Animal Ethics

1. Animal Ethics

2. Create a list and brief explanation of 5 animal rights issues

4. John, a college student, has become involved in an animal rights group on campus. He feels that animals should no longer be used for food, clothing, medical research or entertainment.

5. Visiting home for Thanksgiving, he refuses to eat the turkey and gets into a heated argument with his family. His father is furious, arguing that he worked for hours to cook the meal and the bird shouldn’t go to waste now. He demands that John eat some turkey, and says that actions like John’s are neither practical nor meaningful.

6. How do you think John should respond? Write your reply on a sheet of scrap paper. Do not put your name on it.I will collect it.

7. Animal Rights Animal Exploitation Animal Liberation Animal Rights Animal Welfare • No lab • No farm • No entertainment • No wild (hunting) • Humane use • Well being • No cruelty

8. Animal Rights • Biblical History—Old Testament • Rest on Sabbath • No boiling of kid in mother’s milk • No yoking of animals of different sizes

9. Animal Rights • Ancient Greece—Triptolemus • Sacrifice only fruits of the Earth • Injure not the animals

10. Animal Rights • India • No living things sacrificed • No slaughter

11. Animal Rights • Secular Laws: Ireland 1635 • No working of tails • No pulling of sheep’s wool

12. Animal Rights • Secular Laws: Martin’s Act, 1822 • Richard Martin • Proper treatment of cattle • Modern laws based on Act

13. Animal Rights • Carl Linneaus Taxonomy • Animals listed in relation to humans • Humans highest order

14. Animal Rights • Charles Darwin • Origin of the Species

15. Animal Rights • Before Linnaeus: Human Perspective • Unfeeling • Automatons

16. Animal Rights • Animal Welfare Organizations • 1824-SPCA • 1840-RSPCA • 1866-ASPCA

17. Animal Rights • Henry Stephens Salt • 1892-Animal Rights

18. Animal Rights • Humane Society • 1954

19. Animal Rights • Social Protest Movements’ Zeitgeist • 1960s-70s • Civil Rights • Anti-War

20. Animal Rights • Cleveland Amory • 1967 – Protect Wild Animal Rights

21. Animal Rights • Proliferation of Groups • PETA • FARM • ALF • Earthsave • Farm Sanctuary

22. Animal Rights • Philosophers • Descartes – 1600s, humans are superior • Animals can’t think, therefore, can’t feel • Abuses abounded

23. Animal Rights • Philosophers • Peter Singer – 1975 • Animal Liberation published

24. Animal Rights Is there a difference between Animal Rights and Animal Welfare?

25. Animal Rights Animal Welfare Animal Liberation Accept certain uses ifsuffering minimal Larger cages Empty cages Relative Absolute

26. Animals In Research Today • IACUC 3Rs • Reduction • Replacement • Refinement

27. Animals In Research Today • Reduction • Research uses the fewest numbers of animals • Replacement • Research uses lower order animals whenever possible • Refinement • Least amount of pain and suffering

28. Animals In Research Today Benefits • Vaccines • New technologies • Affects of biological and nuclear warfare on humans

29. The Pro-Animal Rights View Sentient being • responsive to or conscious of sense impressions • Perceive • Conscious

30. Moral Agent • Babies? • Animals? • Mentally disabled?

31. Babies have rights. • Animals do not.

32. Speciesism 'Speciesism' is the idea that being human is a good enough reason for human animals to have greater moral rights than non-human animals.

33. Vivisection • Literal cutting up or into live animals. • Experimental procedures that result in injury/death

34. Male/Female • Male gets greater weight

35. Gay/Straight • Straight gets greater weight

36. Negative right • Michael Vick case • Inflicted pain/suffering/death on dogs

37. How are we different than Vick? • 58 billion animals killed each year

38. The Opposite View • Animals: no moral nature. • Not a Holocaust • Not murder • Hurt/killing animals, lamentable • Not slavery. • Not locking up different • Operate on instincts

39. Animals In Research Today • 100 million vertebrates annually • Vertebrates have backbone • Non-vertebrates (worms, e.g.) used, too. • Bred, wild or pounds • Most euthanized after experimentation • Mice, rats, fish, rabbits, cats, dog monkeys, e.g. • Vast majority rats and mice.

40. Animals In Research Today Animals used in… • Medical • Cosmetic • Defense • Genetic • Behavioral

41. Animals In Research Today • World Health Organizations-issued principles • U.S. principles stricter • Approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) • IACUC comprised of veterinarians, industry professionals

42. A Closer Look - Baboons • Research causes great pain and suffering • Head trauma research at Penn • Baboons and monkeys were subjects • Same type of vertebrates as humans • Animals subjected to whiplash • Car accidents • Sports injuries

43. A Closer Look - Baboons • Animal kept alive for several weeks • Euthanized • Brain pathology

44. A Closer Look - Baboons • http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3dw0u_unnecessary-fuss-partie-1_politics

45. What Ethical Issues Are Raised? • Animal Rights and Moral Value • Animals have moral value, just like humans • Most animals after age 1, perceive their world • They should live without human interference ~Tom Regan in The Case for Animal Rights

46. What Ethical Issues Are Raised? • Animal Rights and Moral Value • Animals can feel pain and suffer • They should be respected • Animal interests should be counted ~Peter Singer in Animal Liberation

47. What Ethical Issues Are Raised? • Comparative Utility • It is better to experiment on rats and rabbits than people. • No replacement for animal research • Experiment, save lives, as opposed not experimenting.

48. What Ethical Issues Are Raised? • Anthropocentrism • Anthropocentrism is human-centeredness.  • Poll: One of the "R's" is replacement of higher-order animals with those of lower-orders.  Is this fair? 

49. Homework • Define the following: • Anthropocentrism • Vivisection • Speciesism.

50. Homework • Explain some of the uses of animals in current research. Include URL. • Define and explain the 3 R's.