CCEA Religion- Animal Rights

Jeremy Bentham quote

‘the question is not can they reason, nor can they talk. But, can they suffer?

Factory farmed chickens

‘they often… peck each other to death. To prevent thus, the beaks of young birds are cut off’ / 9 bil chickens per annum are factory farmed / Singer suggests a ‘plant based diet may be best’

Singer on animal experimentation

‘if the experiment is not prepared to use an orphaned human infant, then his readiness to use non humans is simple discrimination’

Outline the thalidomide experiment

a medication given to pregnant women in the late 1950s to alleviate the symptoms of morning sickness, but this caused severe deformities in the womb. the drug was tested on animals but didnt have the same effect

three alternatives to animal experimentation

computer modelling, test tube techniques, the use of synthetic membranes

what do vardy and grosch say about animals being killed for fur?

‘it would be difficult to object to an Eskimo killing a seal for clothing’

what are the laws on fox hunting?

banned in scotland since 2002, banned in england and wales since 2004, but its still legal in NI

what is speciesism?

‘an expression of stubborn preference for beings of one’s own kind and a clear prejudice against members of another kind’ (V+G)

What does Singer argue for?

not for animals to have human rights, but for ‘equal consideration of interests’

What does Singer argue about personhood?

what makes humans and non humans equal is the concept of personhood. singer uses the eg of washoe as an animal that displays characteristics of a person; ‘killing a chimpanzee is worse than the killing of a human being who, because of a congenital intellectual disability, is not and never can be a person’

what animals does singer claim are persons?

dogs, apes, whales, dolphins, cats and pigs

Regan quote

'they have ‘an equal right to be treated with respet’

Aristotle quote

‘brute beasts [exist] for the sake of man’

Descartes quote

the human mind and the ability to use language set us apart from other animals that ‘never use words or other constructed signals as we do’

Michael Fox’s arguement

as animals do not appreciate their lives, they do not have intrinsic value

What’s the absolute dismissal argument?

animals do not have any moral significance

What’s the pragmatic dismissal argument?

while animals are not equal to humans, they deserve to be treated with a degree of respect

V+G quote on pragmatic dismissal

‘if there was a question of saving lassie or her owner, then the animal takes second place’

Genesis 1 quote

‘let us make mankind in our image and let him have dominion’

Psalm 115 quote

‘the highest heavens belong to the lord, but the earth he has given to man’

Ian McHarg quote

'the references from Genesis ‘encourage the most exploitative and destructive instincts in man’

What does Stott claim?

the dominion in genesis 1+2 is a ‘cooperative dominion’ and as the earth belongs to humans and animals, humans have a responsibility to look after the earth

Proverbs quote

‘a righteous man cares for the needs of his animal’

NT teaching, Matthew 8

Jesus sends the evil spirits who possessed Legion into a hard of pigs, which then drown in a nearby lake

Aquinas quote

‘it matters not how man behaves to animals, because God has subjected all things to man’s power’

How did st francis of assisi treat animals?

‘as his equals, his brothers and sisters’

What does the catholic church teach?

we owe animals kindness, but since god entrusted stewardship of animals to man, we may use them for food clothing or medical experiments within reason

Rev. Prof. Andrew Linzey quote

‘the weak should have moral priority’ / ‘when we have to kill to live, we may do so, but when we do not, we should live otherwise’

Animal rights and proportionalism

‘animals should be accorded moral rights unless there is a proportionate reason which would justify these being waived’

How many african elephants killed per year?

at least 20,000

Harambe

shot and killed after a three year old fell in his pen at Cincinnati zoo / animals in zoos are treated like stock- bought, traded, used and discarded

Soviet space program?

at least 57 have been in the space program, dozens died