Living Together with
Animals
What are the Ethical
Questions on This?
Animals as Objects of Use
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Pets- abandonment, over-population.
Food
Clothing
Leather Goods
Medicines and Shampoos
Hunting
Entertainment
Zoos
Objects of Use- Pets
 Abandoned
 Abused
 Over-
population
Animals as
Objects- Hens
Packed in cages
(typically less
than half a
square foot of
floor space per
bird), 6 hens
can become
immobilized and
die of
asphyxiation or
dehydration
Laying Hens
“[T]he American laying
hen passes her brief span
piled together with a halfdozen other hens in a
wire cage. Every natural
instinct of this animal is
thwarted, leading to a
range of behavioral
‘vices’ that can include
cannibalizing her cage
mates. She rubs her body
against the wire mesh
until it is bleeding and
featherless.10 percent or
so of hens that can’t bear
it and simply die.
Animals as
Objects of UsePigs
Real-life ‘Babes’ see
no sun in their limited
lives, with no hay to lie
on, no mud to roll in.
Piglets are weaned
from their mothers [2–
3 weeks] after birth
(compared with 13
weeks in nature).This
premature weaning
leaves the pigs with a
lifelong craving to
suck and chew- they
bite tails of other pigs.
Pigs
In transit
Approximately 200,000 pigs
arrive dead at U.S.
slaughterhouses each year.
12 Many of these deaths are
caused by a lack of
ventilation on transport
trucks in hot weather. 15
Shown at left are U.S. pigs
on a transport truck loaded
in Oklahoma and destined
for a slaughterhouse south
of Mexico City—a journey
that would last more than 30
hours.
Cattle
“It takes 25 minutes to turn a live steer
into steak at the modern slaughterhouse
where Ramon Moreno works. “The cattle
were supposed to be dead before they
got to Moreno. But too often they
weren’t.‘They blink. They make noises,’
he said softly. ‘The head moves,
the eyes are wide and looking around.’
“Still Moreno would cut. On bad days,
he says, dozens of animals reached
his station clearly alive and conscious.
Some would survive as far as the tail
cutter, the belly ripper, the hide puller.
‘They die,’ said Moreno, ‘piece by
piece.’”
Entertainment
Animals- Use
Standard circus
industry training
tools used on
animals include
bull hooks, whips,
clubs, and electric
prods.
Employees report
abuse of circus
elephants.
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Circus elephants
An elephant is being
trained to lie down.
Circus Elephants
Being trained to lay down
Entertainment
Animals-Objects
Lions and
tigers, are
constantly on
the move in
their native
habitats. In the
circus, animals
spend most of
their time in
cages or chains.
Elephant Riding
Fun, But Cruel
Dolphins and Whales
Whale Hunting
Contemporary whaling is
subject to intense debate.
Pro-whaling countries
wish to lift the ban on
stocks that they believe
have recovered
sufficiently to sustain
limited hunting
Anti-whaling countries
and environmental
groups contend that
those stocks remain
vulnerable and that
whaling is immoral and
should remain banned
Dolphin Hunt
Dolphin drive hunting,
also called dolphin drive
fishing, is a method of
hunting dolphins and
occasionally other small
cetaceans by driving
them together with boats
and then usually into a
bay or onto a beach.
Their escape is
prevented by closing off
the route to the open sea
or ocean with boats and
nets.
Research
Animals
112,200
monkeys used
in labs in U.S.
Diseases-;
Psychological
disorders,
transplants,
vaccine, drub
abuse tests.
Animals in Research
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Animal tests aren’t reliable. People and
animals are different and that’s why a
medicine or cosmetic ingredient that is safe
on animals may not be it on people or viceversa. For example aspirin is toxic to rats and
mice but not to people
Animal testing is cruel.
There are alternatives to animal testing
Benefits- Animals
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Thanks to research using animals,
diseases such as polio have been virtually
wiped out. Other illnesses, such as
diabetes and arthritis, are controlled
through animal research.
Animals benefit from research, too!
diseases, and developed vaccines—all by
using animals in biomedical research.
Regulations for Care
 Animal
Care
Committees
 Refinement,
Reduction &
ReplacementThree R’s
 Other Countries
Animals as Rights Holders
Rights conferring characteristicsintelligence, sentience- ability to
feel and suffer.
 What rights then do animals have?
 Life
 Life in natural habitat
 Freedom from pain and suffering.
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The Five Freedoms
Freedom from thirst, hunger and
malnutrition
Freedom from discomfort, pain,
injury, or disease
Freedom to express normal
behavior
Freedom from fear and distress
 Freedom to be free
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The Moral Question
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The Mental Ladder”We human beings
do have a ladder
representing our
judgment as to
“likeability”- those
at the top are
genetically like us
and those we have
domesticated to
behave in ways we
prefer.”
The Dismissal Position
Descartesanimals are
“mere”
machines
and do not
feel.
Animal Welfare Position
Enormous benefits
to humans and
necessary to
medical progress.
 Humans
dominant/superior.
 Animals do not
suffer.
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Utilitarian Position
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Ability to suffer is
key.
Value increases with
richness of life-ways
can suffer and
receive pleasure.
Raymond FreyQuality of life of
some humans lower
than that of some
animals.
Utilitarianism
“The question is not,
Can they reason?
nor, Can they talk?
but, Can they
suffer?”
Jeremy Bentham
An Introduction to the
Principles of Morals
& Legislation, 1789
The Kantian Position
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Rational criteriaintelligence,
consciousness,
intentions.
The way we treat
animals is
relevant to the
way we treat
humans.
Inherent Value & Rights
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Value not tied to
mental states or
talents of others
or use or how
viewed by
others.
“Rights”= “moral
trump cards”trump “collective
interest.”
Nussbaum- Capabilities
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The opportunity
to unfold their
powers and to
flourish in their
own way and to
lead a life with
dignity.
Koko- The Gorilla