]
Animal welfare, animal rights and agriculture
The past decade has witnessed a major revolution in social concern with animals. Philosophically, this revolution entails a significant revision in traditional ways of conceiving our moral obligations to other creatures. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the social and conceptual basis for what is widely termed “animal rights.” The agricultural community has mistakenly tended […]
The case for animal rights
Animal liberation
The Book That Started A Revolution: since its original publication in 1975, this groundbreaking work has awakened millions of concerned men and women to the shocking abuse of animals everywhere — inspiring a worldwide movement to eliminate much of the cruel and unnecessary laboratory animal experimentation of years past. In this newly revised and expanded […]
Zoos and animal rights: the ethics of keeping animals
A controversial and timely book which explores the long history of zoos as well as the diverse ethica and technical issues involved. Anyone concerned with humanity’s relationship with other animals will find this an inspiring and rewarding book.
Animal experimentation : the moral issues
Presents articles debating the use of animals in scientific research.
Ethology applied to animal ethics
According to modern animal welfare legislation, animals should be protected from suffering and lasting harm not for the benefit of us humans as in earlier anthropocentric conceptions, but in their own interest. The driving force behind animal protection is our empathy with animals which triggers feelings of compassion. Empathy with animals most likely is a […]
Animal ethics and animal welfare science: bridging the two cultures
Since the 1970s, scientists studying animal welfare and philosophers writing about animal ethics have worked toward the common goal of understanding and articulating our proper relationship to animals of other species. However, the two groups approached this task using such different concepts, assumptions, and vocabulary that they functioned as two distinct “cultures” with little mutual […]